#liiga foreigners
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@violasmirabiles tagged me to list five favorites out of my own fics, thank you for the opportunity! (I got the tag maybe two months ago but my relationship with ao3 has been kind of rocky and distant lately, so)
I chose to base my choices on ~vibes~ and the happiness writing them has brought me.
The numbers are just for keeping track, these are not in any particular order.
Father Cristiano’s Redemption (football rpf). This historical AU multichapter was such a ride to write and I learned so much doing my research on topics like WW2 bombings on Wales, post-war Britain, education and clothing of Roman Catholic clergy, horse-drawn farm equipment, recruitment practices of the French Foreign legion... I listened to such eclectic music as inspiration, from hymns to Eva Dalhgren and Nightwish to The Rolling Stones and Manic Street Preachers. I felt and I still feel confident and proud in my storytelling, the world-building of my AU (rural post-war Welsh village with flashbacks and cuts to other places in Europe) and my characterization. It's one of my earliest works, from the mid part of my short-lived football rpf writer era but it's still very vivid and visual in my mind. I like how the wide ensemble works, too.
Minä suojelen sinua kaikelta / Midnight in Paris (hockey rpf)
I have written whole ass inspiration music posts for this hockey rpf story before it was even finished. It's the rarest of my rare pairs, I'm the only one who has written them on Ao3, and is't it an achievement that the English version, a fic with a Finnish liiga grinder as the main POV character has 898 hits and 49 kudos on Ao3? It is! This is one of my faves because I love Savinainen so deeply, and whenever I get back to this fic I feel that my characterization of him is so good. And the short POV shift to Sepe works well.
camera ready (hockey rpf)
My flagship. Which means I peaked in 2019 which is kinda sad considering it's 2023 now. But anyway, this porn AU ran from January to August 2019 with about weekly updates. It's my longest and most read, most kudos'ed and most commented work. It has also attracted a large number of lurkers who have later told me privately that they're absolutely into the AU despite never leaving the mark in the kudos or comment sections. (And that's okay! Everybody has the right to have their own standards or comfort levels when it comes to public engagement with writing. That said, after the inevitable sequel slump of the next part of the series, money shot, I haven't felt like returning to the AU even though I have been tempted to, I still love the characters and their world.)
Summer Kisses (hockey rpf)
I love writing summer in Oulu. Northern Finnish summer skies are just... all of this. I also love writing the wholesome all-star charity golf gentlemen having hot sex. This is a true combination of serene calm ambience and just... indulgent filth. I love dwelling in this story.
his boner is a foot-long concrete dildo (hockey rpf)
Surprise! This is where I'd normally put my forever fave, the cornerstone of my hockey writing Jussi at Jussi's but this one is one of my favorites and I didn't want to leave it out. It's porn, it's very dirty and evil and sometimes it's just fun to make something so wrong work so very right.
So there! Thank you for listening, support your local fic writers, anyone who feels like it please list yours and tag me! Love you, bye!
also tagging @isconnormcdavidok @thosedaysthatwill @hard4softthings if you feel comfortable doing this and haven't already or lately, please!
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Ilta-Sanomat carries comments from a senior diplomat criticising the planning of a reorganisation of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
Juha Parikka, currently the Deputy Head of Mission at Finland's embassy in Jakarta, says that Finland's diplomatic corps have been given six working days to respond to a broad survey asking fairly detailed questions about priorities, resource allocation and tasks in the ministry.
The goal, in line with the government programme, is to identify which tasks and roles are strategically significant for Finland — especially after it has joined the Nato military alliance.
The work itself is necessary, Parikka says, as the ministry remains in much the same form as it was after the last reorganisation in 1998. But he tells IS he is uncomfortable about the way it is being planned.
Parikka says that the working committee tasked with making these proposals has no external representation, and therefore conflicts of interest might be possible. In addition, there is no representation within the committee from unions or staff associations.
"They are just heard," said Parikka. "And then there is a webropol (survey) which is a way for everything to go missing. You'll get 400-500 individual viewpoints, of which none will be actually taken notice of in any way."
The state secretary in charge of the reform, Lauri Tierala, told IS that the people on the committee have no axes to grind in defending their own departments. In addition, the committee cannot make decisions — it only recommends different courses of action.
The timetable is relatively rapid because of the government programme. Any proposals with implications for resources should be made by January, in time to be considered in the spring budget framework talks.
