Joel Armian and Harri Säter’s NHL season ended with the series playing in Montreal and Arizona. Now both are thirsting for success in a lion shirt, and Armia will finally be able to debut on the A national team.
396 NHL regular season games, but no A national matches. Montreal striker Joel Armia passed the club ‘s medical examination, and the resident of Pori will finally make his debut in the Lions Tampere home competition. For once, the pieces nazed in place, and contract issues or injuries did not interfere with participation.
– Really good feeling. Of course, it has been annoying at times that it hasn’t gotten in, but luckily now came the opportunity. Playing in the home national team has been a dream since I was a child, and Armia, who turns 29 at the end of May, is delighted.
The Canadiens ’last season’s magic playoff draw carried the team all the way to the Stanley Cup finals, and Armia amassed a nice 5 + 3 in the playoffs. This season, the team was faced with difficulties, and they came. First guard Carey Price applied for addiction treatment due to substance abuse problems as early as the fall, and the losses followed one another.
Les Habitants stuck to the tail end, and the joy of the previous season was only a distant memory in the hockey town.
– It was heavy without denying it, you can’t get anywhere. The season just started rolling in the wrong direction at first and we didn’t get it turned around. The sport is one that comes with good and bad episodes.
Armia, who finished 16 goals for Montreal in her best season 2019–2020, also struggled with her own game. The second goal of the season was only born in February, and finally the power balance showed 6 + 8.
– You really can’t be happy. Towards the end of the season, the games went pretty well, and the game started to develop in the direction it should. The interest in hockey that had disappeared after a gloomy beginning came back, Armia laughs.
– Now there is only a strong desire to get to play.
St. Louis was impressed
One factor in the growing desire to play was also the new head coach Martin St. Louiswho jumped from junior coaching directly to NHL coaching in February when Dominique Ducharme got fired.
St. Louis, who played 1,134 NHL games and won the Stanley Cup, World Cup and Olympic gold in his career, impressed the Army.
– I got a really good feeling. He has a lot of games below and he has seen a lot of hockey. He’s not quite a traditional coach, he’s really player-friendly.
Armia, who also represented Buffalo and Winnipeg in the NHL before Montreal, brings more than 190 cents in size and versatility to Finland’s attack. The previous experiences of representing Finland are from the junior national team almost ten years ago, and now the Ace breed has a strong desire to hit the table best.
– I can play both superior and underpowering in an offensive or defensive role. I’m a pretty holistic player, Armia describes.
The first drawings in a lion shirt are expected to be seen this weekend, when Finland will play its last EHT matches against the Czech Republic and Sweden.
– It would be really nice to be able to play when it’s not been a while.
Säteri enjoyed it, even though Arizona’s defense was leaking
The lions repelled their Olympic gold in Beijing with a sure grip Harri Säterin the season has been full of twists and turns. The Siberian Star Watcher left Russia after the country’s military invaded Ukraine, and was scheduled to strengthen Toronto, which is currently playing the playoffs.
Säteri never ended up in a maple leaf shirt when Arizona, who stayed in the basement section of the NHL alongside Montreal, picked Säteri into his ranks.
Behind Kehn’s defense, Säter, 32, had a hard time shining, and the average number of goals scored in six matches rose to 4.22. Towards the end of the season, Säteri also managed to fight the team for victories, and although the address changed from the original plan to the heat of Arizona, the trip was on the plus side.
– I had a really good feeling, and it was a good trip in every way. It took some time to get used to the North American style of play, but I finished a couple of good games, Säteri, who arrived in Finland on Wednesday, reflects.
Although the situation in the coyotes was dire, Säteri said the spirit in the team remained high.
– There was a certain challenging situation there, when there were a lot of injuries and people had changed during the season. However, we have to give the scores to the guys there, because we kept up the pose until the end and won three games in the tube.
Säteri, who last represented Tappara in Finland in the period 2010–2011, cannot say anything about his future. He has been a star watchman at KHL and has sought a breakthrough in North America, but now at least the door to Russia has been closed due to the war in Ukraine.
“I don’t know if the trip was frostbite or good”
There are a lot of numbers staring at the NHL, but Säteri can’t comment on whether the visit to Arizona was to his advantage or not.
– Everything is open. I don’t know if the trip was frostbite or good, and I didn’t even think about it. In terms of experience, there was little start and preparation for home competitions.
Now Säteri’s eventful season culminates in a home race in his hometown. The Finnish goalkeeper trio is probably the same as in China, ie in addition to Säteri, they are involved Jussi Olkinuora mixed Frans Tuohimaa.
The lions’ defense can once again ensure that easy goals do not sink.
– There have indeed been twists and turns this season, which has been long and continues, but the national team will always be full of enthusiasm. There is still an extra charge here when there are home races ahead, Säteri says.