#finnish hockey league

[innudoggy]

(Scroll down for English)

Sain joululomalla ”hienon” idean tehdä Suomen jääkeikkoliigan joukkueista Dungeons and Dragons -hahmoja. Inspiraation lähteenä käytin sekä nykyisiä että vanhoja joukkuelogoja sekä itse kaupunkeja, joista ne ovat. Alla ovat jo valmiiksi saadut hahmot.

In English:

I had a “great” idea of drawing the teams of the Finnish hockey league as Dungeons and Dragons characters. I used both recent and older logos of the teams as well as the cities themselves a source of inspiration. The already finished characters can be found below.

[uniqrenders]

[theflyingfeeling]

the love of my entire life

[werewolfbneimitzvah]

Got an espn notification and the preview that flashed across the top of my screen said something like "the shoe-ins for team canada-" and i thought to myself "it starts in 2 days, don't we already know the rosters???" before i expanded the notif and saw it said something about the 4 nations tournament. For a moment i lived in a world where the only national teams were the women's teams.

[wallpapers4screen]

[discolesbo]

Sad news

At the age of 29, Finland's first openly gay ice hockey player in the Finnish Elite League, Janne Puhakka, has been killed. The suspected killer is Puhakka's Norwegian partner, vet Rolf Nordmo.

Puhakka is a great inspiration for coming out of the closet in the hockey scene, where it is difficult to be openly gay. In 2022, he won the Helsinki Pride "Role Model of the Year" award.

[pumpkinrootbeer]

m-m ..mikko factz pl- ease .. ?

Well yes!

As mentioned, Mikko can play piano— at least to some extent. Susanna posted an IG story where he's playing with his sister, it's SO cute

Speaking of sisters, Mikko has an older and a younger sister. Noora is three years younger than him and Laura is four years older. Mikko being a middle child to two sisters honestly explains SO much about him. tbh.

One of the Avs equipment managers helped Mikko set up a fantasy football team when he was a rookie with the Avs

Him and Georgie train together in the off season, and Georgie played on the same team with him in Finland! (TPS I believe)

Mikko used to be afraid/intimidated by Nate, so when he would have ideas about what they could do on the ice together he would make Gabe text them to Nate for him

He has a dog named Bobby (pretty sure that's his name) that he is just SO cute with

#bobbynation

Mikko and Gabe used to take off each others skates. Whoever scored more goals in practice got their skates taken off, normal intricate hockey rituals.

Mikko broke his foot in game 6 against San Jose in 2019, hid it, and then went on to play game 7 with his broken foot. I'm pretty sure there had to be an investigation into the Avs as to how they let a player play on a broken foot... 😭 Clown team

His dad is a construction worker

One of his pregame rituals is that he shoots two picks from center ice, one to each end of the rink. He would hit Lehky in the foot a lot, apparently

The year he was a rookie, Mikko was the only rookie so he had to pay for the rookie dinner on his own. It was like 8000 dollars. They bullied that poor Finnish boy 😭

Speaking of bullying, they made 18 yr old Mikko make fun of Jarome Iginla for being bald and having a fivehead. The next day Mikko apologized to him, said they made him make the joke and "Landy would have beat my ass if I didn't say it." dkkfkfkfjd

Mikko sleep talks

Him and Cale lived in the same apartment building for a bit and Mikko would carpool with Cale. He's said Cale is a very scary driver

Everyone knows about how he bullied Lehky's dad (cunt) but Bednar actually came out in defense of Mikko when asked about it! Said something like "You don't comment about what happens off the ice, that's crossing a line"

Him and his girlfriend are really stinkin cute

I could make a whole post about them dkfkfkkf

He owns part of a Finnish hot tub company which is possibly the most Mikko fact on this list

He played a lot of sports as a child, one of which being soccer

He's a highschool dropout (well, the Finnish equivalent of highschool. Couldn't finish his last year and play hockey)

Mikko has been fined twice ✌️ for embellishing but he got one of those fines revoked by writing an 8 point letter arguing that he had just fallen and wasn't embellishing. He had Avs teammates read over it for him and they said he could go to law school after hockey. Himbo allegations DEFEATED

Mikko is a little afraid of heights

He has played with #96 as his number since he was a kid. (In soccer because they weren't allowed to pick their numbers in his peewee league) The moment he could pick his number he went with 96 and he is very abnormal about his number. The Sidney Crosby effect.

