Olli Saarinen, Jr. started playing hockey basically as soon as he started walking, and doesn't really even remember his first time on the ice. Unlike many for whom the idea of playing a professional sport is a distant dream, he grew up close to it - his father, Olli Saarinen, Sr., was a professional goalie himself. Olli senior never made his way to the SHL, but he did win two cups of his own in the Get On My Hockey League. Following in his father footsteps felt like the obvious step to Olli junior, although he did flirt briefly with trying out playing as other positions before coming back to his true love in goal. Growing up in Finland there were plenty of chances for Olli to play with local and then traveling teams as a child once he was old enough to do more than play alongside his father in their local rink. And unlike his father, Olli was always set on making his way to the SMJHL and eventually the SHL when he grew old enough and had the skills to be drafted in North America.