Jonas Junland, the reasons for an announced breakup
The signal sent by Philip Holm’s engagement is clear: Jonas Junland is no longer part of the Lausanne HC’s plans.
Will Jonas Junland ever wear the Lausanne HC jersey? If the question still retained a minimum of meaning at the end of the year, it no longer seems topical, now that the arrival of a new foreign defender is announced (see box). Between the Vaud club and its Swedish rear (32), non-aligned for five games, the union hangs by a thread. And the signal sent by Philip Holm’s engagement seems clear: Jonas Junland is no longer part of the LHC’s plans. We knew this in the medium term (his contract will not be renewed this spring). We now know it for the present.
How did we get there, to the point where the complete breakdown - read an immediate departure - is far from being utopian today? "I had an honest discussion with Ville (editor's note: Peltonen). But what we said will stay between him and me, replies the player. The coach thinks he is doing the best for the team. He works hard every day for her to progress and I have a lot of respect for him. I did nothing serious to find myself in this situation. Rather, it is the result of an accumulation of details. With various parameters at stake, including business. The club has invested money, it needs to win, and it can’t do it anymore. "
A scapegoat?
Implied: something had to be done. Did Junland serve as a scapegoat in order to create an electric shock in a bogged down group (9 defeats in 12 games)? "It could have happened to other players too," said Peltonen. Besides, everyone had to understand that the level of requirements had to increase. Let everyone do more for the team. To stay on Jonas, what he did, on and off the ice, was not enough compared to what high-level hockey requires today. From a certain point, if you fail to progress on an individual level, you cannot help the team. And then, behind, the results were good (4 victories in 5 matches). But beware: Jonas didn’t go at all suddenly. Face-to-face meetings are frequent in this locker room and there have been opportunities to showcase them. ”
The LHC coach wanted to send a message by putting aside his most used player, even if it means playing with three strangers: "Nobody is untouchable". But the fact that the Viking himself was "punished" is not trivial. Since his triple collarbone fracture in December 2018, Junland is no longer the one he was in his first two championships, buckled in the lead and in second place in the ranking of the best counters among the defenders of the National League (39 points in 2016/17, 34 points in 2017/18).
Preparation and attitude
Away from the ice rinks from mid-December to the end of February, that is, while everyone was gaining momentum for the play-offs, he benefited from extenuating circumstances last spring. This is no longer the case this season, where beyond the statistics (13 points in 28 games) there has been a heaviness since September that questions the quality of its summer preparation, carried out in Sweden. "Jonas needed to be aware of certain things, to hear them," comments Peltonen. Since then, he has worked a lot and well. But that cannot be resolved in 10 days. ”
And then there is an attitude, "sometimes casual", "sometimes individual", according to different ex-LHC players. A less problematic state of mind when dealing with one of the best defenders in the league. And who may have been reinforced by the abolition of his assistant captain status during the summer as well as by the non-renewal of his contract (without explanations).
Open to discussion
When it came to justifying his decision to sack his Swede, on December 19, Ville Peltonen had had heavy words: "We need to heal as a team. And to make sure that everyone is invested and believes in what we want to do. ”Does this mean that Junland is incompatible with this? Two and a half weeks later and despite the efforts of the player, an immediate departure seems in any case to be the most realistic course.
"I have a contract, I work hard and I do what I am asked, reacts the main interested. I don't want to give up, I'm not the type. But on the other hand, I like hockey. And I'm open to a discussion about my future if I am called to speak about it. ”Is Jan Alston planning to do so? Even if the sports director declined to comment, we imagine that the answer is positive, now that Philip Holm is from Lausanne.
Holm’s arrival formalized on Tuesday
We were waiting for an attacker. It’s finally a defender who’s going to land. There is the Junland case and there is a workforce deemed too short behind. Even more so if there is a glitch at Petteri Lindbohm. The fact remains that Lausanne holds its new foreign reinforcement in the person of Philip Holm. Subject to waivers at his request by the Chicago Blackhawks (NHL), Sunday, the Swedish defender (28 years) was not claimed and will thus return to Europe, to the LHC, which should formalize his engagement until the end of exercise (without option) this Tuesday.
The 2017 world champion, a member of the KHL All-Star Team in 2018/19, had above all to be satisfied with the AHL (15 points in 30 games this season), in North America. There remains a big blow for Lausanne. Capable of playing both box play and power play, Holm is a calm, mobile defender with a sense of play and anticipation and a good first pass according to various experts. He could be aligned as early as Saturday in Friborg.
Despite this signing, the LHC (still 2 foreign licenses) is still looking for imported offensive reinforcement for the playoffs.
