How was Teemu Pulkkinen selected for the Finnish national team? This is how Raimo Helminen responds to MTV.
Teemu Pulkkinen is part of the Finnish team in the historic first 3-on-3 ice hockey World Cup. His selection has sparked discussion due to his KHL background.
The tournament will be held in Belfast, Northern Ireland on July 4-5. It is an invitational tournament featuring eight countries, organized by the American professional league 3ICE. The competition is not governed by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
In addition to Finland, the United States, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and Great Britain will also participate.
Alongside Pulkkinen, the Finnish team includes goalkeeper Kasimir Kaskisuo, defenders Teemu Kivihalme and Oskari Laaksonen, as well as forwards Anton Levtchi, Leo Ring, and Kristian Tanus.
Finland’s head coach Raimo Helminen tells MTV Sports that he himself was not responsible for the player selections.
– The North American people were behind it. They took care of it more. A few agents handled the players.
According to Helminen, there is no special drama related to Pulkkinen’s selection, even though the topic has come up in public discussion.
– Teemu was eager to go for sure. Teemu is a nice guy.
– There’s no need to look too much in the rearview mirror.
Pulkkinen played in the KHL even after the full-scale invasion of Russia began in February 2022 and continued in the league until 2024. After that, he played elsewhere. Last season, he started in the Mestis league with Kiekko-Vantaa and moved for the remainder of the season to the second-highest league in Germany, Starbulls Rosenheim.
According to Pulkkinen, the connection to the Finnish team was made through Kaskisuo.
– Kaskisuo’s Kasimir asked if there was interest in joining this. He has previously played that tournament format in North America. I was interested in it and got into the team.
The forward is looking forward to the tournament.
– When that opportunity opened up, of course I was excited. I will presumably get to play good hockey.
Pulkkinen also mentions that he had not yet had the chance to talk with head coach Helminen before the tournament.
– The agents were indeed handling that assembly system. But I’m sure we will talk about something among the team at some point.
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