Speaking of the number, Mikko actually didn't have the watch he gave to Roslovic on hand! The wait-list for the specific Rolex is years long. A Finnish silversmith heard about Mikko wanting his number and the kind of watch Roslovic wanted, and offered to give it to him. Mikko flew the guy out and it was a really cute moment. Mikko was also given a custom made necklace, and he went and signed every one of his jerseys the Canes had in their store for the silversmith to take back to Finland as a thank you.

Mikko texted Nate congratulations on Nate's thousand point

Mikko has kissed Cale's helmet and called him cute. Which I think is important and a good fact to give.

He used to not be able to tie a tie and had to get his Mom to pre tie ones for him to wear. There's also a video where Gabe is tieing his tie. Intricate hockey rituals

Him and his girlfriend met on a boat and there's a very cute video where they're dancing together on said boat

These are just ones I can think of off the top of my head! if anyone has some more please feel free to add 🙂‍↕️ I know I'm definitely missing cute Finnish facts that I haven't encountered yet dkkdkf

[lukesvangelista]

KJ RUN DOWN

for my lovely friend @cupidbedsy (and anyone else who wants to know more about kj)!

- born october 18, 2002 (22)

- grew up in port moody, british columbia

- he is half finnish! his mom was born in finland, but moved to canada at a really young age. his middle name is kalevi, which translates to “ancestor of the finns.”

- grew up a canucks fan, but cites johnny gaudreau as his inspiration → "i was obviously a canucks fan, but there was one playoff series where i was just loving it because johnny was dominating, and they beat the canucks. i was like, 'man, this guy’s unreal.’.”

- “gaudreau was small in comparison to most nhl players. generously, he was listed at 5 feet 9, 165 pounds. johnson, who is 6-0, 180, grew up as the smallest player on the ice before he turned 14 and shot up “about three inches a year” over four years.”

- “before those growth spurts, johnson firmly believed he'd be gaudreau’s size. it created a chip on his shoulder and fueled his drive.”

- "johnny was obviously a great player, but kent had a real connection to john because he was really small," jay johnson said. "he was, by far, the smallest kid on his teams. he was good when he was little, so he made the bantam aaa team when he was only 90 pounds, when the average kid might’ve been 120 or 130, and some way bigger. so, he had that connection to johnny. he just loved how he played hockey, and he told me at some point, ‘if johnny gaudreau can do it, i can do it, too.’ "

- “you know how it is with small guys,” kent johnson said. “it”s like, ‘can they do it in the playoffs?�� obviously, i hated hearing that, and i loved seeing johnny prove those guys wrong. so, i would study his game a lot. there’s some little things i do now that i feel like i got first from watching him.”

- he played junior hockey for the trail smoke eaters of the bchl. in the 2018-2019 season, he scored 20 goals and had a total of 26 points in 57 games. in the 2019-2020 season, he won the brett hull trophy as the league’s leading scorer with 41 goals and 60 assists in 52 games!

- he was named bchl first-team all-star, bchl most sportsmanlike player, bchl mvp, and canadian junior hockey league forward of the year!

- played college hockey at the university of michigan for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 seasons

- drafted 5th overall by the columbus blue jackets in 2021

- scored the golden goal for canada in the wjc gold medal game to beat finland

- signed an entry-level contract with the blue jackets on april 8, 2022

- as of december 9, 2024, he has 14 points (8 goals, 6 assists) in 13 games played during the 2024-2025 season

- he is on pace for 94 points this season

[grantmentis]

Women’s hockey roundup: 10/31-12/9

As per usual, this covers the PWHL but also all professional women’s hockey and some international news with some added focus on international leagues. It does not cover college due to time constraints but happy to point to any resources if needed. 100% confirmed news only

Also did something a bit different this month and tried to order points from what I think is most newsworthy at the top but it’s not a super strict order

PWHL (USA/Canada):

I covered a lot in my primer in terms of rule changes and broadcasting and neutral site games, so this will focus on everything else for the most part:

