Timo Kunnari
Miikka Kiprusoff sometimes defied the coaches, was unreachable, sat in the pub with a beer and could even smoke a puff during his active years, writes Timo Kunnari from Calgary.
Goalkeeper Miikka Kiprusoff’s huge fan following in Canada might be a bit of a mystery to many Finns. The native of Turku ended his playing career in 2013, so some time has already passed since the man’s heroic deeds.
Still, the popularity of “Kipper”. in the Calgary area has not dimmed at all.
That was proven by the events of the past week and Saturday’s wonderful ceremony at the Scotiabank Saddledome arena, where the Finn’s game number 34 went up to the ceiling of the hall.
Many statistics can be listed as the background to Kiprusoff’s popularity.
He played in the world’s toughest hockey league for a total of 12 seasons and 623 NHL games – nine of those seasons in the province of Alberta in Calgary.
The story continues after the picture.
Miikka Kiprusoff is a big star in the city of Calgary. TIMO KUNNARI
The TPS graduate is the number one player in the Flames’ varsity history in, among other things, matches played (576), wins (305), shutouts (41) and save percentage (91.3).
He also leads the playoff shutout record (6).
The list could be continued indefinitely, but the popularity of the Turku native cannot be explained by numbers.
The man was quiet and distant, even mysterious to the locals. He did a lot of things that a professional athlete wasn’t supposed to do 15 years ago.
Kiprusoff sometimes defied the coaches, was unreachable for long periods of time, sat in the pub in his neighborhood with a beer, and the man could sometimes even smoke weed during his active years.
Kipper was and is an endless prankster.
Behind the serious nature hides a calm velikulta, who always followed his own paths. In Calgary, she is considered hockey’s last rock star.
That’s why people loved the personable Finn, who nevertheless always worked extremely hard for the success of his employer, the Flames.
The story continues after the picture.
Miikka Kiprusoff thanks Flames fans at Saturday night’s ceremony. AOP / USA TODAY Sports
Kiprusoff took the Flames to within one win of winning the Stanley Cup in the spring of 2004. It’s a very big deal for the locals, the value of which is not fully understood in Finland.
When Kipper held a press conference on Friday, the spring 2004 final series was clearly the most requested topic.
Kiprusoff stated to the media, among other things, that he has not watched a single final game afterwards.
On an emotional level, the biggest thing about Kiprusoff is that he was involved in restoring hope and faith in Calgary hockey to those people who don’t have much to do during the long and freezing winter.
Even on the night of the party, Calgary was caressed by a 19-degree frost with a brisk prairie wind.
The end of the 1980s was a time of success for the club. The Flames won the Western Conference in 1986 and the only Stanley Cup in their history in the spring of 1989.
After that, the city’s professional hockey went into a slump. Success started to come again after 2003, when Kiprusoff was signed to the team. The following spring, the Flames already played in the finals.
The rise was thanks to many people, but Kiprusoff and Jarome Iginla are considered the biggest names in Calgary behind the restoration of the city’s hockey reputation.
That might be the biggest reason for Turku’s Kiprusoff’s huge popularity, and the Finn’s shirt was only the fourth Flames player on the roof of the hall.