Ice hockey | Tommi Tikka is the most annoying guy in the league – this is how Jukka Jalonen commented on his selection for Leijon

When Ilves center Tommi Tikka gets to draw his first skates on the ice this weekend in the jersey of the Lions, we will write a new chapter in the stories of Finnish hockey about not giving up and tenacity.

Tikka, 27, was not super promising when he was young, although he carried the captain’s C on his chest.

Tikka played in Espoo Blues in the C and B-junior SM series, but when he outgrew the B-junior, the message the following summer was dull. In Espoo, there was only a place available from the so-called Academy team.

“I thought that I still wanted to play in the SM league. Was a familiar coach Martikainen’s Saku In Vaasa. He lured me there and I went”, Tikka recounts the events of 2013.

Looking back on the past, below was the first day of my career with the Lions: trip from Tampere to Helsinki, accommodation and training.

The road from surplus junior to the journey of the Lions had been covered.

Although Tikka only reached the national team games at a mature age, he already left a memory mark a lot earlier with his debut for Leijonat.

Tika’s game on the rink is characterized by unyieldingness. If there are market meetings in Ilves’ games, Tikka is often at the center of the events.

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“The opponent will definitely know when Tikka is on the field, and it’s worth knowing.”

The most annoying guy in the league is the title, which in Tika’s case is covered. Ilta-Sanomat asked From the league’s 15 captains, the league’s most annoying players this season. Tikka received six mentions, or 40 percent of the votes.

The justifications ranged from mouthing to poking and rough playing. Jukurien Juhamatti Aaltonen described Tikka as “quite a burdock”.

Tikka herself says that annoying is not conscious but more spontaneous, arising from the game style.

“I don’t go to the game looking for annoyance. It comes with the play style. When you play with emotion, a little hurts and happens,” says Tikka.

From playing physically and with emotion, Tikka also estimates that the irritation will eventually come to an end.

“Perhaps the style of play is a bit such that not everyone always likes it. I must have such an unyielding character and I play situations to the end”, Tikka thinks.

Tikka doesn’t take a stand on who her vote would have gone to if she had been allowed to vote for the most annoying.

He admits that he gets annoyed in the rink about one thing: if there is a player in the starting circle who wins all the starts by a nose.

One name stands out in this category, he is also familiar from Leijon.

“Jarkko Immonen is bad”, says Tikka.

Dart is much more than just annoying opponents at the Liiga level. He belongs to those who play with both superiority and inferiority.

At Alivoima, Tikka is one of Ilves’ most important responsibilities. With the upper hand, the place is nailed in front of the goal, where Tikka makes a mask for the opponent’s goalkeepers.

The power points are also rising at a steady pace to new record readings, around 35 points.

When the Lions’ team was announced a week ago, the head coach Jukka Jalonen specifically highlighted Tika’s versatility.

The game works in both directions, fighting plays smoothly and he is strong with his stick, Jalonen listed his strengths.

“The feeling is that when he is on the field, you can calmly watch how the game unfolds,” Jalonen reflected.

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“I was young and I went to live in Vaasa alone. It was a tough place at the time, but definitely educational.”

As an opponent of Tika’s annoyingness, Jalonenk recognized and estimated that it was caused by physicality: hard play, even at the extreme limits, and heavy tackles.

“The opponent will definitely know when Tikka is on the field, and it’s worth knowing. But he is not only a physical player, he also knows how to play sensibly in other ways,” said Jalonen.

“If someone clicks all the time, what does it help? Goof off what you’re going to do, it doesn’t matter. You have to be the kind of player that it’s not nice to go to the puck in the corner, because the player will drag until the end of the tackle.”

With lions has put together a crew as usual for the Swiss tournament, with a few extra players. There are 15 attackers on the way.

Leijonat plays its first game in Helsinki before traveling to Central Europe. If Tikka is part of the crew playing on Thursday, he will make his national team debut in his hometown.

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“Tikka is a great proof that with hard and patient work, when you improve, you can get to Leijon later.”

Tikka is the only player born in Helsinki in this season’s team of the Lions, although he has not represented Helsinki clubs in his adult career or in the oldest juniors.

“We originally lived in Pasila. Then we moved to Pikku Huopalahti when I was 5 or 6 years old. I started playing at the HIFK ice hockey school when I was 5-6 years old,” says Tikka.

As a junior, the road led to Espoo, until he left for Vaasa at the age of 18. At the same time, the young man’s independence began.

“I was young and I went to live in Vaasa alone. It was a tough place at the time, but definitely educational. You had to be able to take care of yourself when you left the corners of the groups,” says Tikka.

In Vaasa Tikka first lived in a roommate, then alone, then again in a roommate. As a roommate, Tika had several players who played in Sport, the most famous being the 2019 world champion who currently plays in the NHL Joel Kiviranta.

As a player, Tikka initially acquired her spurs in a purely physical and breaking role. For example, in the 2017–18 season, there were 108 minutes on the ice. When Tika played 54 games, the average was two minutes per match.

Physicality is still an important part of Tika’s game, but the ice numbers have decreased. In Ilves, Tikka is on his way to his career record points, and the ice break has already come well under a minute per game: 18 minutes in 28 games this season.

Getting to Leijon is a sign that your career is going in the right direction.

“It’s a big deal for me. You must have done something right to get to this situation. It’s really great,” says Tikka about getting to Leijon.

Finnish ice hockey has produced several junior stars in recent years. The story of Tika, who joins the Lions at the age of 27, has followed a different path. Head coach Jalonen also reminded of that when announcing the team.

“Tikka is a great proof that with hard and patient work, when you improve, you can get to Leijon later. It’s no big deal if you’re not in these twenties,” Jalonen said.