Double handshaker scandal
This week saw Finland's biggest party, and biggest media event, of the year. As thousands of Finns lined up for the privelige of shaking hands with the president, millions watched at home.
Eagle-eyed viewers noticed, however, that one individual got handshaking double bubble: after meeting and being greeted by the presidential couple, he then turned up again later on for another grip-and-grin.
Both tabloids have explored the issue. The idea that this might have been an accident — that the attendee got lost and ended up back in the queue — has been dismissed by veteran guests.
The layout and staffing at the palace, along with the somewhat cramped facilities, mean it would have been very difficult to accidentally end up back outside. Ilta-Sanomat has a graphic showing the layout of the palace and likely routes for the distinguished handshakers, demonstrating the unlikelihood of a lost guest ending up back in the queue.
Iltalehti interviews Green MP Atte Harjanne, who was behind the scandalous repeat guest. He said he did not notice anything untoward, but agreed that an accidental explanation is unlikely.
The handshaker himself, who was identified as a Salvation Army volunteer, did not respond to requests for comment from IS.
Expensive sports
Helsingin Sanomat covers a plea from a Turku football coach for cheaper costs for children and young people to play the sport.
Jani Mesikämmen coaches two girls teams in the city, and said that the costs of playing football can be prohibitively high. Just the equipment needed for training and games (excluding boots and shin pads) comes to 200-300 euros.
Then there is a 60 euro monthly charge for the facilities, plus 250 euros every time his teams participate in a weekend of games in the helmarit liiga (a competition organised by the Football Association).
Mesikämmen says he avoids foreign tournaments because of the cost, unlike many Finnish clubs, and tries to recycle old boots and other equipment where possible to reduce the cost.
After his Facebook post he received some donations which helped individual players, but he does not want the system to rely on individuals' generosity.
"We should not end up with an American model, where society, sports and even schools rely on charity," said Mesikämmen.
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Venemaa Kaitseministeeriumi teadaanne Vinnitsa kohta
14. juulil 2022 tulistas Venemaa Mustalt merelt allveelaevadelt tiibrakettidega Kalibr Lääne-Ukrainas asuvat asulat Vinnitsa. Tabati Vinnitsa ohvitseride maja, mis hävis pea täielikult.
Venemaa väitel toimus ohvitseride majas koosolek, kus osalesid Ukraina väejuhatuse esindajad ja välismaiste relvatarnijate esindajad. Koosolekul olevat peetud läbirääkimisi, muuhulgas olevat teemaks olnud sõjalennukite tarnimine Ukrainale.
Venemaa Kaitseministeerium väidab, et kõik koosolekul osalenud hukkusid.
On July 13, Kalibr high-precision sea-based missiles hit the building of the garrison house of officers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (the House of Officers) in the city of Vinnitsa, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, a meeting with foreign suppliers and the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was held in the building of the officers' house in Vinnitsa — negotiating military aircraft supply to Ukraine. The participants were destroyed.
Seda versiooni kinnitavad järgmised tõigad:
Videotel on vahetult peale plahvatust kuulda ingliskeelset sõimamist.
Tavaliselt tulistab Venemaa tiibrakettidega öösel, seekord tehti seda aga päeval.
Järgmisel päeval teatasid mitmed ajalehed, et USA soovitab kõigil USA kodanikel Ukrainast kiiresti lahkuda.
Järgmisel päeval peale plahvatust teatasid Ukraina ajalehed, et Vinnitsas on kinni võetud paarkümmend inimest, püüdes välja selgitada, kes andis Venemaale täpsed andmed.
Versioon, et Venemaa pommitas tsiviilobjekte, pole kuigi tõenäoline. Tiibraketid on selleks ka liiga kallid.
Tsiviilohvreid esines palju seetõttu, et õhutõrje häirele ei reageeritud, kuigi varjumiseks oli 40 minutit aega. Inimesed ignoreerivad õhuhäireid, sest need on sagedased.
Kui Venemaa versioon paika peab, võis surma saada USA esindajaid. Võib-olla isegi Eesti omi.
Siin on üks Ukraina versioon sündmustest:
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His latest travel snafu wouldn’t even crack a top-10 list of memorable moments, good or bad, Emil Larmi experienced during his tornado of a calendar year.
At an age when many graduate from college, he was crowned a champion in Finland’s top pro league, wooed by NHL teams and left home for a foreign land.
