Latest news with #Hartikainen
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ex-Oiler, Finnish Olympian Returns Home
Finnish forward Teemu Hartikainen, 35, with KalPa, the reigning Liiga champion announced on Friday. KalPa is the club Kuopio-born Hartikainen grew up playing for, but hasn't played there since 2010. 'It feels good to be here,' said Hartikainen. 'We have been able to settle down with our family in peace, and after the summer we won't have to go out into the world anymore. After all, we've been waiting for this for the past few years, to be able to settle down at home with our family again.' Hartikainen was chosen in the sixth round, 163rd overall, by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Between 2010 and 2013, he split three seasons between the Oilers and the AHL's Oklahoma City Barons. In 52 NHL games, he recorded six goals, seven assists and 16 penalty minutes for the Oilers. Hartikainen then spent nine seasons playing in the KHL for Salavat Yulaev Ufa. In 2018-19, he made the KHL First All-Star Team and led the playoffs in points and plus/minus. In 2020-21, he had 64 points in 53 regular-season games, which led all non-Russian players in the league. Hartikainen spent the last three seasons in Switzerland playing for Genève-Servette, where he amassed 136 points in 161 National League regular-season and playoff games. In 2022-23, he helped the team win its first-ever national title and the following season Genève-Servette won the Champions Hockey League. Hartikainen was one of numerous Finns on the Genève-Servette team; most of whom have since returned home. Finnish teammates of Hartikainen in Switzerland included goaltender Antti Raanta, defenseman Sami Vatanen and forwards Valtteri Filppula and Markus Granlund. Confirmed: Sami Vatanen Returns To Hometown Club It had been rumored since early last season and now it's official. Finnish defenseman Sami Vatanen, 33, has signed a two-year contract to play with his hometown club JYP, the Liiga club announced in a press conference on Tuesday. Internationally, Hartikainen represented Finland at three IIHF World Championships and one Winter Olympics, winning gold in each three months apart in 2022. Hartikainen represents the only KalPa player under contract for 2025-16 that has any NHL, Olympic or World Championship experience, but he's nonetheless confident about the club's continued success. 'The club is growing year by year and there is a way of doing things here in the long term,' he said. 'It has been great to see how many of our own young people have grown up here to become Liiga players and under their leadership we are able to win the Finnish championship. It's great to be a part of this.' Photo © Anne-Marie Sorvin-Imagn Images Antti Raanta Signs With Hometown Finnish Team Antti Raanta is finally going home. On Monday, Liiga club Lukko, located in Raanta's hometown of Rauma, on Finland's west coast, announced that the 36-year-old goaltender had signed a one-year contract.
BBC News
31-03-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Bristol university student to cycle miles for mum who had cancer
A student is planning to cycle across nine countries for a breast cancer charity after his mother was diagnosed with the Hartikainen, 22, was in his second year at the University of Bristol when he received a call from his mother, Johanna, to tell him she had breast underwent multiple surgeries and radiotherapy and has since made a full said he was planning to cycle 1,553 miles (2,500km) across nine countries for Prevent Breast Cancer. "I remember it really vividly," Jesper said. "I was in the living room when I saw she was ringing." He said he felt helpless when he found out his mother had breast cancer. After finishing his degree in economics at the University of Bristol, he will set off on his bike in plans to cycle through France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Norway and finish line will be in Helsinki, Finland, where most of his family mother, a risk manager in a bank, said she was "incredibly proud" of her son."I am hoping that his challenge will help raise awareness of the importance of check-ups which can result in early diagnosis and easier treatment of breast cancer," she said.
The Independent
12-03-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Student to cycle 2,500km for charity after his mother overcomes cancer
A determined student will cycle 2,500km across nine countries to raise funds for the fight against breast cancer – after his mother overcame the disease. As Jesper Hartikainen pedals 200km a day from London to the Finnish capital, Helsinki, he said his mother will often be on his mind. Mr Hartikainen, 21, was in his second year at the University of Bristol when he got the dreaded call. 'I remember it really vividly,' he said. 'I was in the living room when I saw she was ringing. I knew she had gone for a check-up but I didn't think anything of the call. 'Mum started breaking down on the phone and I realised what was happening. I just felt helpless.' His mother, Johanna, underwent multiple operations and radiotherapy for the breast cancer. Fortunately, it was caught early and she made a full recovery. Now, Mr Hartikainen wants to raise money for Prevent Breast Cancer, which aims to stop the disease through early diagnosis and lifestyle change. Mr Hartikainen, who studies economics at the University of Bristol, said: 'Mum was so lucky that it was caught early, I know people who haven't been so lucky and it's exponentially worsened.' He is training hard for the cross-continental cycle, which will see him pedal through France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and finally Finland. 'When I first proposed the idea mum thought I was mental,' Mr Hartikainen said. 'But I've kept saying I'm doing it and now she's really on board. She's even taking a sabbatical and spending some of it following me in the support car.' Mr Hartikainen grew up in Weybridge, Surrey, but much of his family lives in Helsinki. As he nears the finish line, his family, including his mother, will be out to support him. His mother, a risk manager in a bank, said: 'I am incredibly proud of Jesper for taking on such a mammoth challenge raising money for a very worthy cause. 'I am hoping that his challenge will help raise awareness of the importance of check-ups which can result in early diagnosis and easier treatment of breast cancer.' Mr Hartikainen is no stranger to hard exercise. As a teenager he was in the London Irish rugby academy for five years was called up to an England training camp. After tearing his ACL and meniscus in 2020, he moved into cycling, and he now takes part in bicycle and triathlon races. 'Part of me genuinely worries that I'll hit some kind of wall and won't even be able to spin the pedals. But the other half of me knows that I won't let that happen, because the reason I'm doing it is more than enough motivation,' he said. Mr Hartikainen sets out in July after finishing his degree at the University of Bristol. 'I have thoroughly enjoyed my time studying in Bristol, meeting some amazing people and creating some great friendships along the way,' he said. 'In a way it's starting to really feel like home and I would love to return to this incredible city in the future.'
