WC hockey | He played in the extra league, now Oksanen has become a Finnish tour guide in Prague. But unfortunately I don’t know bars, he laughs

During his one-year engagement in eastern Bohemia, he was happy to visit Prague. “It was only a short distance away, so my girlfriend and I took the car and drove to admire the beauty of this city,” he recalled. As an expert, he thus fit the role of a guide for his Finnish teammates. “We had a little time, so I took them around the city,” Oksanen recounted.

But he didn’t give them tips on bars with cheap Czech beer. “Unfortunately, I don’t know any, I’ve always had to drive,” he laughed. He was really in a good mood before the start of the championship. “I feel really good. It’s a great honor to be a part of the national team, especially here in the O2 arena,” he praised despite the uncertainty of whether he will play in the first match. Together with 17-year-old talent Konsta Helenie, he trained in a different black kit.

“We’ll see if I start. Anyway, I’m really looking forward to it. I bet it will sell out. And from my experience with the Czech fans, I expect a real brawl,” he recalled the atmosphere he experienced in the extra league.

He expects an even tougher match than in the preparation in Brno, where Finland won 4:1. “It’s hard to say who is the favorite. A great opponent to start with. They play very aggressively, they attack very well. And they have a lot of skilled players,” said the 31-year-old forward. When asked about the biggest strengths of Czech hockey, he immediately blurted out: “Physical play and speed. That surprised me a lot during the year in the extra league,” he admitted.

He has only the best memories of Hradec, but he nevertheless headed to the Swedish Oskarshamn, where this year he also worked with Czech compatriots Mark Langhamer, Lukáš Jašek and Hynk Zohorna. However, they are missing from the championship. “I would like to see them here. They all had a good season, but a lot of reinforcements arrived from the NHL. That makes it more difficult for players from Europe to get into the selection,” Oksanen pointed out.

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From a team point of view, however, Oskarshamn experienced a horror season topped off by relegation from the top division. “An extremely difficult year, probably the worst in my life, everything went wrong. We didn’t do well in the beginning and we didn’t manage to change the course. But it gave me a valuable lesson for the future,” appreciated the Finnish striker at least.

So he is looking for a new job for the new year. And when leaving Hradec, he mentioned that he would certainly not be opposed to returning one day. “I don’t know what awaits me yet. Maybe Hradec will be one of the options. I spoke with general manager Aleš Kmoníček during the season. Everything is possible, we’ll see. Now I’m concentrating on the championship,” concluded Oksanen.