Armada Spokesman: Good evening all. Today we have a player new to the team, defenseman Cheeks Klapanen. He'll make a statement and then we'll open the floor to some questions. Thank you.

Cheeks: Hi everyone, thank you for taking the time to be here tonight. I'd like to start off by thanking Anchorage management, especially Gabe for giving me this opportunity to play in the SMJHL and for the vote of confidence to select me with their top priority waiver selection. I'd also like to thank the city and people of Anchorage for their hospitality and willingness to lend me their snow blowers so I can get to the rink in the morning. Someone even put some salt on my driveway. 

Before we get into the questions for tonight, I know there's some confusion on my background and where I came from, as well as some irritation for how I came into the league. Shortly after I declared to play in the SHL and the SMJHL in the S72 draft class, I was informed of a social media post by a fellow potential draftee. That post questioned the authenticity of my name, Cheeks Klapanen, and wondered why the player himself was denied entry to this prestigious league due to his own name that raised eyebrows in league offices. While I cannot speak for the decisions of the league and why I was accepted, I would just like to say that my name is from my mother and she thought it was cheeky. We've got a good sense of humor, my mom and I. It's a name that got me bullied a bit in school, but she had the vision to know that when I was older, it'd spark a good chuckle from the cultured ones amongus and then everyone would be on their way. It became apparent that this was not the case in the SHL, and a massive social media war ensued. I know it has all died down by now and I appreciate the support of the Armada, my teammates and the league officials for their support and giving me an avenue to watch from afar and chuckle.

My hockey story begins in Kuopio, Finland, the 8th most populated city in Finland with a population of around 120,000. My father, Sami Klapanen was a hockey player and had recently purchased a junior hockey team in Finland. Naturally I grew up playing hockey, but by using nepotism and my daddy's money, I began to play for KalPa in bantam from where I spent a few seasons progressing through the junior system. By the time I was 17, I had joined the senior KalPa league where I played alongside my father and began to receive some international interest in my skillset. After vetting various opportunities, including researching which leagues would require me to put in the least amount of effort for the most compensation, I decided to pursue a career in the Simulation Hockey League. However if someone told me I'd have to play in Alaska, I'd have just stayed in Finland where my dad could continue to cover all my expenses while giving me a paycheck. Jokes aside, I'm definitely very happy to play in this random city in America that apparently is basically in Canada.

So yeah, that's about it for the background for now. I believe we have some time for questions?

Reporter: Hi Cheeks, welcome to Anchorage. The big controversy around your entrance to the league was around your name as you mentioned, and there seemed to be a lot of discussion on social media and between league staffers and players. What was it like to be going through such a whirlwind beyond what you would typically expect from joining a new league in a new country?

Cheeks: Yeah it was definitely pretty insane, I didn't even know it was happening until some friends were laughing about a post someone made on social media about the league. We were just messing around so I casually asked what the post was about, then they said I was actually involved in it, which surprised me. Then reading the post it was something about a gay hedgehog, which I didn't get, are hedgehogs able to be gay? I don't know much about how animal sexuality works beyond humans. But then yeah there was chatter about whether the league would accept me in or not for an offensive or inappropriate name. Guess there may have been sponsorship issues or broadcasting regulation issues around my name which was sad to hear about, but fortunately it seems like everything worked out. 

Reporter: When in Finland playing for KalPa, you mainly played right wing for the majority of your career. Here in the SMJHL and SHL, you've decided to play defense instead. Was there any particular reason for the position change?

Cheeks: I think it was just a spur of the moment thing. I like driving the offense and felt like making a change in regards to my position. I did play some defense  during my early years, especially as a way to develop some extra skills. Skating backwards, positioning, defensive stuff. All different ways to be a better all around player. I thought there was a good chance here in the SHL to play defense and continue to develop my game. My family and I also heard of a defenseman named Slavakov Vladimirashenko, also a defenseman in the SHL who we were saying was one of the worst in the game, yet regarded as if he was good. So we made a bit of a friendly joke of sorts, that it'd be our goal to become better than him. He too played forward and switched to defense so we have a goal to reach and surpass.

Reporter: Anchorage selected you with the top waiver priority of that period's waivers, how did it feel to have gone so high in the general waiver process?

Cheeks: I guess there just wasn't anyone better, I dunno. It's nice to have spoken to by a few teams' management and scouts, it was exciting to interact with them and hear how they were interested in adding me to their team. Obviously with a waiver process there's not much decision-making power in my hands but the teams seemed fairly good in that they asked for preferences and seemed to want to do right by me which I appreciated. I even had a few give me some sympathy for my social media war that week. Doesn't seem like the drama really impacted Anchorage's interest and I went with the first priority.

Reporter: It's taken 24 games since your debut for you to come out and speak to the media. It's quite reminiscent of former SHL player Leon Athanasios who famously declined many press conferences or media sessions, preferring to show up for a grand total of 4 times across his entire career. Is he someone you've been taking media tips from, or someone you look to follow in terms of handling the media?

Cheeks: If I was following in Leon's footsteps, I don't think I'd have spoken to you guys at all. I don't think he even spoke to you guys for like 4 or 5 seasons before he retired yeah? He also didn't like you guys very much, maybe I can see why with those questions. But no, we had larger priorities when I first joined the team especially due to the social media stuff going on and fact that it was a waiver signing right before games were played. With the media stuff, I felt it was best to let all that simmer down before really coming forward and speaking out when we know what kind of questions we're going to get. Didn't want to throw more fuel on that fire, so we had some chats with our media relations team to do some preparation and just gauge exactly how to proceed. Then with waivers it's a weird process that goes on behind the scenes, you don't even know exactly when it'll finish especially if a team has a game that day or is already traveling somewhere. You want to be ready to go and play, then adjust to the team and all that. Just takes higher priority than some media availability unfortunately, but I think I'm well enough adjusted now.

Reporter: So far through 51 games, Anchorage is 22-26-4 for 47 points and you have 2 goals and 10 assists in 24 games. You're also one of two players on the team who doesn't have a minus rating. What's the mood in the LR and how are you dealing with a tough season?

Cheeks: Yeah I mean teams don't end up high in the waiver order unless they're struggling a bit. We knew that, and it can happen to any team in a junior league. Players age out or get promoted, it's just the constant cycle. We knew Anchorage had good management and were fine to play here. Performance wise it's going to be a grind especially since they're claiming players midseason. It's still a fairly young team here, don't think we have more than a handful of guys who have played 3+ seasons. So it's really just taking each day at face value and trying to get better together. Personally I feel like I'm gaining comfort daily so I'm glad the coaches are letting me play 20-ish a game. We're all just here to win games and play hockey so that's what we'll keep aiming to do and we'll improve in time.

Anchorage Spokesman: Alright, that'll be all for availability today. We'll schedule another one sometime later in the season.