The crown of Kristian Kuusela’s wonderful career is the spring 2019 WC gold.
Kristian Kuuselan there are no less than four Finnish championships and the Swedish championship in the trophy cabinet, but the memorable World Championship gold of spring 2019 comes out on top.
– I wouldn’t want to put the championships in order, because winning is the only thing I play for. If I had to choose one, it would be the WC gold. It was a tough thing.
Kuusela, then 36, played for Leijon as the oldest Finnish World Cup debutant of all time. On top of that, he was the last man to join the team.
– Since the spring has gone a long way in Tappara, there have been few spots for the national team. We didn’t go to the finals that year, so there was a seam.
– The possibility of a place in the competition to fight was a big deal for me. I stayed with the camp, and after the Czech tournament it was drawn between me and (Leo) Komarov.
In the end, Komarov did not arrive, so Kuusela got into the group. The team, judged to be very weak in advance, had strong confidence in itself well in advance of the games.
– We knew ourselves that we are a good team. In the last week of the camp in the Czech Republic, we won the Russian NHL bundle and played well. There was no hesitation about making it, Kuusela remembers.
Flow mode
Kristian Kuusela really has experience in tough places. If Tappara goes far this spring, Kuusela will break the limit of 200 playoff games in the League. Mika Kylmäniemi / AOP
Especially in the playoffs, the snowball rolled so strongly that a completely unexpected World Cup gold was almost inevitable.
– The semi-final against Sweden then gave the last impetus – the way was open.
Defeating Russia, which was full of NHL stars, in the semi-finals and rising from the chase against Canada in the final crowned the story of an exceptional team.
– Unity always wins over material. Of course, we were under pressure from time to time, but the result must always be respected, says Kuusela.
– I remember that in the opening set of the final we were right on the scaffolding, but we survived with dry feet. The flow mode was on the whole time and I had faith that we would be able to come through.
On Saturday, Kuusela already won the seventh championship in his career, when Tappara defeated Luulaja in the CHL final.