Jarmo Tolvanen has been appointed as the new head coach of the Hungarian men's ice hockey team ©IIHF

Jarmo Tolvanen has been appointed as the new head coach of the Hungarian men's ice hockey team.

The Finn, who has spent the past two seasons with Norwegian club side Stjernen, will also lead Hungary's under-20 side.

His appointment comes after the Hungarian Ice Hockey Federation declined to use an option to extend Rich Chernomaz's contract.

The Canadian led the country in five World Championship events and steered them to promotion to the elite tier in 2015.

That led to participation at the 2016 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, but Hungary won just one of their seven group matches and were immediately relegated back to Division 1 Group A. 

They were unable to bounce back this year, finishing fifth at the second tier tournament in Ukraine's capital Kyiv. 

Hungary are aiming to bounce back to the top tier of the World Championship ©Getty Images
Hungary are aiming to bounce back to the top tier of the World Championship ©Getty Images

Tolvanen has experience coaching Finnish national age-group teams and has also been in charge of club sides across Europe.

This includes Hungary where he was head coach at Fehervar AV19, winning the Hungarian title during the 2009-2010 season.

The first match for Tolvanen will be a clash with Poland on September 30, on home ice in Budapest.

The country will then host the 2018 round of the Division 1 Group A Championship where promotion to the elite World Championship will again be at stake.

Slovenia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Poland and Britain will also be involved between April 22 and 28.