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prettyburn · 02-02-2020, 10:00 PM

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.

tedlamotors · 02-02-2020, 10:35 PM

Growing up, hockey wasn't always made numero uno. I enjoyed watching and playing plenty of other sports, including baseball, soccer, and basketball. Sports as a whole were just deeply rooted in me. But something about hockey just compelled me to lace up some skates and aimlessly take slapshots from the point. Speaking of slapshots, I remember the first time I tried to take a "shot", it ended up just being me flinging the puck around the boards. It found a teammate, though, and I attribute my love for assisting from that. As far as becoming a d-man, it took a while before I decided where I wanted to play. I was a bit of a late bloomer in terms of my stature growing up and everyone perceived d-men to be these big, physical guys who'd really make you grind it out. Being an offensive d-man was a possibility, but I couldn't score. I'd play as a winger in pee-wee and try to set up my teammates to make up for my lack of goalscoring ability, but when I didn't contribute offensively, I'd catch myself being the F3 a lot and back-check. I was considering being a 200 ft. forward, but then I hit my growth spurt. With all the defensive positioning drills I'd do with coaches, I then realized that I could be a decent defenseman and contribute offensively on top of that.

hewasajazzman · 02-02-2020, 10:35 PM

i didnt actually pick up the game of hockey until i was much older. where i was from hockey wasnt really offered as a sport for us, i wouldve had to go towns over just to find a team. i did try my hand at some sports when i was younger though. i played baseball for a few years, soccer for even more, and quite enjoyed basketball… who didnt when you had Jordan to watch? but then as i grew into a teenager sports just kinda fell by the wayside. i was more interested in music, punk rock to be specific. i liked going to local shows with my friends and moshing/dancing around like an idiot. theres something about the fast, raw energy of punk that really resonated with me. it wasnt until i was growing into an adult that i found hockey. something sort of clicked one day while watching the NHL playoffs and i felt that same sort of excitement that i was pursuing with music. the fast paced game really stuck out to me and somehow balancing that tempo with the finesse it takes to be any good at the game really struck a chord in me. so after watching for a decade or so i decided to try to learn the game. i picked up a stick and started slow. didnt take to the ice for the first year or so.

bilbo · 02-02-2020, 10:47 PM

Dom's mom Tina played hockey in England until she left to go to college in Boston. While she was there, the New England Wolfpack became her SHL team, so Dom grew up in Michigan, rooting for a hockey team a couple states away from him before he was allowed on the ice. At the age of three, Dom got his first pair of skates. At first, he was afraid of falling on the ice and getting hurt, but once he experienced his first time wiping out, he knew what to expect, and he was no longer afraid. His moms originally wanted him to be a forward, but even before Dom was a preteen, what was more important to him was making sure the other team never touched the puck, and if they did, he was going to make sure they never scored. Hockey was Dom's place to feel confident in himself, and the more he disciplined himself as a player, the more he felt disciplined in the other areas of his life. Even with success, it hasn't been the easiest road, but hockey is his home away from home.

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