As Santtu stepped out onto the ice for the first time in Anchorage, he was very nervous. It was the first time that Santtu had not only come to the United States but also had travelled alone. His family were thousands of miles away and he was trying hard to learn English and his new surroundings. His new team, clearly seeing Santtu’s plight, offered to help him out how they could. Max Brannagan and the coaches picked him up from the airport, they showed him around the practice facility and the arena, he met his teammates who were all very nice and understanding (some had a knowledge of sign language to try and communicate with Santtu which he was appreciative of) and the fans in the practice stands all cheered for him and welcomed him into Anchorage.

As his teammates took him around Anchorage, they wandered past a reindeer farm, which immediately made Santtu think of home and traditional Finnish cooking. He openly said:

“Mmm, Reindeer.” It was the first English words he spoke and as his teammates gave him a weird look, he replied…

“What?”