In the U.S., he unexpectedly split the season between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Wheeling, faced a health scare that left him searching for answers and went through rough patches that had him questioning whether he belonged here.
...After getting passed over in the NHL draft, Larmi blossomed into a top goalie in Finland. Last spring, he led HPK to its first Liiga title in 13 years. He then decided to make the jump to North America, picking Pittsburgh as his landing spot.
The 6-foot goalie turned heads at prospect development camp with his lateral quickness and flair and had his moments during his first NHL training camp. But the plan all along was to get him a lot of action at the AHL level in 2019-20.
As is often the case for Europeans, the adjustment to North American hockey, where the ice surface is smaller and the action is faster and at times more chaotic, proved difficult. So was Larmi’s transition to life in the United States.
His hometown of Lahti is among Finland’s largest cities, and Finns learn English in school. But using it to navigate everyday tasks was a far greater test.
The first time he went to a grocery store, Larmi was there for more than three hours. Google Translate is not very helpful when decoding nutritional labels.
Trying to acquire wheels was also tricky. He felt more comfortable communicating with dealers via email. He was surprised to find it was a one-way street.
“No one was answering me,” he said. “I was like, ‘OK, don’t take my money.’ ”
After hilariously chronicling the ordeal on social media, Larmi found a dealer who helped him pick the right car. That was a big deal for Larmi, who calls himself “a car guy” and zips around in a Porsche Turbo 911 back home. But when it was time to complete the paperwork, Larmi approached another speed bump.
And that’s how he spent as much time at the DMV as he did in the crease.
“Every time they told us, ‘You need this paper,’ and we didn’t have it. We would go get it and come back the next day. And then they’d tell us, ‘Now you need this paper.’ I don’t know why she didn’t tell us we needed all of these papers,” Larmi said, letting out a hearty laugh. “Maybe she was just playing with us?”
There was also the time he went to the wrong airport while flying from New Hampshire to Pittsburgh. Thankfully, an Uber driver got him to the right one on time.
...Larmi earned his first AHL win Oct. 16, stopping 30 of 33 shots. But his season quickly went off the rails, largely due to circumstances out of his control.
Nine days later, in his next start, he headed to the home locker room at Mohegan Sun Arena for the second intermission. Two minutes before the Penguins were to step back out onto the ice, Larmi mouthed to Almari, “I feel a bit weird.”
Larmi said what happened next was like an out-of-body experience.
“I started to get shaky and started to pass out, but I never really passed out,” he said. “I was really close. I remember I was almost falling on the bench.”
Teammates huddled around him and hollered for help. While the medical staff attended to Larmi, the rest of the team had to go chase a puck around.
“Almari told me he didn’t know if I was going to die or what. He just had to leave me and go play some hockey,” Larmi said. “Yeah, it was scary for all of us.”
In the coming days, Larmi visited doctors, including a cardiologist, to get a handle on what happened. The belief is he took a knee to the head late in the second period, suffered a concussion and quickly began experiencing symptoms.
“That was the only explanation for what happened,” he said. “After a concussion, it’s always scary because you don’t know how long it’s going to take to recover. But I was lucky that it didn’t do too much and I was back on the ice soon.”
...Larmi has been back home in Finland for more than 10 weeks now. After a long, trying season in North America, he was happy to be around his family. The only problem, he joked, was discovering his parents had replaced him.
“We only had two dogs when I left for the States. When I came back, there was three,” he said, chuckling. “[Replacing me with a dog], I think that was cheaper. They don’t eat as much as I do. I don’t think they even missed me.”
“Of course, during those hard times there was a lot going on in my head. Like ‘I want to quit hockey. I hate my life.’ Stuff like that,” he said, letting out another big laugh. “But I still think there’s a lot of things I learned. It wasn’t just a waste of time to be there and I think those things can help me in the future.”
“I’m really excited to come back,” the goalie said. “I’m not happy about the last year. But I’m happy about what’s going to happen in the future.”
-Penguins prospect Emil Larmi's first year in US was up and down — literally and figuratively, 12 June 2020
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Prompt: 5. "I might just kiss you."
Series: Unofficial Fic.tober 2k19
Fandom: Hetalia.
Characters: aph den.mark. aph est.onia. minor bit of aph fin.land
Pairings: denest.
