Hockey In Ilves’ spring heat, Marko Anttila got a foretaste of what Tampere promises in the coming weeks

Tampere

Finland the men’s hockey team will increase its World Cup expectations on Thursday as the Lions test the World Championships in Tampere with Switzerland.

Of the 33 players named to the camp team, striker Marko Anttila knows especially well what is promised in the coming weeks, although his modest place is not yet clear.

“Home racing is a great opportunity and has been a dream ever since I knew the races were here. They are quite close, but first I will try to get a place, ”Anttila said at a media conference in Tampere on Tuesday.

Anttila is from the neighboring town of Lempäälä but made his league breakthrough in Ilves, Tampere, fifteen years ago. This season, he returned to the tassel ear game after the Joker’s KHL adventure ended.

“First of all, it was a great thing to get back here. The lynx and the Jokers took good care of it. It was a dream to play here again. ”

Lynx reached the bronze in the League. The medal was the first for the Tampere club since 2001, but there would have been enough hunger for even brighter places. Still, through can be considered a success.

“There was a little bit left in the cavity that it didn’t become the brightest, but the mood was awesome. There will be great memories of spring. ”

Ilves drew large crowds into the arena from the beginning of the playoffs, so Anttila knows what it will be like to be at the World Championships starting next week. He was already involved in 2013, when Helsinki and Stockholm hosted the World Championships.

Would you have thought you were still in the next home race?

“Not necessarily,” laughed Anttila, who turns 37 at the end of May.

“The athlete lives in an instant, but couldn’t think of it. It’s been a long time. That’s when he got to enjoy the feelings and saw the härdell spinning around. It’s great to have been able to play for so long, and now it’s possible to play at home for the second time. ”

Hardly Anttila would also have believed how his role in the national team would change in less than a decade. He rose to the national team head coach Jukka Jalosen during the first wash and was a regular. Anttila became the national hero as the gold captain of the World Championships in the spring of 2019 and a man of important goals.

The Beijing Olympics with their corona isolation and gold medals seem to have only increased Anttila’s popularity. Even when he managed to be in the trough in Beijing at a few important moments.

Although the venue is not certain, Anttila dares to indulge in the idea of ​​playing the World Cup in a familiar city.

What kind of emotional storm will pass through when you get on the ice in Finland’s first race match?

“It’s definitely quite a bit. These tournaments are always great, but being able to play at home evokes emotions in particular. I try to take all the stream from the audience for myself. ”

Thursday provides a sample of how the arena fits into the home of the Lions. After the Swiss match in the EHT series, Finland will continue to Stockholm this weekend against the Czech Republic and Sweden.

After the tournament, the race team will be baked with NHL spices from the camp team. The World Championships in Tampere and Helsinki will start on 13 May.