Official rosters are in. All rosters available here (toggle drop down menu to change teams)

The Sirens signed Kayla Vespa and Olivia Knowles after initial roster announcements

Maggie Flaherty (Minnesota Frost) was suspended two games for her hit on Alina Müller

Taylor House signs a SPA with the Ottawa Charge

Current players on injured reserve: Jill Saulnier (NY), Ella Shelton (NY), Dominika Lásková (MTL), Kennedy Marchand (MTL), Hadley Hartmetz (BOS), Natalie Spooner (TOR), Megan Carter (TOR.), Alexa Vasko (Ottawa Charge)

The PWHL is testing out other streaming platforms in the United States, including Twitch. If you are having trouble finding a PWHL stream outside of Canada, make sure to check the PWHL social media for updates!

SDHL (Sweden)

SDHL leading point leader Elisa Holopainen extends her contract with Frölunda. She joins Linnéa Pettersson Dove who extended for two seasons and Sofie Lundin (who’s sixth in the SDHL in points) and Ella Hellman who extended for one season. This waves of signings comes off of Frölundas two year rise since their inception and demonstration of significant financial investment to individual players and the team

Haruka Toko, team Japan star and last years top scorer for Linköping, has season ending surgery due to a cruciate ligament injury

Peter Elander, prominent former Swedish hockey player, former Swedens women’s national team coach, and most recently an assistant coach for Ohio states women’s hockey program, has accepted a job as coach for SDE

Emma Nordin (Luleå) became the all time points leader in the SDHL, surpassing Denise Altmann's record from 2020. Congratulations to Emma, who has 566 points in 461 games

Sarah Bujold, who played with Montreal victoire last year, signed with luleå

Alexa Gruschow, who played with the New York sirens last year, signed with MoDo hockey

Savannah Norcross, who played with the New York sirens last year, signed with luleå

Maude Poulin labelle, who played with the Toronto sceptres last year, signed with Brynäs

Audrey-Anne Veillette, who was with the Ottawa Charge last year but did not play due to injury, joins HV71

Sanni Vanhanen of Brynäs and the Finnish national team committed to play with Ohio state university next season

Czech goaltender Blanka Skodova joined Skellefteå

Standings updates: Frölunda sits in first place, but Luleå and MoDo are extremly close behind. HV71 and Leksands are in the relegation spots right now, with Linköping pretty comfortably ahead of them

Top Players/Players i want to highlight: -Stephanie Neatby (Fröluda), Frida Axell (Luleå), and Kassidy Sauvé (SDE) are all neck and neck for best goaltending stats -Elisa Holopainen (Frölunda) continues to lead in scoring with 31 points, with Petra Nieminen (Luleå) and Hanna Olson (Frölunda) close behind at 25 -Lovisa Engström (MoDo) has been the most impactful U18 player, scoring 8 goals thus far in her age 17 season and rookie year

AuroraLiiga (Finland)

Ella Välikangas rejoins HPK. She played there last season and had 23 points in 32 games played

Czech forward Anna Kalová of RoKi is out for the season.

Mentioned in my last roundup, but Saija Tarkki officially had her jersey! Congratulations to Saija on this incredible accomplishment

Six teams have clinched a playoff spot: Kiekko-Espoo, HPK, HIFK, Team Kuortane, Ilves, and Karpa. TPS, Kärpät, and Roki are left to battle out the remaining spots and avoid relegation. Kiekko-Espoo has a comfortable first place lead

RoKi got their first win of the season!

Top players: - After a bit of a down year last year, Salla Sivula (KalPa) has a .944 save percentage while facing the highest workload of any goalie in the league, and has four shutouts on the year. Sivula has been in the league since 2018-2019 and is currently on pace to set career highs on her new team - 21 year old Lisette Täks continues to make her case for the national team after playing at an elite level in auroraliiga the past two years. She has 46 points in 24 games at Kiekko-Espoo -18 year old Czech forward Barbora Juříčková is having a breakout year with HPK, already doubling her point total from last year. in 23 games this year, she has 40 points -Emma Nuutinen, a league veteran, is your current points leader with 49 points in 22 games for Kiekko-Espoo

SWHL A/ Postfinance Women's League (Switzerland)

The league is showing a wonderful increase in attendance, with a new record attendance set in a game between EV Zug and HC Davos Ladies on November 17th: 2,163 !

