Petri Kontiola, 38, changed his attitude towards training too late – previously a cup of coffee was enough to warm up

Ilves of Tampere will meet Ässät of Pori today in the quarterfinals of the ice hockey SM league. The matches will be watched on Puhe’s Ice Hockey Tour from 6 p.m.

TAMPERE. Lynx attacker Petri Kontiola38, takes care of his body next to his other teammates.

The expression is tense as Kontiola stretches his body and goes among the first to wait for the next moves. However, Kontiola does the job with honor.

Moments later, Konkarisenterti is one of the first to hit the ice. It is easy to conclude what Kontiola loves as a hockey player. You can see it in the expression.

Kontiola’s lips immediately turn into a wide smile. He laughs Henrik Haapalan with and greets him with a fist.

You can play, but you can’t practice. Has it always been that way?

– It’s pretty much been the case for me. Anyway, I like to play pretty much all ball games. That includes training, but it doesn’t always feel good, Kontiola tells Urheilu.

Training is, however, mandatory for the 38-year-old Konkar. It is no longer enough to drink coffee and hit the ice, as Kontiola has stated before.

– When I was younger, I heard stories about older players, how they just raise their hands up as a sign of ventilation and that’s enough for training. I thought I was as cool a guy as they were. It may not always be worth it.

Kontiola’s attitude towards compulsory evil changed around the age of thirty.

– Too late, too late (I changed my style). Around the age of thirty, I got injured and had to rehabilitate them. With that, it’s more of a routine these days, says Kontiola.

Strap on your skates and go

However, he states that he survived with quite minor injuries during his career. With age, however, he has had to warm up before going on the ice much more than before.

– Training today is more maintenance and warming up. When I was younger, it was pretty much like that, nothing more than skates to get busy and go. Now you have to go jogging.

Kontiola trained with the team for a long time last summer. Of course, the reporter is reminded in the background interviews that Kontiola’s basic training has been fine. Playing different racket games in the summer has also supported training and preparation for the season.

Tappara’s legendary physical trainer Jaakko Kailajärvi recalls that Kontiola knew how to keep things in balance even in the early years of his younger career.

– Like many other top players, Petri was not a greedy trainee. His talent has also been shown in terms of being able to recover well and know how to take things easy. He knew how to regulate whether he did two more second moves of the series and so on, says Kailajärvi.

Kailajärvi also remembers discussing alternative exercises with Kontiola.

– I said that this is an option when something didn’t quite go right, Kailajärvi says.

Although training is not Kontiola’s favorite pastime, it does not appear in Ilves’ everyday life, at least at the moment. Ilves’ physical trainer Jarkko Näppilän according to Kontiola is a Conscientious intern.

– Even though he has gotten such a reputation that he is a bad and lazy intern, I don’t really see that being true. On the contrary, he is one of the most conscientious trainees in everyday life.

Senter’s summers have been short anyway. At the beginning of the 2010s, he played five times in the World Cup during six springs. The season in the KHL, on the other hand, started early, so there was only five weeks off, according to Kontiola.

– I wouldn’t have been able to handle this job if I had tightened the belt even then. He had time to get himself in shape at the training camp for a couple of months, Kontiola has told Aamulehti. (you switch to another service)

However, Näppilä reminds us that Kontiola is an old-school yard player. While many young players only train with the team, Kontiola plays all kinds of games, for example padel and tennis, in his spare time.

The atmosphere made me continue

This season, Kontiola has been Haapala’s center in the top attack. The S-Kieko player was the fourth in the points market of the regular season (58. 12+39=51).

Based on the power points, it sounds crazy that Kontiola will end his career after this season. Of course, Kontiola could continue his career for however long, but he can no longer do warm-ups and other exercises for playing.

– Last year I already got the feeling that this is starting to happen here. When we came to the new arena and there was such a good mood, I thought that this can’t end yet. Over the course of last summer, I got the feeling that now we are running for the last bets, says Kontiola.

Is there anything right now that could make your head turn?

– Nothing really. The only thing is that I have three- and six-year-old boys who are enthusiastic about hockey. Because of them, it would probably still be nice to play.

So is the back gate open?

– Heh, it’s not, it’s a shame. I’m starting to cheer and watch more games.

In his career, Kontiola has achieved three World Cup silvers, a World Cup bronze, an Olympic bronze and has also been in the KHL finals once with Traktor Chelyabinsk. However, the championship at the adult level has been around the corner.

A clear goal

This could change this spring. Ilves, along with local opponent Tappara, who won the regular season, is another strong champion favorite.

– This is the kind of final letter I am waiting for. I expect the season to end well.

– So that we would win this entire camp, Kontiola elaborates and says that the championship has always been clear in mind.

Kontiola goes into the last spring of his career with a good, calm mind.

– We have possibilities for anything. I’m pretty much like a young boy going along.

– There is not much left. Now the final chapter begins. I hope there will be a happy ending.

Kontiola, who is making the last drawings of his career, has written the names of his sons on his clubs. They bring happiness.

It remains to be seen whether Kontiola’s sons will be able to witness their father’s championship in the spring. A victory that has been awaited in the yellow-green end since 1985.

Then Kontiola could “practice” like the conkers in the past. By ventilating.