Saunas, reindeer and hockey: Stars and Panthers take pleasure in their time in Finland earlier than 2-game collection

The primary time Florida coach Paul Maurice went to Finland, he didn’t know an entire lot concerning the nation’s intense love of hockey.

He discovered. Shortly.

“I believe one of many actual advantages, form of facet advantages for the NHL coaches and gamers coming over is you get a full appreciation that the sport truly isn’t owned by Canada and the US,” Maurice mentioned. “Once you develop up and also you don’t go away, that’s what you suppose, proper? ‘No person loves the sport greater than we do.’ You recover from right here, they usually love the sport each bit as a lot as we do. It’s a nation of folks that love the sport.”

Finland, a nation of about 5.5 million individuals, is the homeland for about 5% of the gamers within the NHL this season. Divide the variety of NHL gamers into a rustic’s inhabitants, and Finland sends about as many gamers to the league per capita as Canada and Sweden do — and at a price approach, approach forward of the U.S. and Russia.

The beautiful Nordic nation will get to rejoice seven of these gamers — 4 from Florida, three from Dallas — when the Stars and Stanley Cup champion Panthers play a pair of video games in Tampere.

“I’ve been excited for this,” Panthers captain and Tampere native Aleksander Barkov mentioned, “for a really very long time.”

Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger feels that extra-special vibe when he performs in his native Minnesota. For the Finns in these video games — Miro Heiskanen, Roope Hintz and Esa Lindell for the Stars; Barkov, Eetu Luostarinen, Niko Mikkola and Anton Lundell for the Panthers – he is aware of it will likely be completely different.

“It’s like Christmas Day for them,” Oettinger mentioned. “I understand how particular it’s once I get to play in Minnesota, and for these guys it’s much more particular as a result of they’ve by no means performed this earlier than. It’s fairly cool for them.”

The NHL has performed 19 earlier video games in Finland — 9 common season, 10 preseason. It’s a marathon journey for these groups, a nine-hour flight from Dallas for the Stars and a 7 ½ hour flight from Buffalo (the place Florida final performed) for the Panthers.

No person is complaining. The groups clearly are having fun with this chance.

Panthers president of hockey operations and common supervisor Invoice Zito as soon as performed in Finland, and had a protracted record of locations he needed to see once more this week. He was requested what he hopes the non-Finnish gamers get from the journey.

“An appreciation for the way great Finland is,” Zito mentioned. “Simply every little thing about it. You simply smile. It’s a fantastic place.”

The Panthers and Stars have soaked up (actually, in some instances) a lot of the tradition that Finland has to supply. The nation may be very pleased with its saunas, which Stars coach Peter DeBoer joked supplied some an opportunity to sweat out the Finnish beer that was consumed within the first night time or two of the journey.

Some gamers have jumped into the ocean, an final chilly plunge of types. Maurice mentioned he’ll attempt to devour all of the smoked fish that he can discover, Zito mentioned he intends to purchase all of the chocolate he can get. The Panthers acquired their fill of salmon soup — one thing Lundell had been bragging about for weeks — and there’s one different delicacy that acquired loved as properly.

That might be reindeer.

“I’m simply hoping it wasn’t Rudolph,” Stars ahead Matt Duchene mentioned.

Added Stars ahead Tyler Seguin: ““It scared me to begin however tastes fairly good.”

The meals has been a giant a part of the story within the early days of this journey. A Finnish newspaper had the headline “Suomen herkut maistuivat” — translated, “Finnish delicacies tasted nice” — below a photograph of Barkov giving teammate Matthew Tkachuk his first style of Finland on the journey.

“One dessert that Barky goes to have to clarify; he mentioned it was like a cake he had at school,” Tkachuk mentioned. “That was one.”

One other bonus for the Finnish followers: They acquired two fairly good groups out of this deal. The Panthers are off to a 7-3-1 begin and the Stars are 7-2-0 and plenty of picked each to advance the Stanley Cup Last subsequent spring. Tickets had been gone rapidly, and the Finnish gamers on each side could have tons of folks that they know within the stands.

“I’m truly very excited,” Tkachuk mentioned. “I believe I’m most excited for the Finns on the staff. What a cool alternative for them. … That’s in the beginning. Hockey goes to return second right here.”