ALL WOMEN'S LEAGUES GAMES ARE ONCE AGAIN FREE TO STREAM FOR ALL HERE: https://www.red.sport/en-ch/page/womens-league this includes full replays, highlights, and interviews!!!

New playoff format: the 1st and 2nd placed tams will get a by to the semi-finals. The 3rd to 6th placed teams will play in best of three series to determine who goes on to the semi-finals. The bottom two teams in the table will have a best-of-five playoff series to determine relegation. The semi-finals and the final will be best of five, and there will be a one game bronze medal match.

Coach Johanna Ikonen of HC Davos Ladies signs an extension through 2026/2027. The former Finnish National Team Player is in her first year coaching the HC Davos Ladies, but has a wealth of experience coaching women's pro teams. HC Davos Ladies are currently in second place, a major improvement from last year when they were in fifth place with a negative goal differential.

Swiss hockey hall of famer Evelina Raselli, who captained Team Switzerland, won five swhl championships, and won an Isobel Cup with the Boston Pride, accepted a assistant coaching role for HC Davos starting in January

Ivana Wey (EVZ), a up and coming star for the Swiss national team, committed to Northeastern University

Naemi Herzig (EVZ) has committed to College of the Holy Cross

New Injuries: Annika Fazokas (EVZ) it out with a concussion

SC Bern Frauen is in first with HC Davos right behind. EVZ Women's Team could also make a run for one of the first two spots and have a game in hand. SC Langenthal Damen and Neuchâtel Hockey Academy Dames will almost certainly be relegated

Current top performers: - Elizabeth Lang (HC Davos Ladies) rookie out of University of Calgary with a league leading 37 points in 18 games -Estelle Duvin (SC Bern Fraun), who's been one of the MVP's of the SWHL the past few years, has 34 points in 18 games -Michaela Pejzlová (HC Ambrì-Piotta), a czech national team player in her first SWHL season after many years as a MVP caliber player in Auroraliiga, has 31 goals in 17 games

EWHL (Central/Eastern Europe)

Aisulu Almaty, HK PSRZ Bratislava, SKN Sabres St.Pölten are all extremely close in points in the top three spots. EV Bozen Eagles and KSV Neuberg Highlanders sit close behind them. Anyone in the top five spots could finish first.

Top players -Kristin Della Rovere (EV Bozen Eagles) is your top scorer with 33 points in 14 games -Latvian goaltender Kristiana Apsite for DEC Salzburg Eagles has been the most impressive goaltender to me. While goalies like Seeley have better numbers, Apsite's workload has been insane. Despite being on the worst team and facing the second most shots in the league (about 38 shots a game) she is putting up respectable numbers with a .911 save percentage -Slovak forward Ema Tothova is still the best u18 player, just as she was last year. The 17 year old has 18 points in 13 games. She is also playing in a boy's-majority u18 league at the same time

International news:

The 6-Nations event in Tampere begins December 11 to 15th, with Switzerland, Finland, Czechia, Sweden, USA, and Canada. The tournament rosters are made up primarily of the younger talent and ncaa players in each national teams pipelines. Most pro leagues are on break as a result

The u18 tournaments will be coming up in January! I will post more about them later, but if you would like to read more about them check out the IIHF page

[fossore]

Mikael Granlund got named to the Four Nations Tournament roster for Finland so the Sharks radio broadcast did a nice segment on him and his impact on the team during the first intermission of the 5Dec24 game against the Lightning. Includes interviews with Sturm and Warsofsky, as well as commentary from Demers.

Transcript below the cut (very lightly edited for clarity)

Dan Rusanowsky: Mikael Granlund, who has 10 goals and 19 assists, 29 points in 26 games, having a fabulous season, was just named to the Four Nations roster for Team Finland. Everybody expected that but when it happened it was a huge kind of roar of applause inside that Sharks dressing room I'm sure. Nico Sturm was talking about Mikael Granlund's contributions to the team this year and I think you'll be impressed by what he said.

