Hello everybody, hope you all a good week and are pumped for the home
opener. Well, for Fridays paper we put together a winter sports preview
insert which features both men's and women's hockey and basketball.
The following is a feature I did on Tuomo Jaaskelainen.  He's a really
good guy, with a pretty interesting story behind his trek to Orono.
Hope you enjoy, Bill
 
 
        With over 60,000 lakes and a formidable potential for sub arctic
weather, Finland has the ingredients for the sport that waits for the
ice to freeze.
Known for its copious Baltic forests and multitude of islands, this
European country always finds room for hockey on its list of
breath-taking class.
Growing up in Finland, learning how to skate is a process that is not
far removed from learning how to walk. Black Bear freshman, and
Helsinki, Finland native, Tuomo Jaaskelainen, was no exception.
        "I learned how to skate when I was four or five," said Jaaskelainen.
"Hockey is the biggest sport in Finland, and all the kids play it."
        Jaaskelainen said that learning how to skate was a painful process at
first, but as is the case in most learning processes, practice was the
key to success.
        "My mom and dad told me that I would hate that because I couldn't even
stand up," said Jaaskelainen.  "However, a couple times after that I
started to learn how to skate."
        Despite learning how to skate at an early age, it wasn't until his
teenage years that he decided hockey was what he wanted to do.
        "I realized I wanted to play hockey when I was 15," said Jaaskelainen.
 "I liked to play hockey with all of my friends. Growing up in Finland
is normal,  It is not that different than the United States."
        One thing that is embedded in the Finland government is the role of
their military.  An obligation to their country, every student is
required to serve time in the military before they are in their mid
20's.  Although most people fulfill their obligation upon graduation
from high school, Jaaskelainen decided to wait.
        "We have to go to the army in Finland," said Jaaskelainen.  "Most
people do it when they get out of high school, and you must do it
before you turn 25 or 26. It is an eight to 12 month requirement."
        Jaaskelainen has not fulfilled his requirement, and says he will
probably complete it after graduating from college. Although most of
his friends ventured out in the armed forces, he decided to try
something else.
        "I wanted to be able to practice hockey every day and become as good
as I could get," said Jaaskelainen.  "After high school I just wanted
to take a few years to figure out what I wanted to do. I said to myself
that if I am not good enough to play hockey after three years, I'd find
some other school and do something else."
        Jaaskelainen played on several competitive teams in Finland during
that time span, including the Finland National team and a junior league
team in Jokerit.
        NHL stars Teemu Selanne and Jarri Kurri are just some of the products
that have emerged from the Finland Junior A League.
After competing for three years, Jaaskelainen was faced with a
difficult decision concerning his future.
Refusing to give up on hockey, he conducted research on collegiate
hockey in the United States.
        "I got on the internet and looked up some schools with my friends,"
said Jaaskelainen.  "Then we decided to send out some letters to some
American universities. We sent them out to ten or so schools including
Clarkson, Umass-Amherst, St. Cloud St. and Denver."
        Although he was impressed with all of the schools, it was the
recruiting efforts of Maine assistant coach Grant Standbrook that
convinced Jaaskelainen to don the blue and white.
        "Umass-Amherst came out and took a look at me," said Jaaskelainen.
"However, then Grant called me and came out as well. He told me about
the program and I decided it was the place for me."
        The decision to come to Maine was a relatively easy one for him,
despite feeling the pressure from several other institutions, including
arch rival Boston University.
        "BU contacted me but they really didn't know if they wanted to take
me," said Jaaskelainen.  "So I said, 'No, I think I am going to Maine.
They (BU) said  don't decide yet, wait for us, but I didn't want to
wait any longer."
So the Finnish flyer made the journey to Orono. In his first collegiate
game against Minnesota a week ago, Jaaskelainen converted a two on one
break for his first goal.
        "Jaaskelainen will be an impact player that should be noticeable each
and every night," said coach Shawn Walsh.
        Jaaskelainen is part of the new mold of European players that have
infiltrated the ranks of the hockey program. He never set foot on the
University of Maine campus until this fall, and the college experience
has been an eye opener.
        "The dorms are a little bit different to me," said Jaaskelainen.  "I
am not used to it all."
        As for the English language,  that will come in time.
"Sometimes I am like, 'what?" said Jaaskelainen.  "But, its gotten
better."