The Lions’ national matches in November once again raised the question of the necessity of EHT games. Urheilu’s expert Ismo Lehkonen breaks down the meaning of the matches in question and the various consequences.
20:52•Updated 21:40
Ismo Lehkonen, the same question has come up again. Are these national team games played in the middle of the club season necessary?
– At the time, when I was the coach of the club team, I was always of the opinion that there was absolutely no need. I want my own team at my fingertips, so I can tweak the way I play and develop individuals!
– But. Now that the activities of the club teams are out in the open, I say that these tournaments are definitely needed!
Well, what do you need them for?
– First of all, the people need them to watch international games. They are watched on the sofa at home and live in the stands.
Yes, the Father’s Day match between Finland and Sweden gathered more than 8,000 spectators in the Turku arena. What about from the players’ point of view? What is the benefit to them from these games?
– Experienced players get to see the level where other countries go. And to find out how I could be a functioning block in the next national matches, even in the World Cup.
Surely national team games are even more important for young people?
– They definitely need these. Get to know the national team’s activities, its way of playing. And most importantly, they get to test their own skills against top individuals. It has a really big meaning.
What would happen if these EHT games were not played?
– Let’s look at it from another direction. Our national team has been in recent years, probably for ten years already, the most prepared teams to play in the World Cup since day one. These games serve that preparation and tournament success.
– About two and a half million Finns passionately follow the gold trail that Finland builds every Games.
What about from the point of view of the club teams? You said that when you were there as a coach, an absolute no to these games…
– It was just that selfish Ismo!
But there are good grounds for that criticism. The star player gets injured, the club team suffers. This happened even now, when Luko’s Anrei Hakulinen and Tappara’s Waltteri Merelä were missed sidelined from league games for a long time due to injuries.
– The club team coach at the time, Ismo, would say to that, “I said, I guessed this, I knew this! Did you have to go there? I told you, Anrei, not to go there! Stay with us here to train. Tell them you have a fever.”
– Well, no. Based on common sense, and not thinking selfishly, yes, there will be bumps and bruises in those club team practices too. Hakulinen’s and Merelä’s injuries could just as well have happened there, when you are on the ice twice a day and do physics twice, twisting the screws hard.
So summa summarum, these EHT games are needed despite all the risks of injury and other threats?
– Like (Luko’s sports director) Kalle Sahlstedt said, EHT games belong to the hockey calendar. Point. They just have to live with it. That was well said by Kalle.
Let’s look at injuries from an individual perspective.
– It is always a stopping place for an individual. How do I use this break to come out as a better player, a better athlete? A good example is (American football star player) Tom Brady. He has had injuries in the right places in his career. He is now 45 years old and still playing. Brady has said he never knows if an injury is good or bad. And for him, they have always been good.
On November 16, the ice hockey round discussed what all the consequences of the national team break will be for the players and teams of the SM league.