Jordan Schmaltz is convinced of young Finnish hockey players.
Ice hockey An American defender who played in the SM League in IFK Helsinki Jordan Schmaltz praises Finland and Finnish pike profusely Live in Five in his podcast.
Schmaltz, 30, played in IFK during the 2021-2022 season and was convinced by what he experienced. He considers the country of saunas and open spaces to be unparalleled in the whole world. The future of Finnish ice skating looks bright through Schmaltz's eyes.
“It's crazy how good these young people are. I think it all starts with their coaching,” Schmaltz assessed.
Schmaltz singles out IFK's physical trainer Jussi Kurtin and describes him as intelligent and a coach who leads the right kind of training for young hockey players.
“Every morning, regardless of the weather, these guys ran outside for 35-45 minutes. It could be 20 degrees below zero, and they put on mittens, beanies, helmets and Canada Goose and run,” says Schmaltz, using a small crayon.
“What did I do? I walked the corridors of the hall because I really wasn't going to go out for a run.”
Schmaltz praises IFK and Helsinki, as well as the people he met in Finland, also on his own account in the messaging service X, formerly Twitter.
“In Helsinki, I saw firsthand how good the young players were and, most importantly, how hard they worked. It was crazy.”
At the same time, Schmaltz corrects Finland's population to 5–6 million. In the podcast, the defender says the population is eight million.
Schmaltz played 55 regular season matches in IFK's jersey with 9+24=33 and five playoff matches without any power points.
In the NHL, Schmaltz played for the St. Louis Blues for three seasons. He is the club's first round booking from summer 2012.
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