Warnings/Tags: None
Summary: Impromptu visits, Nikolaj knew weren't the best
A/N: cute fluffy denest because the next time you see this ship on this blog it’s just going to be angsty and angsty. anyway. this is just some fun that was cute to write. hope you guys enjoy. if you want to prompt me anything from the prompt list RIGHT HERE then please do!
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With the birds chirping and the lake a nice cool balm against the heat, Nikolaj swam from one end to the other, a smile on his face. "It's so nice!" He called to Eduard, who sat on the lakeside, his feet in the water and a phone to his ear.
Impromptu visits, Nikolaj knew weren't the best, but with the weather climbing high this weekend, he figured that Eduard would've asked for time off. He hadn't, of course, which was the reason he was on the phone instead of swimming in the cool water.
"Uh huh," Eduard was saying as Nikolaj swam towards him. Laying his head on Eduard's lap, skin wetting the other's pants, Nikolaj listened to the conversation. He had always liked Eduard's language; it was gentle and musical, and hearing it now as the world was near silent, he could remember the first time he met Eduard.
Long before his people had won the battle that had given him Eduard’s nation with the strength they were given by God, Nikolaj could remember traveling with his people; going into battles, sailing the seas, the occasional heading into a port town to trade. It had been in one of the port towns in Finland's lands that he had met Eduard.
The weather had been nice that day, the sun had been shining bringing rays of heat down. Nikolaj had been talking to the leader of the village, wondering where Tino was. He had been told that a foreigner from the south had come to town, taking Tino to the forests for a fortnight.
Though Tino’s lands were not yet his at the time, Nikolaj still spent an inordinate amount of time bossing the other nation around and the idea that Tino had taken off for a fortnight without warning had caused a bit of anger to rise -- he could remember, with shame, the anger he had felt as a younger nation, that, thankfully as time had gone on, had calmed down. At the time though all he knew was that Tino, the one nation who listened as he bitched about Sweden, had disappeared.
Of course, right as he was about to threaten the man, he could hear Tino’s laughter ringing throughout the air.
(If Nikolaj was completely honest with himself, back when he was still a young nation and his people had yet to become the rulers of the North, he had a bit of a crush on Finland.)
He had left the man with nothing more than a glare and an unspoken threat and wandered around until he found Tino jumping into the water away from where the boats docked. In the water, he spotted another boy in the water and his eyes had widened.
“Oled liiga väsinud,” The melodic words caught his attention and he had stopped in his footsteps, heart beating so loudly in his ears that he missed the last bit of what was being said before loud laughter filled the air.
There were many myths that his people held that spoke of water creatures and for a moment Nikolaj could believe that the boy in the water was a nikke, coming to steal Tino from his people, but the more he stared, the more he felt like he was the one being lured into the ocean.
“Tanska!” Tino waved from his spot in the water, drawing his attention away from the other blond boy in the water. Quick words of Tino’s own language - melodic as well, but not quite the same as the foreigners’ - and the most happy nation he had ever met was swimming towards him. “I wish you had written, me and Maa would’ve taken you with us to the forests!”
Maa? Nikolaj lifted an eyebrow. That wasn’t particularly a name he had ever heard of. It showed on his face and the boy shook his head.
“I’m not taking the name Johannes keeps trying to give me,” he explained, his voice just as melodic as the words he had been speaking earlier. “I refuse.”
Tino shook his head, “You should be careful, he’s gaining more land and power, soon you might have to go to war with him.”
Maa shrugged, the water rippling around him as he swam backwards slightly, “My people will win,” he said, his voice confident despite the look that Tino was giving him. “Is Tanska going to come in the water?”
Tino frowned for a moment before nodding his head, “You should join us, the weather has been so good for swimming.”
Now, so many years later, Nikolaj pulled himself from the past as he felt a hand brushing through his hair. Lifted his head, he looked up at the sea green eyes of his lover. “I just might kiss you,” he whispered and Eduard laughed lightly.
“No, no, not you sir,” he said in the phone, shaking his head. “I’ll be sure to get some paperwork done while he’s here. Thank you. Yes, of course, thank you.”
“No seriously,” Nikolaj said, wrapping his dripping arms around Eduard’s waist. “I really might, just keep speaking.”
“Of course,” Eduard moved slightly, dropping his phone on the grass next to him. “My bosses are going to think something inappropriate is going on.”
