A streak of 118 regular season games and 1,940 days in total. A whopping 400 power points and no points only three times in 126 matches.
In Sweden, floorball is watched with a close eye, which was noticed by the representative of Thorengruppen, who recorded these exceptional statistics Veera Kauppi.
– After coming here to play, it has been quite confusing that those points have been in such a large part, Finnish women’s national team captain Kauppi, 26, commented.
About a week ago, a Swedish newspaper Expressen pointed out Kaup’s wild scoring streak, which continued on Sunday, when he scored his team’s fifth goal and added two hits in the regular season match against Malmö, which ended in a 7–2 victory for the Uumå team.
– This came as a complete surprise and I joked then that there will be a lot of pressure in the next game. Now I have managed to continue this production for at least two games, so of course we hope that the same will continue, but it sounds wild, Kauppi describes.
An exceptionally complete season has enabled the captain of the women’s national floorball team to be in top form. Kauppi, who has played 20 matches in this season in the Swedish premier league, is second in the points market with 32+28, ahead of only a teammate Emelie Wibron (31+30).
– Points are important to me and they are expected of me both in the club and national team. I know that I can play good games even without points, but of course they are something that gives an attacker a boost, Kauppi admits.
– I scored a point in all regular season games since the beginning of the first season. There was only one game a couple of years ago where I broke my wrist after the first minute, where I didn’t have time to score, says Kauppi, who played in Sweden in the 2018-2019 season.
Kaup’s twins, who have become a phenomenon
His twin sister I am Kauppi, who plays with Umeå, is recognized in the local store and the sisters enjoy exceptional attention in Sweden for their sport.
– Here you can see that women’s sports have a higher rise than in Finland, and the coverage and attitude is more equal.
– After Malmö’s away game, they wanted me, Oona and two other Swedish national team stars to stay after the match. There were fans wearing Malmö shirts taking pictures and taking pictures, which means that we have been able to carry my and Oona’s names, which is of course great.
Within a week, Thorengruppen has two top-level home matches against Pixbo – the Swedish Cup final on Sunday and the Superliga regular season match next week on Tuesday.
– When the two best teams in the world play against each other, that doesn’t make floorball entertainment any better, Kauppi says.
The stores have also attracted Finnish fans to the stands of their home matches at a steady pace, but they have had a special goal for the upcoming matches.
– Me and Oona had a small marketing process here. The team’s goal is to fill the arena for the first time ever, so our goal is to get as many Finnish fans as possible.
The Kaup twins appeal to Finnish viewers on their Instagram account.
– The town has been well visited, and it is of course easily accessible by boat from Vaasa, so teams from that region have visited here. Now the expectation is that Finnish fans will come. Some have even written to us, so I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of Finns in the stands.
Player contracts on hold
At the end of the current season, the Kaup sisters’ player contracts are terminated. So far, the address for next season is not yet known for either of them, but the father, who works as a manager Jussi Kauppi negotiates several contracts.
Oona and Veera Kauppi have represented their current club since autumn 2020. The result has been three championships and at this moment the team is also number one in the league.
– It is getting to be the time to start thinking about the future as well, but there is no information about it yet. Negotiations are underway, but we’ll see what happens, Veera Kauppi says.
At the beginning of the year, Kauppi was chosen as the world’s best floorball player for the fourth time. He has previously received the honor in 2017, 2018 and 2021.
– For a long time now, there has been a feeling that the body has held up well and has been able to play and train. In previous seasons, there have been a lot of various ailments and longer injuries.
During the last season, Kauppi received help from a physiotherapist for his prolonged stress injuries in his knees. Preventive training has been effective and self-confidence has been on the decline, which he has seen and felt.
– I’ve been really happy that I’ve been able to train normally and of course it’s shown in the games that there’s more self-confidence.
– The best time of the season is ahead, when the players are coming, so of course here’s hoping that the condition will only improve.