The most successful goalkeeper of the Finnish women’s national ice hockey team Noora Rädyn the year has been eventful.
At the beginning of the year, Räty blocked pucks in the Women’s League with HPK’s goal. In May, a contract with the Metropolitan Riveters of the North American PHF league was announced, but in June, Räty and the other league players suddenly lost their jobs overnight when the league was sold.
There was no place for the Finnish goalkeeper in the new PWHL series, even though he was still invited to Minnesota for the camp.
– I am not playing there for political reasons. I understand that they missed the fact that I jumped to a competitor in the spring. I knew it could happen. It didn’t leave a bad taste for me, I understand the reasons and I hope that the league will be successful, Räty tells Urheilu by phone.
Räty was previously a member of the board of PWHPA, the women’s players’ association. The goal of the association was to create a professional series for women in North America. However, Räty left his place when he signed a contract with a rival league club, which he believes cost him a spot in the PWHL.
– Things happen in life and everything has a purpose. Then I was asked here to become a goalkeeper coach. Maybe it was meant that I didn’t make the PWHL so I could make it here.
– But let’s say that fortunately I have a stress-free nature. If you couldn’t change, your mental health would be tested after everything that has happened this year: for one year more than for another in a lifetime.
Räty is now answering the phone from China’s Harbin, which also served as the venue for the 2008 Women’s Ice Hockey World Championships.
China called
Räty is in Harbin because one of the mini-tournaments of the Chinese women’s main series is played in the city.
In November, Räty signed a contract with the Chinese Shenzhen Kunlun Red Star. The club is already familiar to the Finnish goalkeeper from the 2017–2022 seasons, when it played first in the Canadian and later in the Russian league.
However, then Räty was playing.
– They would have asked to play even now, but foreign options are not allowed in the series.
You have to ask: does this mean that your own playing career is behind you now?
Räty laughs.
– I’m not making big announcements about quitting. I don’t close any doors in any direction. If there is a really interesting offer next fall, so what! Who knows, maybe foreign guards will be allowed here too next season, Räty thinks.
However, Räty assures that he is satisfied with his decision to go to China as a coach.
– This is a familiar, professional environment. The club knew about my history with two playing goalkeepers. I definitely wanted to help their Chinese goalkeepers, says Räty.
At the time of the Beijing Winter Olympics, there were numerous human rights problems related to China.
The country has been criticized for using sports as an instrument of soft power. According to Rädy, KRS is the only one of the seven Chinese women’s team series that is privately owned: the other teams are owned by the Chinese state.
Owned by Kunlun Billy Ngoc, the billionaire founder of China Environmental Energy Holdings. The club’s goal is to raise the level of Chinese hockey, and its players form the core of the Chinese national team.
– Our owner is a Chinese energy giant and made his money from there. At the end of the day, I don’t even know where the money in the bank account comes from.
Räty says he is aware of China’s position.
– It’s pointless to start talking about Jesus here. Surely every Finn has bought Made in China goods. I don’t know how the fact that I work here is different from that. In the same way, the state machinery behind is supported, Räty begins.
– I personally think that I’m here to develop hockey, although it shouldn’t be said that you shouldn’t mix politics and hockey. This organization has made so many things possible for me in my life that I owe them a debt of gratitude.
The future is open
However, Räty won’t be enjoying this visit in China for a long time. The season lasts only a couple of months and is played through in four mini-tournaments, two of which are before Christmas and two after Christmas. In between we rest and train, and for Christmas the players and coaches get to go on vacation.
During game weeks, the pace is frenetic: six matches accumulate in eight days. There are seven teams, and each team can have a maximum of five foreign players.
Rädyn and Minttu Tuominen Kunlun is the early favorite in the series, having won all their matches. Räty compares the team’s level to the top team in the Finnish Women’s League, for which there are no decent contenders in the series.
– Not all teams have even those five foreign players. We wondered how to get even seven teams into the series, when you think about how many registered players there are in China. But the series has potential when the Chinese state machinery is behind it. I don’t think the money will run out.
But what does Räty mean in the future?
Spring will probably go to another home in the United States. A wild year has also made me think about other career options besides hockey.
– For 30 years, life has revolved around hockey. In a way, I’ve always waited that when the time came, I could try other things as well. Next year, I would like it to be a little more even.