Plan ahead Kraken fans.
Your NHL club is taking part in a two-game set in Helsinki, Finland in November against the Carolina Hurricanes. Wanna go? Why not? The team might even come up with a travel package to give Kraken fans the opportunity. That I don’t know.
What I do know, is Helsinki, having spent a decent amount of time there covering the IIHF World Championships in 2013. I also had a little bit of extra vacay time.
What was the Hartwall Arena is now known as Veikkaus Arena, after being closed for three years. It’s named for its new sponsor, Finland’s national betting agency. Shocker, eh.
It’s a pretty standard rink, seating about 13,500 fans. It’ll be stuffed full for the NHL games.
It’s way too early to give you a preview of the Kraken-Canes match-up, other than the fact Finnish winger Kaapo Kakko will be representing Seattle, and maybe Jani Nyman if he’s on the Kraken roster, while star center Sebastian Aho and fellow Finn Jesperi Kotkaniemi will be playing for the Hurricanes.
Finnish forward Eeli Tolvanen would have enjoyed this, but he’s presently a free agent and a former Kraken.
Instead of boring hockey stats, here’s a little Helsinki travel primer. Some ideas to keep in mind if you go.
1) See if they’ll let you pop down into “the Cave”, the practice rink that’s buried underground, underneath the main rink. It’s pretty funky, with low ceilings and cavern style walls.
2) Take a day trip via ferry to Estonia. The town of Tallinn is charming and delightful, and if you drink, their national liquor is kind of a cross between Jägermeister and Bailey’s. It’s also super cheap. Which makes consuming too many shots a distinct possibility. Otherwise you’re drinking Finnish or Swedish beer for the most part, or the local brew.
The best salmon tartar I’ve ever had was at a little street cafe we stopped at on the way to the main town square. I actually made two separate day trips over to Tallinn, one with our broadcast team and a writer friend and one with the gal I was seeing at the time. I drank way more the first time.
3) I was a runner back then and a delightful daily way to get some exercise is to jog around the central lake in town. It’s actually an inlet that’s separated by a main street. You want the body of water on the east side of the avenue. It’s not that big and the run isn’t that long, but there’s a nice coffee/tea shop on the highest point of the loop on one side.
Let’s just say, there’s also a lot of Finnish scenery. Obviously if you’re not a runner, you can walk the whole thing easily and it’s time well spent.
4) I somehow ended up walking across the entire city in the middle of the night. That was after the first trip to Tallinn. It was cool, I was pretty much the only person out there, but I don’t recommend this. I think it took a couple hours. Maybe try to get this type of exploring done before midnight.
5) Definitely hop on one of the smaller boats and ride out to a restaurant on one of the little islands in the harbor. I call it a harbor, I think the actual name is Kruunuvuorensilta, a small part of the Gulf of Finland. If you order the arctic char (a fish), don’t. It’s the saltiest food you’ll ever put in your mouth.
6) Walk all over the place, explore, and even though you are one, stay away from tourists as much as possible. That’s advice I give for any city in the world. Local knowledge rules!
I stayed at the Crowne Plaza and highly recommend it. Close to the “lake” I mentioned, and another park, right on the main streetcar lanes, close to cool little eateries, and has bonus amenities. There are obviously plenty of other options in different price ranges.
7) Look into the overnight ferry to Stockholm, Sweden. Use that as your transportation in or out of Helsinki. Why not? You’re this close, bop over to Stockholm and check it out. Even more incredible, quite frankly. I mean, you’re THIS close. Fly into one city, fly home from the other.
How cool would it be for Kraken fans to see the Kraken take on the defending Stanley Cup champions in Finland. Plan ahead. Go get ’em!!
Earlier Kraken:
— Kraken Captain Dishes Big Assist To Home Province
Earlier Canucks:
— Where’s Waldo, I Mean Whyno; Canucks = PHWA
Bonus Video: I had a chance to speak with NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly about a variety of interesting and entertaining hockey topics and current events. Check it out …
