In the latest episode of Lätkäpod, we discuss the construction of the Kiekko-Espoo team.
Ville Lajunen last played in Espoo in the 2024-25 season and scored 13+21=34 for a defender. Tomi Natri / All Over Press
Just a week ago, it seemed that the construction of Kiekko-Espoo’s team for the coming season was only in the starting stages, as only a few players’ contracts were known. This week, the expected contract announcements finally started coming. The first contracts published were Jere Sallinen35, Jani Lajunen35 and Ville Lajunen38.
In the latest episode of Lätkäpod Timo Kunnari and Mikko Räsänen discussed the construction of Espoo’s team and the elderly players, because this week it was also announced Kristian Näkyvän35, continuation in Espoo. Last season’s players are also looking for a contract extension Tomi Sallinen37, Matti Järvinen36, Joonas Rask36, and Leo Komarov 39, and according to Lätkäpod’s information, at least some of the four are also continuing in the Kiekko-Espoo team. It may be that in Espoo a League record will be set in how many players over 35 years of age will be in the lineup at the same time.
– They can soon go to the senior league if there is no success in the League, Räsänen thinks about the average age of the players.
In the end, however, the already published contracts will receive strong support from the Lätkäpod duo.
– This group is an experienced group from Espoo, which brings international experience to the Espoo team. Let’s highlight the importance of next season, when there are 17 or 18 teams and at the end of the season 3 or 4 teams fall down the league ladder. Nobody wants to be in that group. I see such experienced sons as important against this background. Good acquisitions, Kunnari summarizes.
– I also think about these names the other way around, that what if Lajuset and Sallinen had returned to Finland and gone to another team? After all, only in Espoo would there have been an uproar. However, these are products of their own organization from the Blues era, and it’s great that they return home in their old days to still help the team, Räsänen thinks.
– And it’s great as a story that when Espoo was out of the League for so long, then these old players build that bridge to the old one, which was there in the past, he continues.
And after all, Kiekko-Espoo published other contracts this week, as defenders from the ICEHL league are moving to Espoo Kasper Kotkansalo and Connor Corcoran and Denmark national team forward Mathias From. It was also a tough extension contract Iikka Kangasmiemen two-year extension. Taitava Kangasniemi has proven to be an amazingly consistent player in the League, who scores 35-40 points from season to season.
Listen to the latest episode of Lätkäpodi from the beginning or on Spotify from here. There, among other things, the new sports directors of HIFK and Pelicans.