Nico Sturm: He's our most important player. Y'know, obviously with Cooch having been out for a while too, I think he's kind of filled the big leadership role as well and usually addresses y'know the team kind of before we get out on the ice and stuff so. And I personally y'know have tried to take time with him before skates, before practices, and working on my soft skills, working on my hands with him. I try to pull him aside and work with him, y'know, 10 minutes before practice, because I think he's one of the best at, y'know, having the puck on his stick and just kind of cradling the puck and how soft he grips his stick, I try, y'know, even at my—at this point in my career—I still look for players where I think I can learn a thing or two from them and Granny's definitely one of those kind of players

Rusanowsky: Now we know that Nico Sturm is one of the more dedicated workers on the Sharks roster, but that's really impressive. You think about it, Mikael Granlund not only influencing young players like Celebrini and like Will Smith, Eklund, and Zetterlund, but he's influencing a seven-year NHL veteran who's already won a Stanley Cup.

Jason Demers: I mean yeah, and that's just the way he carries himself day to day and I mean Finland's a—he is a very famous Finnish player in this league, and he's done a lot of great things in his career, and he continues to do it at such a, y'know he's not—I don't consider him super old and in the NHL right now, he's actually old in today's NHL but he seems to be getting better, taking care of himself, I mean he looks like he's in just, fantastic shape, and does all the right things and he's really a quiet quiet leader which I love to see.

Rusanowsky: Thirty-two years of age, Mikael Granlund in his 13th year as a professional in North America and in the NHL, going to the Four Nations Tournament, and here's the value that he presents to the coaching staff. Here's Ryan Warsofsky.

Ryan Warsofsky: The leadership he's done for our group and our younger players, the way he competes every single day whether that's a practice day or a game day, he's a true pro. He's obviously done a really good job here on the stat sheet but there's so much more than his game that has helped us where we've started to win some games 'cause of him. Again, he's just a guy that the way he works, the way he competes for 50/50 pucks, wins races, smart smart hockey player. He's a really good player and I'm not surprised.

Rusanowsky: Some thoughts on Mikael Granlund who's going to represent his country at the Four Nations tournament in February.

[uniqrenders]

[klickklackwack]

Me two weeks ago: ”I’ll just watch couple NHL games for old times sake.. What is the worst thing that could happen? Not a chance I will fall in love with the game again after few years away…”

Me atm at any given time: ”Oh what was the news about player x/y/z, must find out more… Should I put on a game on to the backround while I cook? What games did i miss? How much are tickets to my local finnish league games, should I go? Should I stay up till 2AM to watch this NHL game live? I wanna yap about hockey so bad…..”

[wallpapers4screen]

[auroraliiga]

Sanni Hakala and her wife, Danny Stone

Finnish national team player and HV71 captain Sanni Hakala was severely injured in a collision with a goal post during a Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) match last month. The accident left her paralyzed from the chest down, ending her ice hockey playing career and presenting many new challenges.

If you are able, please donate to the GoFundMe established in her name to help cover her extensive medical expenses. The fundraiser is in Swedish krona (kr or SEK), which is easily converted to US dollars (US$1 ≈ 10kr) or Euros (1€ ≈ 11kr).

[ered]

in case you've missed it, and I'm assuming most of you have, we're having a presidential election here in Finland. First round is currently going on, so I thought I'd give you a quick run down of our candidates!

(in alphabetical order, party in parentheses)

Mika Aaltola (independent): Has mainly worked in academia and apparently has experience in international politics, which is good for the job. I honestly know next to nothing about this dude, but he seems to positively radiate Just Some Guy energy. What would be interesting about him winning: I have no idea. Chances of winning: Ehhh - but it wouldn't be the first time we get a president from outside the daily politics.

Li Andersson (Left Alliance): current leader of the Left Alliance, former Minister of Education. What most people seem to say about her: "she's clearly the best choice, but has no chance of winning so I won't be voting for her." What would be interesting about her winning: first Left Alliance president Chances of winning: Unfortunately slim. Left Alliance is a small party and half of the country still seems to think they're Evil Communists.

Sari Essayah (Christian Democrats): she's also the leader of her party. Most known for being a former racewalker and religious. What would be interesting about her winning: How the hell did it happen??? Chances of winning: zero.

