Adam Larsson knows exactly what it feels like to grow up inside a hockey town that lives and breathes one club.
The Kraken defenseman came up through Skelleftea’s youth system in Sweden, stayed with the same organization all the way into the pro ranks, and says that kind of setup creates a bond that goes way beyond the logo on the chest. It’s the same sort of hockey culture he expects to see when Seattle heads to Finland next week for two games in Helsinki against the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes as part of the annual NHL Global Series.
“Hockey was pretty much everything for us,” Larsson said of playing for his hometown Skelleftea team in the pro Swedish Hockey League for two seasons as their youngest player after starting within their youth ranks. “It’s pretty much the only sport we have up there because it’s such a small town. They kind of ride their hometown team.”
For Larsson, the trip carries a personal layer too. He grew up in Swedish Lapland, fewer than 200 miles south of the Arctic Circle, and started skating for Skelleftea’s youth teams around age 4.
By 16, he was already on the pro squad. He described a path that kept him close to home and close to family, even as his game moved up the ladder.
“I think it's good too because if you're from the city and a good program, you can kind of be a kid and stay home with your family,” he said. “I stayed with my mom back until I was 16, or 17.
And then my mom had made a decision to get my own apartment to kind of just get used to being by myself. But it was nice.”
Larsson also said the atmosphere in Nordic hockey has its own flavor, one that feels closer to a soccer match than a typical North American rink. He hasn’t had many chances to experience that since leaving Sweden for the NHL with the New Jersey Devils in 2011.
“For me, it's more so my friends and family have the time to come watch me play,” Larsson said of the Helsinki games Thursday and Saturday of next week. “And maybe friends from back home and kids that haven't been over here to North America yet, then they would have a chance to see a game.
“I mean, it costs a lot of money to get over here and then to buy a ticket. So, people that can't afford going over here to watch NHL, I'm glad the NHL is bringing some games over there.”
Philipp Grubauer sees the same kind of connection from his own background in Germany. The Kraken goalie grew up with the Rosenheim Starbulls in his rural dairy farm town of Rosenheim in Upper Bavaria, beginning there at age 3 and eventually working through the age groups before reaching the men’s team as a 14-year-old.
“It was amazing for me because I learned to skate in that rink and then I could go through every age group and ended up playing professional hockey for the men’s team was I was 14 and 15,” Grubauer said. “So experiencing that and like being able to play in your own town and playing the first pro game there was amazing.
“Finland kind of takes you back a little bit to where you kind of remember that you grew up skating in Europe and then you made your way over here to North America,” he added. “I’ve visited Finland a couple times with my wife so it's definitely a place we enjoy, and it's yeah, we’re both very excited.”
For Ville Ottavainen, the Finland trip is on another level entirely. The defenseman, added late out of training camp, is heading back to his homeland as an NHL player for the first time.
Ottavainen grew up in Oulu, a major port city on the Gulf of Bothnia about 370 miles north of Helsinki, and played for the local club all the way through its junior ranks. He said the town’s distance from the rest of the country helped make the team feel like the center of everything.
“In my hometown they call it the ‘Half of Finland team’ because there’s no other Liiga pro team further north of there,” Ottavainen said. “The closest team is about a 3 ½ hour drive away.”
Finland’s Liiga sits among the top pro hockey leagues in the world, alongside Sweden’s SHL, behind only the NHL and the Russian-based Kontinental Hockey League. Ottavainen never played for Oulu’s pro team, though he would have if the timing had worked out.
Instead, he spent a season in the Ontario Hockey League to learn English and adjust to smaller ice surfaces, then returned to Finland too late to join the Oulu Karpat squad. He went on to spend three seasons with JyP HT Jyvaskyla.
Still, Oulu was always his team.
“Yeah, that was like my team who I was rooting for growing up and going to games and all that,” Ottavainen said. “It’s kind of away from everyone. So that fan base is very passionate.”
Now he gets to bring that story home in a way he never imagined.
“You can’t even dream of something like that,” he said. “You can’t even dream of playing NHL games to begin with, let alone me doing it in Finland.
So, it’s incredible. It’s obviously going to be super special being in my home country.”
Larsson, who knows the Sweden-Finland hockey rivalry well, said the atmosphere should be something special for everyone involved.
“They really love their hockey up there - and that’s all the way to the North Pole,” Larsson said. “The rivalry?
It’s always on. But, I mean, going to Finland it’s a beautiful country.
It’s obviously a dark month but it’s going to be a fun time and a really great team bonding experience.”
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