He laughed, moving back slightly, dragging a fully clothed Eduard with him. “Well let’s not disappoint them then,” he said as the other flailed in a desperate, but ultimately futile attempt to not fall in.
“Taani!”
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Taani = Denmark in Estonian.
Nikke = ancient Scandinavia/Danish water spirit. Is a shapeshift. Often male. Lures people to water.
Tanska = Denmark in Finnish.
Maa = estonian. Land/ground/earth. I feel like at the time he wouldn't take a human name, instead just go by Estonian words.
Oled liiga väsinud = you are tired, or again, should, because google translate is as reliable as politicians.
Last bit last, nikolaj’s thing about tino’s language not being as melodic, just him thinking that because he’s gotten used to hearing it so often while not having heard estonian a lot. personally the same happened to me after a while with french. so pretty at first, now i don’t blink when i hear it.
#aph denmark#aph estonia#hws denmark#hws estonia#hetalia fanfiction#denest#ii. character;; aph denmark#ii. character;; aph estonia#v. pairing;; denest#iii. story;; mine#iii. story;; complete#iii. story;; one shot#vi. ooc;; memento's fictober 2k19#vii. story;; fictober 2k19
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someone said to me that Puljujärvi should be playing in KHL instead of Kärpät, because “KHL is more superior”.
boy, I watch KHL enough to know best Russian players can be found in like two teams and most of the time the league’s top scorers are made out of foreigners, meanwhile rest of the Russians could never even play in Liiga. so, I’m not entirely sure would KHL players give that much competition to him. I mean, Eeli Tolvanen dominated that shit, but now he is stuck in Milwaukee.
and fun fact, I counted that out of the current 38 NHL-Finns 27 played Liiga before coming overseas, and out of 36 NHL-Russians 18 played KHL. (no Ovechkin does not count, because it was not KHL when he left.)
in CHL Grenoble may not be anything, but the moment Group E got SC Bern and Skellefteå drawn to it, I may have peed myself a little bit. because those two, ARE QUITE THE COMPETITION.
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Welcome Sri Lanka!
Saabusime imelisele Sri Lankale pühapäeva hilisõhtul. Olime üpris väsinud ja Siim tellis Pickme (sama mis Eestis Uber või Taksify) kaudu takso - maksis 1,4€. Äpp näitas 0,8 - 2€ aga meie taksojuht “eksis” ära. No ikka võib juhtuda. Jõudsime ööbimisse täpselt 00.00, milline maagiline numbrikombinatsioon.
Elamine oli väga tagasihoidlik, kuna meil oli vaja lihtsalt üks öö ära tudida, siis ei olnud väga vahet. Toas puudus konditsioneer, ainult tiivik ning koridori peale ühine vannituba. Meie õnneks oli see meie toa vastas ja kedagi peale meid ei olnud seal. Jeiii :) Maksis 12€ koos hommikusöögiga, mis muidugi väga gurmee polnud. Üks praemuna, 2 röstsaia, puuviljad (natuke ananassi ja 2 banaani) + tee/kohv.
Kõhud täis otsustasime, et kõnnime jala rongijaama (~400-500 meetrit). Kohale jõudes olime üpris higised, sest siin on tõesti väga, väga palav. Ausalt ei liialda. Meil oli vaja sõita Colombosse (pealinn) ja sealt rongiga edasi Bentotasse (seal pidi Sri Lanka kõige ilusam rand olema). Rong sõitis pealinna tunnike ja maksis 0,20€. (Vahemaa 30km).
Rongijaama jõudes tabas mind kerge ehmatus. Ma lootsin, et rongijaamad on midagi sellist nagu Tais (puhtad, ilusad, saad kuskilt head kohvi kaasa haarata ja mõnusalt istuda). See vaatepilt oli totaalselt vastupidine. Ma pole elus nii räpast rongijaama näinud. Otsustasime, et teeme kerge eine, kuna kõht andis tunda, et võiks juba midagi ampsata. Selgus, et rongijaama läheduses ei ole sobivat toidukohta (loe: Heleni nõuetele vastavat). Kui Siim isegi mapsist miskit leidis, osutus see liiga kaugeks, et oma seljakottidega rännata. Lihtsalt selle palavusega ei jaksanud.
