He will succeed Jukka Jalonen, who will coach the U20 team until the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship on home ice in Helsinki.

Rautakorpi was already Finland’s U20 national team coach for three seasons and led the team at the World Juniors in 1999 (5th), 2008 (6th) and 2009 (7th). He was also coaching Finland at the U18 Worlds in 2011 and the U18 European Championship in 1998.

In club hockey he led Tappara Tampere to five league finals winning the championship in 2003. He also led HPK Hameenlinna to the final in 2010. Last season he was coaching the KHL’s Amur Khabarovsk before being released early in the season.

Rautakorpi is currently working for the Finnish Olympic Committee, a job he will continue, and he was named an assistant coach to Kari Jalonen on the men’s national team for this season.

Finland will host the upcoming World Juniors from 26 December to 5 January in Helsinki with Jukka Jalonen behind the bench. In 2017 the World Juniors will take place in Montreal and Toronto, Canada.