Finland will face Slovakia today in the semi-finals of the Men’s Ice Hockey World Championships.
In the summer of 2009, three Finnish super promises appeared on the cover of the hockey magazine. Teemu Pulkkinen, Mikael Granlundilla and Toni in Rajala was behind the successful Junior World Championships and had already had high expectations in the past.
The previous top Finnish NHL field player was born in 1984 Valtteri Filppula. The time was such that the people of the puck were thirsting for new Finnish puck stars.
The World Championships for under-18s in the spring of 2009 further raised expectations. From the trio Toni Rajala even made a tournament point record in six matches at 10 + 9 = 19. He broke Alexander Ovetshkin in the name of the record by one point.
Rajala, Pulkkinen and Granlund were extremely promising hockey players of their age.
Since then, Granlund has broken into the top center of the NHL and Pulkkinen also got several opportunities on three different NHL teams.
Only Rajala was left without a single NHL match. What happened to the super promise?
The coach ripped Rajala, who scored four goals
The promising Rajala was in a class of his own when he was young. When Ilves took a crushing victory in Lahti from the Pelicans in the B-juniors, the striker scored four goals in the match. However, Rajala did not manage to connect with it, as his team mates had hoped, and the ball went out.
– There were players in the booth, a lot older and everyone praised Rajala. I then gave him shit around my neck for what you are smiling at here. Okay, four goals, but you had a chance to make 12. Do you think you played a good game? If Ovetsh had been in the same situation, he would have done 12 and you would have settled for four. Now you will be lifted up into the king’s chair, Pekka Kangasalusta recalls.
Kangasalusta wanted to signal that he cannot be satisfied with the current situation, but the scorer must be even more hungry.
– He just laughed and smiled. I started to annoy myself that the guy was just smiling. Others then marveled that I gave him feedback even though the dude scored four goals. In the end, everyone realized my point.
– I must have annoyed myself when I never found anything to tell him. I realized that now I can catch up and have to give a little feedback, Kangasalusta says.
Rajala doesn’t remember the incident, but his mouth stretches in response to a wide smile.
– Unfortunately, I don’t remember this game. There must have been those games where there have been places for up to ten goals, Rajala answers with a grin.
According to Kangasalusta, the inherently talented Rajala was already so good in B-juniors that he did not need to be instructed further. And when needed, Rajala learned and understood at once.
– Rajala was just so much better at skating and he had a good shot compared to other boys of the same age. Purely in terms of power, he wasn’t necessarily dependent on other players. He was able to create goal spots by skating every shift.
Speed blindness struck around the teenage boy
Many wanted their own piece of the super junior. 16-year-old Rajala played in one season in Ilves’ A and B juniors and in the national teams under 18 and under 17. For the exercises to Tampere, Rajala passed from Parkano, which is 90 kilometers to Tampere.
– There were danger places to go to the forest in a certain way, Kangasalusta says and refers to the load the player got.
– Of course the boy wants to play, but somehow there was a place of danger when there was such a long training trip and the schools and others. No one thought about the whole.
Kangasalusta wonders why Rajalaa, who became a regular player in the 18-year-old national team, also played in the 17-year-old national team.
– They didn’t have any important tournaments, because the 18-year-old World Championships are an important thing in the events of the International Federation, Kangasalusta says.
– Of course, the coach always wants the best players for his team. I got the feeling that many people smelled him to be one of the most talented people in the world born in 1991 and wanted to be a part of that thing. There was a place of danger that the boy would have burned out. It’s a pretty hard package that pulls 180 kilometers every other time 5-6 times a week, Kangasalusta says.
Coached by Sports Expert and Toni Rajala in Ilves’ representative team Juha Juujärvi signs that the organization and other people had too high expectations of Rajala. Juujärvi also talks about speed blindness.
– There was so much in the overall package that there was too little time left for a quality everyday life. It would have required a really hard professional character from Toni himself, but the responsibility for that age lies with the background groups, Juujärvi emphasizes.
– Everyday life must be able to reassure in a certain way that the internship can be developed.
