Ricky Koivu comes from a family that has a long history in hockey. Him and his numerous siblings are related to the former NHLers Saku and Mikko Koivu, as well as the legendary Paul Kariya. His brother, Paul, is the oldest of the group, and started hockey at the youngest age. Binko is a year older than Ricky and also influenced Ricky's desire to start playing. Paul was a big inspiration for Ricky to train hard at the sport too, and Ricky is mainly a defensive minded player through having to practice so much defense practicing against his dynamic and high scoring brother. Once his other brothers, Jolmi, Wide Peepo Happy 3 and Tommi, all became committed to the sport too, the six siblings became all determined to have the best careers they could. They are obviously not all on the same teams, being split among four different teams in the SHL, but the influence they have had on each other's careers is undeniable for sure. (168 words)