Pekka Haavisto (Green League): Former Minister of the Environment, International Development, and Foreign Affairs (three different terms, not all at once). He was born in 1958 and hasn't done much beyond politics. He's been in the presidential race twice already too, both times losing to our current president, Sauli Niinistö. What would be interesting about him winning: first gay president. Chances of winning: he made it to the final round twice already, so maybe third time's a charm? He has been polling first this time around.

Jussi Halla-aho (Finns Party): a prominent rightwing blogger, a Slavic linguist by education, and the current Speaker of the Parliament. He's "immigration critical" in the same vein "gender criticals" tend to be. He's is considered something of an intellectual in the rightwing circles despite having the vibes of an anthropomorphic raisin, and has amassed a cult following - who literally call him Mestari (master, but in Finnish the vibes are more a master of a trade and not some dude who spanks you in the bedroom. What would be interesting about him winning: finding out if I can immigrate to Denmark. Chances of winning: none if I can help it, but like I said, he does have a very solid fanbase.

Hjallis Harkimo (Movement Now): best known for being the owner of an ice-hockey team or something. His real name is Harry and for some reason he has been elected into the parliament twice. I assume it's the famous allure of a "successful businessman" or because he's something of a celebrity? Who knows. What would be interesting about him winning: How did it happen? Chances of winning: slim.

Olli Rehn (Centre Party): Served as the Minister of Economic Affairs for like a year under our most fuck-witted prime minister in recent history. Not much else to say about it. Somehow seems older than Pekka Haavisto tho he's actually younger. What would be interesting about him winning: absolutely nothing. He's so dull it's almost offensive. Chances of winning: who knows? Maybe he'll be a dark horse if all other candidates fall flat.

Alexander Stubb (National Coalition Party): Former Prime Minister, and former Minister of Finance. He's ehhhhhh not the worst possible option, honestly, and is on the more liberal side of the Rich Getting Richer party. What would be interesting about him winning: how will he be different from our current (National Coalition Party) president, I guess Chances of winning: last I checked, he was polling second, so I guess it's a possibility?

Jutta Urpilainen (Social Democratic Party): Former Minister of Finance. Social Democrats are one of the biggest parties we have, but they took a while deciding on who to pick. She's alright. Social Democrats are usually fine, and she'a long term Social Democrat. What would be interesting about her winning: uhh... possibly the first president to have released a Christmas album? Chances of winning: I just don't think she's that popular, to be honest. But she might make it into top three at least, like I said, it's one of the biggest parties behind her.

[princesstillyenna]

I just found your NYR punishment verse and first of all, holy shit. I may have binge read the entire series one after the other. It was such a fascinating take and I’ll admit I don’t know a ton about the Rangers so it was fun getting to know them through your portrayal of them. I kind of desperately want to pick your brain about the goalies especially now that Georgiev is in Colorado. The legacy of Lundqvist, the dynamic between Shesterkin and Georgiev. What was it like that last year in New York? It feels like you alluded to some friction between them and I kind of want to know more. Thank you for sharing your writing I’m gonna go read through some of your other fics now.

OMG NONNIE LOVELY TO MEET YOU!!!!!

<3 thanks for the binge!!! THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT A READER CAN GIVE

There was A LOT of tension. And I can give you some of the backstory...

Sooo back in 2014, Henke was at his PRIME but hockey is a long game, and they knew that eventually they would need someone to replace him, so they draft in the fourth round, an incredible young goaltender from Russia. The plan is, that he'll develop in Russia for a couple of years, and then come and train and develop in New York, and as Henke grows older, the new up and coming goalie will train under him (and Benny obviously) and eventually take over as the starter, and it'll be a beautiful slow transition.

So, two years later, they're like "OK, Igor, time to be done with the KHL" and Igor is like "Nope, because I get paid a LOT here, and also my girlfriend who is a model, is here, and my boyfriend who is also a goaltender, is here... no."