Asi selge, tuleb vaadata rongijaama kahest pakutavast toidukohast välja see parim. Kaua aega sellega ei läinud, kuna mõlemad kohad nägid samasugused välja ja pakkudes sama toitu. Potsatasime ühte kohta maha. Valikus oli riis kana või lihaga ja erinevad saiakesed (soolased/magusad). Ning minu õnneks erinevad küpsised. Siim julge mehena võttis kaks erinevat saiakest, mille sisu koostist ta ei suutnud tuvastada. Õnneks tema kõht võttis need tundmatud koostisained sõbralikult vastu :)
Nüüd oli aeg minul tualett üles otsida. Eemalt nägin, et sildil on kirjas “foreigner” ehk siis välismaalastele. Ma mõtlesin kohe, et juhhei saab ikka normaalsesse tualetti. Kohale jõudes oli uks tabalukuga kinni, mis tähendas, et tuli külastada kohalike wc-d. Mõtlesin, et mis seal ikka, olen ju varem sarnastes tingimustes käinud, kui hull see nüüd ikka olla saab. WC-le lähenedes mõistsin juba aroomist, et asi on ikka päris pahasti. Ma olen varem käinud väga koledates wc-des (näiteks Indias), aga see oli hoopis ülimlevel. Inimesed tegid oma hädasid nii, et nende wc uksed olid lahti. Enda kabiini sisse astudes sain aru miks, sest uksed ei käi lukku vaid vajuvad lahti. Hoidsin ühe käega ust kinni ja tuli kuidagi nii hakkama saad. Tualettpaberist ja kätepesuvahendist võis ainult unistada. Õnneks ma eelnevalt targa tüdrukuna aimasin, et paberit pole ja võtsin kaasa. Käsi pesta polnud võimalik, sest kraan liikus ja mingi väike nire tuli torust. Muidugi kraani kõrval oli suur kauss, kus sai ka vett võtta. Seda ilmselt pidi kasutama wc poti jaoks, sest vett sealt ei tulnud. Terve põrand ujus veest ja see hais mis seal oli - oii see oli kohutav. Teised turistid krimpsutasid nina ja püüdsid kuidagi selle üle elada. Nii ka mina.
Inimesed seisid uksest väljas, sest ruumi rohkem vagunites polnud. Õnneks see ei olnud meie rong :)
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A New Euro League?
In today's hockey world where players change teams and leagues as often as they change their underwear, it was shocking when the Russian billionaires gathered together to form a new Russian league that was built on the previous Russian SuperLeague's founding. To this day, the KHL is still evolving and changing as time progresses, but they're holding strong as time marches on. Of course, there's the Swedish Elite League, the Finnish Liiga, the Danish Metal Liagen, the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, and the Czech Extraliga, but there's a vast section of eastern Europe that seems to be underrepresented when it comes to their hockey elite. An announcement today may change that.
I was scanning Twitter when one of the best accounts on that social media platform concerning eastern European and Russian hockey had posted a rather interesting tweet.
TASS: Hockey federations of Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine & Poland considering an establishment of a joint league. A working group has been established. #HockeyTwitter
— vorky (@vorkywh24) January 5, 2019
While it seems this is in the very early stages of even being a remote possibility, the fact that Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine, and Poland are discussing their own league is an exciting possibility when it comes to strengthening hockey in those nations and on the international stage. Remember how I stated a few days ago about how upsets of the hockey superpowers at international tournaments breeds hope and promise in the underdog nations? While I can't say this is directly related to that premise, this creation of a new European league will certainly help these six nations foster growth and interest in hockey within their borders.
Belarus is a rather interesting country to be speaking with the other five countries after the KHL had passed a ruling that turned Belorussian-born players from being considered as foreign players to no longer falling under the foreign player rule. With Dinamo Minsk playing as part of the KHL, they would be able to sign more foreign-born players without having to worry about their Belorussian players any longer. This seems that it would benefit the Minsk-based KHL team in a big way as well as promoting other KHL teams to consider Belorussian players.
However, the damage may already have been done. In ten KHL seasons, Dinamo Minsk has missed the KHL Gagarin Cup Playoffs six times and are on pace to miss for a seventh time in eleven seasons this year. In the four years they did qualify, they lost in the quarterfinal series each time, winning just five games in those four appearances.
Needless to say, having Minsk possibly be one of the founding clubs in this new eastern European league would provide the league with immediate credibility if Dinamo Minsk was considering this option.
