Colorado Avalanche name Jussi Ahokas Head Coach of AHL Affiliate Colorado Eagles

KITCHENER, ONT. — The Kitchener Rangers announced today that Head Coach Jussi Ahokas will be leaving the organization to accept the Head Coach position with the Colorado Eagles, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche.

Ahokas departs Kitchener following one of the most successful three-year stretches in Rangers’ history. Since being named the 25th head coach in franchise history in July 2023, the Oulu, Finland native guided the club to a combined regular-season record of 135-52-13-4, including three straight 40-win seasons and consecutive 100-point campaigns for the first time in franchise history.

Under Ahokas, the Rangers never finished below fourth place in the Western Conference and captured the 2025-26 OHL Championship before going 4-0-0-0 at the Memorial Cup in Kelowna, BC to win junior hockey’s most prestigious trophy for the third time in franchise history. Ahokas made history as he became the first European head coach to win both an OHL Championship and a Memorial Cup.

“On behalf of the Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club, I want to congratulate Jussi Ahokas on being named Head Coach of the Colorado Eagles,” said Kitchener Rangers Chief Operating Officer and Governor Joe Birch. “This opportunity is a testament to Jussi’s outstanding leadership, exceptional hockey mind, and unwavering commitment to player development. During his time in Kitchener, he helped elevate our organization to new heights, culminating in a Memorial Cup championship while leaving a lasting impact on our players, staff, and community. We are incredibly proud of everything he accomplished with the Rangers and wish Jussi and his family continued success in this well-deserved next chapter.”

Jussi Ahokas was a pioneer for European coaches at the junior level in Canada becoming the first European to coach in the Canadian Hockey League, creating another pathway on route to the professional level in our sport.

“When we hired Jussi three years ago, he always said his goal was to move on to pro hockey and try to reach his goal of coaching in the NHL,” said Kitchener Rangers General Manager Mike McKenzie. “While we will miss him in Kitchener, we are happy that he is one step closer to that goal and we were able to play a small role in it. We would like to thank Jussi for his dedication and contributions to our club and wish him the best in Colorado.”

Ahokas’ Rangers teams posted regular-season records of 41-23-4-0 in 2023-24, 47-15-4-2 in 2024-25 and 47-14-5-2 in 2025-26. His 135 regular-season victories rank fourth in franchise history, trailing only Peter DeBoer (297), Joe McDonell (226), and Steve Spott (187), while his .703 points percentage is the best mark by a head coach in Rangers history.

In the postseason, Ahokas led Kitchener to a 32-16 playoff record across three seasons, including a 16-2-0-0 run to the 2025-26 OHL Championship and a perfect 4-0-0-0 record at the Memorial Cup.

Before joining the Rangers, Ahokas built one of the most decorated coaching résumés in European hockey. He was named the Alliance of European Hockey Clubs’ 2019-20 Coach of the Year and earned the Kalevi Numminen Trophy as Liiga Coach of the Year after guiding Kouvola KooKoo to a 110-point season. Internationally, Ahokas led Finland to gold medals at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship and the 2016 IIHF World U18 Championship.

The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club and the community of Kitchener-Waterloo would like to thank Jussi Ahokas for his great accomplishments over his tenure and the dedication he has shown to our club and community.