So the rangers start talking to this undrafted goalie in the finnish league. He's pretty good, he's backed up the U20s russian team a couple of times, he'll do. He's a great gap filler, and they'll keep him to back up Hank for a year or so, and then send him down to hartford (AHL)

Except, well, Igor KEEPS saying no to coming over to New York, and this other russian kid? Turns out, he's better than expected? And is developing pretty well, and either Benny Allaire really DOES work magic, or the ghost of goaltenders past watch over the new york rangers or something along those lines, but anyhow, Georgie starts turning into a really good goalie, not a great one, but one that, with time, could be part of a good tandem with Henke. We're also going to note here that his name is Alexandar, but unlike a lot of russian speakers of that name, he doesn't go by Sasha, he prefers to be called Alex. He's REALLY introverted, like, INCREDIBLY introverted (side note, his instagram is the most pathetic thing in the world and if you go and look at it I promise you will want to give him a cuddle)

And for a couple of years, this works, really, really well.

And then Igor (and his boyfriend, and his girlfriend) decide to come over to New York. he's like HI, HERE I AM, THE PRODIGAL SON! I HAVE ARRIVED. And they give him until December to settle in in Hartford, to learn the different rink size, to learn english (something he doesn't actually need to do, despite what he says, watch his interviews when he was IN hartford, he speaks english just fine) and to get used to being in North America

And then, 6 days after his 25th Birthday, they decide to give Igor a try in Madison Square Garden. And just like he'd been utterly incredible in Hartford, he was utterly incredible 

Enter 2020, when covid-19 wasn't the biggest problem faced by the new york rangers management, because that was in fact what was referred to as "the three goalie problem"

They had, all three, Henke, Alex and Igor on the NHL roster, which wasn't the MOST stupid roster move I've ever seen them do, but it's up there. Every night, one would be in net, one would be on the bench and one would be a healthy scratch. Now in case you don't know this, goalies don't tend to do well if they have long periods without playing a game, it takes a special kind of goalie to be the kind of backup who plays 20 games a season... and none of these men are particularly it. Management know they can't keep all three of them, they're all too good to be playing in the AHL, but Henke isn't ready to retire yet, and he's supposed to be a ranger until he retires, and there's no way in hell they want anyone else in the in the league to get their hands on Igor, but also there's the issue that long term, Alex is a better option than Hank, who should be retiring in a couple of years

There's also the issue of personalities, as previously described, Alex is quiet, he prefers to read a book over hanging out with his teammates, and Igor can best be described as... a little shit. Igor slots in with the boys on the team, and particularly the russian speakers, very quickly, in a way that Alex never particularly seemed to. 

Now, the rangers management are bought a little time by two things, the first being that Igor sadly breaks a couple of ribs in a car accident, putting him on the IR for six weeks, the second being that the international pepperami put the entire league on hold. When the league introduced the "unlimited goalies" rule for the rosters taken into the bubble for the bubble playoffs many of us joked that it was purely for the new york rangers because there was no way of knowing who the heck to take. 

At the end of that summer, Hank was the one traded (to the Washington capitals (for whom he never actually ended up playing)). Now, personally my theory is that both Igor and Alex would have rather it was the other traded not Henke. Igor has made no secret of the fact that growing up, his favourite goalie was Henrik, and he was delighted to be drafted by the rangers, specifically because he would get to learn with Henke. Alex on the other hand has worked his ass off to get to where he is, and I can't imagine how it would feel if some smug irritating (I love igor, but he is very smug, and if his smile wasn't so charming, some of his behaviour would be very irritating) upstart turned up and was a lot better at your job was you. This is also the point where it's worth noting that in interviews, Igor consistently refers to Alex as Sasha, something that we know Alex doesn't like. 

Igor and Alex played together for two seasons with Igor as the clear starter, they were, due to some other factors a rather tense two seasons (this is already far far too long, but some time I might write out the whole saga with tony de-angelo, but it's notable, that our quiet, introverted Alex got into a fist fight). Eventually Alex got traded to Colorado where he is playing as the starter, and honestly, it's where he deserves to be, and I hope he is adored there because I have a really really soft spot for Alex.

Igor goes on to play with Halák for a year, which works, fine, and since then, has played with Jonathan Quick, which works TREMENDOUSLY possibly because the pair of them bond over fangirling about Henke.

This got seriously long, but I hope it helped give some context? For sure it should explain why I write Igor and Alex as having a very terse relationship at best, they're a great choice for enemies to lovers imho lolll