Latvia is the other interesting case as they too have a KHL team currently playing. Dinamo Riga is currently in ninth-place in the KHL's Western Conference, 14 points ahead of tenth-place Minsk. They're tied with eighth-place Vityaz in points, but sit lower due to having less wins, and are currently three-points behind seventh-place HC Sochi. They're in the hunt for a playoff spot, but they're right on the edge of missing the playoffs again.
I say "again" because Riga hasn't been to the playoffs in four seasons, and has only made the playoffs in five of their ten seasons of play in the KHL. In those five appearances, they've advanced to the conference semifinals twice, so comparatively to the Minsk team they've had more success, but it seems the Latvian team may be in for the same fate as the Belorussian squad this season in missing the playoffs again.
Adding a second KHL team, if Dinamo Riga was approached, would mean there were two already-established teams that could provide legitimacy and competition in this newly-formed league. Riga and Minsk would also be instant competition for one another so there wasn't one "superteam" that dominated the rest of the league. Granted, there would be two potential "superteams", but I'd assume that there would be a handful of players from each team that may jump to another KHL team to remain at that level of play.
The interesting thing about this league is that there may be more KHL teams who would follow these two teams out if they chose to join this new league. HC Slovan located in Bratislava, Slovakia has struggled for years in the KHL both with wins on the ice and financially, and this could be a league they may want to jump to if they want to cut costs while remaining in a competitive league.
Since jumping to the KHL six seasons ago, they've qualified for the playoffs only twice and were swept in the quarterfinals on both occasions. In their seventh season this year, they are dead last in the Western Conference, 17 points back of Vityaz, and will certainly miss the playoffs for the third straight year.
Of course, this is all just speculation in how this new league could get up off the ground with some legitimacy. As of right now, there are simply discussions in trying to get this off the ground, so I prefer a more broad scope when looking at this possibility.
Belarus and Latvia are often also-rans at international tournaments. They've produced a handful of notable players - the Kostisyn brothers for Belarus and Sandis Ozolinsh for Latvia, for example - but they have yet to show enough talent to remain on the international stage for any sustained period of time. They appear and re-reappear at the World Junior Championship, they show up on at the World Championships, and rise to the occasion for the Olympics occasionally, but they aren't a perennial attendee at any of those tournaments. Poland and Ukraine make even fewer appearances while Estonia and Lithuania have never played at the IIHF top tournaments in their histories.
Introducing a league into this area of the world among these six countries will do for them what the Swiss League has done for Swiss hockey and the DEL has done for Germany and the Metal Ligaen has done for Denmark. All of those countries make more appearances at the highest level of IIHF competitions in today's game thanks to their investment in and building of their national leagues. The correlation is clearly there as the Swiss, Germans, and Danes continually get better every time we see them, and this can and should happen in all of Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine, and Poland if they can get this league off the ground.
Again, it won't happen overnight. We might be talking about decades before a country like Latvia, who may be the furthest ahead in their development currently, becomes a fixture at IIHF top-level tournaments. Getting a country like Estonia or Lithuania to even one top-level tournament will be a testament to the effort and work that went into this league, but it also serves to prove that starting high-level hockey leagues in these developing countries works.
I'm hopeful the powers-that-be in these discussions from these six countries can find a way to make this happen. This is an exciting development when it comes to making the game stronger across the planet, and I want to see this league take flight. I'm hopeful they won't rush to put a product on the ice just to say "we did it!", but I am hopeful that with smart planning, a clear vision of where they want to go, and some solid initial investment that this new proposed league can elevate the players in those countries to new hopes and dreams that include beating Russia and Canada on the international stage.
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
from Sports News http://hockey-blog-in-canada.blogspot.com/2019/01/a-new-euro-league.html
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11 new super-links, which will "tear" the KHL. And none of CSKA
The off-season is interesting not only for the multiple transitions of hockey players, but also for new combinations that arise as a result of this migration. Zinetula Bilyaletdinov decided not to touch the champion's team, keeping the three Sekach-Lander-Azevedu and Zaripov-Tkachev-Lander. In "Salavat Yulaev" a small cosmetic repair: Nikolai Tsulygin changed the places of Anton Burdasov and Linus Umark, but the revolution in Ufa does not smell. While there is no idea what the new CSKA will be: not only that the team of Igor Nikitin has not conducted a single test match, so on the striker Sergei Shumakov can not count. In the rest, the first friendly matches became a place of presentation of new super-links.