Small size barrier in North America
Rajala’s development did not keep pace with Granlund, who was a year younger. When Granlund was a star player in the Finnish Championship in the 2010–11 season and a world champion known to the entire nation, Rajala was just staring at Ilves.
Granlund soon left for the NHL, which Rajala had visited. He signed a newcomer contract with Edmonton Oilers back in 2009 and has since left for the Canadian Junior League WHL.
– I got an NHL reservation and thought I could have a better chance through WHL. There were so many reservations and junior stars in Edmonton that it was hard to break in between, Rajala says.
After the WHL season, Rajala returned to Ilves for a couple of years until he left to try North America for the second time.
Rajala played in the AHL in the 2012-13 season at a point-to-point pace, but still did not get a chance in the NHL.
Kangasalusta estimates that the pier, which is 179 centimeters long and weighs 76 kilos, suffered from its small size. More than a decade ago, the NHL still thought differently.
– Back then, maybe we were still thinking and the game was like looking for big guys. At the time, they weren’t ready for the kind of player who is doing best in the NHL now, Kangasalusta says, raising Sebastian Ahon.
– If Toni had been born in 2001, he would certainly have been booked higher and had a good place in North America. The points he made on the farm are sure to get a place in the NHL today.
Rajala admits that in addition to the small size, there was not necessarily enough force on the shaft.
– I was pretty fragile at the time. I’m still not a member, but probably the whole thing came up then, Rajala ponders in the interview for the afternoon of the World Championships.
Positive nature helped
Despite adversity, Rajala has played an extensive and renowned career in European fields. Today, the talent is a Lions credit horse and a powerhouse player in the Swiss league.
Kangasalu, who piloted Rajala later as an assistant coach at Ilves’ representative office, thinks that the Parkanese employee has given up difficult situations due to his positive nature.
– He has been like that since he was young, which is still the case today. He smiles and laughs and I’ve never seen him in a bad place.
– He is a true self in interviews. He has always tried to find the positive side of things. I don’t even know if he knows what the word negative means and if anyone has ever taught him that. A really positive dude in every way, Kangasalusta says.
A hockey player who has known Rajala for a long time Matias Myttynen confirms the message on the Cloth Tray. Myttynen and Rajala played in the same chains from the age of 13–14, and the duo were also put on the radar team.
– He is a bit impatient, but nice to follow in all respects and a good person. There is nothing wrong with that. He gets along with everyone and is a great man in every way, Myttynen says and laughs at the word impatient.
What do you mean by impatient?
– He won’t stay put for an awful long time if things get boring.
– Probably there is enough patience in the game, but outside the trough sometimes it feels like he doesn’t stay in the same place for an awful long time. You have to be on the move.
In the shop, Rajala also stays in the trough.
The style of play in the Swiss league is just right for a player like Rajala. In terms of skating and fighting power, the demand is tough, but the league also dares to attack boldly.
– It’s been a good series for my style of play. I’ve gotten a lot of responsibility and the games have gone through all six seasons. From there, I also got to break into the A-national team. It’s a great country to live in and a short bus ride, so what’s in it, Rajala says.
In Lions, Rajala has mysteriously waved the backdrop before these races. In the spring of 2019, Rajala won World Cup gold, but he did not make much of a headline during the Games. In the Olympic gold team, the responsibility remained in one match.
In the ongoing World Cup, the Parkanese has emerged in a new way. Rajala scored four goals and a total of six power points in seven matches in the first series.
The home races in Tampere are clearly suitable for Rajala, who got to play with her nine-month-old son on a Sunday holiday.
– It was a really tasty day. I got to play with Ruben all day. The father and son were tired in the evening, Rajala says with a wide smile.
Rajala, 31, is ready to move to North America with her family if the opportunity arises. Rajala does not rule out the possibility of playing in the NHL, although he admits it requires a “cannon season.”
– I also like to play in Switzerland. Let’s see what happens.
Perhaps even the third link in the superchain will still have its chances in bright lights.
The semi-finals of Finland and Slovakia will start at 20.20. The match is followed momentarily on ‘s website.