SEATTLE (AP) — A renowned Finnish sauna experience. A massive time zone difference.
Even — sorry, Santa — sautéed reindeer.
For Kaapo Kakko, Jani Nyman and Ville Ottavainen, going back home to Finland is about all of those things and more, including, if needed, translating. They're ready to play tour guide for their Seattle Kraken teammates this week in Helsinki as part of the NHL Global Series. The Kraken play defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Thursday (9 a.m. Seattle time) and again Saturday (10 a.m.).
“I’m excited to be there,” Kakko, the longest-tenured member of the Kraken’s Finnish trio, said of getting to play an NHL game near home.
Seattle, now in its sixth season, is taking its first overseas trip. The team’s only other game in a non-NHL facility was the 2024 Winter Classic in the middle of the baseball diamond at T-Mobile Park, home of the Seattle Mariners.
This will be Carolina’s second set of games outside North America — and both trips have been to Helsinki, where they also played in the 2010 NHL Premiere Series. The Hurricanes will have their own Finnish contingent with three-time All-Star center Sebastian Aho, center Jesperi Kotkaniemi and defenseman Juuso Valimaki.
“I’ve been dreaming about it for 10 years,” Aho said after this year’s pairing was revealed last spring. “When they announce the teams (for these games), you usually don’t see Carolina in there and you’re always like, ‘Bummer.’ But this is worth the wait.”
The Kraken and the Hurricanes will face off inside Veikkaus Arena, Finland’s largest indoor venue with 13,349 seats for hockey.
“It’s a big sport (in Finland), so I hope it’s going to be loud,” said Kakko, a 25-year-old winger from Turku, about 100 miles northwest of Helsinki.
Any idea how many tickets might be needed?
“I don’t have the final head count,” Aho cracked.
Nyman, who has bounced between Seattle and its American Hockey League affiliate in Coachella Valley, said one of the biggest challenges not only for his teammates but even for him and his fellow Finns will be getting their body clocks in sync. The time zones for Seattle and Helsinki are 10 hours apart.
“Every time I go back to Finland, I have time off. But now, we have to get to training and practice and playing on Thursday,” said the 22-year-old winger from Valkeakoski, which is about 90 miles north of Helsinki. “When I go to Finland, you’re so tired, but you try your best all day to wake up. That’s really hard for everyone.”
Ottavainen has been a semi-regular part of the Kraken’s third defensive pairing, playing in 10 of the 16 games so far after spending all of last season in the AHL.
The 24-year-old, who hails from Oulu, located 375 miles north of Helsinki, is looking forward to matching up with Carolina for the first time in his career.
“I skate with Aho in the summer quite a bit," Ottavainen said. “There’s definitely some familiarity, so we’ll see what happens.”
While hockey will be the primary focus for both teams, they’ll have some time for off-ice time exploration.
“I’ve got a few things planned for the boys to just kind of show our culture a little bit,” Aho recently said on NHL.com. “Obviously, there’s not like big surprises. Everyone knows kind of what it’s about, but I think it’s awesome.”
Plus, it's a team-bonding experience.
“We’re already a very close group, but it never hurts to be together and just hang out,” Aho said following a practice after arriving in Helsinki. "Trying to focus on winning Thursday and go from there.”
When they do head out, Nyman is eager to assist his Seattle teammates in any way he can, including the language barrier.
“I’m ready to translate," Nyman said. “The guys are helping me here (with English), so I’m ready to help in Finland.”
Their exploration certainly will include a particularly renowned Finland experience.
“There’s a good sauna place where we’re going to go as a team. That’s something we’re doing for sure,” Kakko said.
Mealtime will be its own adventure. Ottavainen already has clued in his fellow Kraken on some of the gastronomic options.
“They’ve asked about the salmon soup, and we’ve said that’s fire at one place we’re going to — so they kind of questioned that,” he said with a wry smile. “The sautéed reindeer is another thing they’ve asked about. It’s incredible.”
Asked how he would describe sautéed reindeer, Ottavainen replied, “I’ve just said that it’s really good — you’ve got to try it.”
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