Starry newcomers to the KHL clubs. What they have come and what is expected of them
In the "Dynamo" Shipachov will score more points than in the SKA.
Szabolich - Mile - Kaylof (Torpedo)
At once two links are selected in Nizhny Novgorod, claiming the title of percussion. And one thing is purely Russian, and the other is entirely legionary. Despite the fact that Varnakov - Galuzin - Parshin for health began the offseason, we will allocate foreigners. All three for David Nemirovsky brought agent Ales Pilko. And with Robert Sabolic, the new head coach of Torpedo worked in Vladivostok. It seemed that the success of the Slovenian striker was associated with the identity of the shell-carrier of the shells - Vladimir Tkachev, but from the Swedish championship he was issued new partners who had recently become champions from Veksjo. American Andy Mile, as expected center, is more focused on podgrysh, but the Canadian Andrew Kaylof is on schedule, "goal for the game." Nemirovsky already admitted that this link impressed him from the first training.
Howden - Bennett - Pulkkinen (Dynamo Mn)
Of all the field legionaries in Minsk, there was one Quinton Howden. Which is not surprising, because he was the best sniper of Dynamo last season. Now the Canadians were picked up by new partners. Yes, such that it seemed to tear the rivals from the first control matches. That only there is Finn Teemu Pulkkinen, to whom many top clubs of the KHL licked, but could not agree on the redemption of rights. Pulkkinen was prudently drafted by "zubrs" in the distant 2009. Not every year on the market comes a young European, scoring in the AHL under three dozen pucks. To Teemu not bored in the capital of Belarus, together with him from the "Chicago Wolves" was issued by Bo Bennett. Despite the fact that the rights to the Finn belonged to Vegas, and the Canadian was a player of St. Louis, in a joint farm club they often came out in one link. So far, however, the old connections do not work. Both friendly matches wards Gordy Dwyer lost, and the shock link with grief in half organized just one puck. And then her author was another star newcomer - defender Patrick Wirkosh. First of all, it's embarrassing that for European hockey Bennett is too straightforward center.
Khokhlachov - Zubov - Filatov ("Spartacus")
The realities of the KHL are such that only two or three clubs can afford a shock Russian link. Mostly with the stars on the form. The rest are forced to take on the leading roles of foreigners. "Spartacus" on the general background looks like a rare exception. While Мартиньш Карсумс makes the visa, Vadim Epanchintsev plays a link from forwards, which at different times gave high hopes and tried to make their way to the NHL. Ilya Zubov and Nikita Filatov were largely hampered by problems with discipline, and Alexander Khokhlachov was taken hostage by a powerful Boston squad. On paper, this link and in 2018 looks extremely curious: Zubov is an experienced dispatcher, Filatov is the owner of some of the best hands in the KHL, and Khokhlachov, who escaped from the St. Petersburg vice, looks like an ideal tip. However, the susceptibility of potential leaders to a change of mood can ruin all of Epanchintsev's plans.
Juntila - Peltola - Bertrand ("Siberia")
Kirill Fastovsky admitted that the acquisition of the bundle of Juntila - Bertrand cost Siberia much cheaper than the hypothetical extension of contracts with a couple of Bergstrom - Zakrisson. It is therefore more curious to compare the statistics of the new heroes of Novosibirsk with the Swedes, who went to different clubs. So far it seems that the genmenager of the Siberians has fished the most creative foreign players since the days of Yori Lehter. The newly announced champions of Finland in the "Kärpyat" made the game in the first test match, elegantly tearing Minsk "Dynamo". Julius Juntila, recognized by the MVP of the Finnish playoffs, stands out with his technique, and he is played along by the equally trained Frenchman Charles Bertrand - the best sniper of the Finnish "regular season". The third one is assigned to one of the most respected players of Liiga Yucca Peltola, who in the "Siberia" immediately tried on an assistant badge. It's interesting that against his current partners Peltola recently played in the final for "Tappara".
"I do not know anyone who ate frogs." The Frenchman moved to Siberia for the sake of hockey
Charles Bertrand plays hockey and destroys stereotypes.
Nyuttinen - Ruohomaa - Puustinen (Neftekhimik)
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meet the new guy
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TPS Pride Night jerseys are coming!
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Oliver Larsen is fucking slick.
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