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KenitohMenara · 03-16-2020, 04:15 PM

**1416 Words - x2 Offseason Bonus**

The Player’s Tribune is pleased to welcome a guest article from Santtu Rasanen, 2nd year Center for the Anchorage Armada and drafted prospect for the Manhattan Rage.

“Mum! Send a care package! I can’t find any Liquorice here!”

Wait, no, hang on, I should probably start at the beginning. See, I’m from Finland, Turku to be exact. Finland is a sweet loving nation. Go to any good city in Finland and you are going to find a sweet shop just crammed with good stuff. Liquorice (or Salmiakki as we call it back home) is like cat-nip in my family. My family has two loves, Hockey and Liquorice. You put a pack of liquorice in a bowl in the family house, it will all be gone by the evening. That’s why when I officially joined the Anchorage Armada, my mum bought me 3 bags of liquorice. She knew that I would need them in Alaska.

I was very excited to join the Armada. They were super excited about me signing with them even though I would be an undrafted free agent. They were planning to roll out the welcome mat for me and everything. 18 hours of flight movies, airplane food and desperately trying to learn english later, I land in Anchorage. The team was very nice to me, showing me around the city, showing me the Sullivan Center and all that good stuff. Somehow I wound up walking alongside Chris de Siren, a fellow rookie who the Armada had drafted and he told me that if I had any questions, just to ask him. So naturally I ask:

“Where’s the nearest sweet shop?”

He laughs it off and takes me to the local one. I start scanning the aisles, looking for it and then… it hits me. I can’t find liquorice. I ask Chris and he can’t find them either. I instantly go into full on, red alert panic mode basically. Suddenly my big break into the junior league felt like I had been sent to prison. After trying to be calm and asking Chris to drive me back to our street, I go into my place and immediately text my mum about this. I felt trapped, thousands of miles away from home and now faced with the daunting prospect of having no liquorice. Then a knock comes at the door. I open it and there stands Chris:

“I just remembered, that shop doesn’t have any but the one in the main city does.” He said, holding a bag out for me. “Sorry Santtu, I should’ve…”

Instantly my eyes light up. Chris doesn’t even finish his sentence before I hug him. Peace had been restored to my universe.

So yeah, that was my first day in Anchorage. Quite frankly, I think I needed that.

I know I needed it, to be honest.

Because there are so many things running through your head, so many different little thoughts and feelings, after you’ve signed to a new team outside of your home country and city. With a signing like this one — I mean, you’re pretty much working through every emotion in the book. Just thinking about how, you know, Wow…. I’m going to be leaving the place that I’ve called home for my entire life.

It can be a lot to process - and I am still thinking about it even to this day.

I thought about the time I first put on skates, learning from my older brothers how to glide across the ice. I thought about my first game as a kid, scoring my first goal. I thought about all of my coaches and all their advice after games. I thought about the Helsinki incident, where I skiied my way to the arena because I missed the bus. I thought about that time I was named captain of my Turku team, a silent vote that was held after practice one day. The coaches tallied the votes and drove to my house to give me my new jersey, the Captains “C” emblazoned upon it. I thought about all those things and even more as I got on the plane and… the time was right for me to move on the SMJHL.

I think that’s all you can ask for really, in the hockey world, when it comes time to happen signing with a new team. You just hope that the team doesn’t regret signing you. I hoped that’s what happened here: I hoped the Anchorage Armada were impressed in what they got, in what I brought to the table, exactly what they needed to continue their great run last year in winning the Four Star Cup.

But like I said — and even putting all of that aside: the signing was still going to be a lot to process. It was always going to be a lot. And I think that’s also what I meant about, you know, kind of “needing” that day with Chris . Because I think Chris and me, in the end, just by being younger guys, he kind of managed to figure out this was a big deal to me and he helped me out. In just one small act, he made my whole world correct itself. Suddenly that excitement I felt when I signed my contract returned to me:

I’m doing this.

I’M GONNA PLAY FOR THE ANCHORAGE ARMADA!

To think that was nearly a year ago now. So much has happened to me and the Armada since that time. We had the length season happen, Chris, Braden and I became the rookie line and we had some fantastic games together. That Shootout win against St Louis was the stuff of legends, I had never been so exhausted after a game in my life. I saw a community of hockey die-hards that wanted nothing more than to see the Armada bring them home another trophy. They welcomed me with open arms to their homes and showed me around Anchorage. I grew fond of the restaurants and cafes around Anchorage, especially their fondness for seafood. It was being at home but different enough to make me appreciate it. And, of course, I grew fond of the Sullivan Center. It’s a tiny rink, seating only six or seven thousand people but that doesn’t matter because it’s just so loud. The people of Anchorage are clearly hockey crazy! They love the Armada, they treat us like we’re family members. It was really special to see that.

Unfortunately, our season ended rather sadly. The loss to Newfoundland was devastating for the young core we are building here but these things happen to the best of us. I was kinda expecting the locker room to just be sitting around sad or just dispersing to various places after that game. However, all I saw was that the young guys that would be here next year wanting to play even harder next season to win the four star cup. I couldn’t be more proud of the boys in the locker. We may lose Bischoff and a couple of the veterans but Braden, Chris, Danny and myself are all raring to go, to fill new roles and fight for every point we can get. That’s what Anchorage does.

The last few weeks have been a blur. From going home and seeing my family, going to Montreal for the draft, getting picked up by Manhattan and going to New York for the first time for training camp… it’s all been crazy for me since the break happened. I do want to congratulate my pro team, the Manhattan Rage for winning the Challenge Cup and I hope I can add to their team in the way they are hoping. To be the future franchise center that they believe they can craft out of me.

For now though, a new season is upon me and I am heading back to Anchorage. It’s amazing to think that it's nearly been a whole year since I signed my contract, to first join the Armada and join the junior league. Looking back on all of it though… I wouldn’t change a thing. It’s been a wonderful experience and I can’t wait for the new season to come.

Look out, Anchorage. Santtu Rasanen is coming back and this time, I want to win the cup! Lets Go Boats!

Oh, and if you were curious, I asked the Manhattan Rage GM about where the best sweet shops in New York are… It’s important to me!

Santtu Rasanen

Anchorage Armada

***luke*** · 03-16-2020, 04:36 PM

honestly great read

*roastpuff* · 03-17-2020, 02:21 AM

Mmm, salmiakki - love that stuff.

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