Pekka Rautakallio faced Wayne Gretzky and Ronald Reagan

Pekka Rautakallio was listed in North America until

Concrete proof had arrived in Pori and slammed through the door of an apartment building on Satakunnakatu: an invitation to the Detroit Red Wings’ fall training camp.

The red and white logo of the member of the NHL’s original six was elegantly embossed in color on the cover and letter paper.

– The envelope and the actual letter paper were wonderful, Rautakallio enthuses.

– I wonder if this is really true.

Rautakallio stomped into the hall and presented his treasure to the Ässie team leader.

– I asked what he thinks. The cold answer was, ‘why are you going there to kill yourself’, he recalls.

– Not then, I thought and put the letter back in my pocket. That throw was blinding.

End to end

It was no wonder that the Red Wings organization raised eyebrows, even though in the early 1970s Euro stars were not really interested in NHL clubs. Rautakallio was a tall, insightful and skilled defender who played in an exceptional way, like a fourth striker.

The foundation had been created in the RU-38 exercises and, above all, in Liisantori’s höntsy.

– Höplääminen (mischief) came from a street slob, Rautakallio grins.

– I always wanted to win as well. The idea was that no one can get past me, but I always win one-on-one situations.

Rautakallio had a more than a point-per-game season in his under-twenties: 34 games, 35 (23+12) points.

Professionalism called, finally. The series was WHA and the club Phoenix Roadrunners, whose head coach Sandy Hucul believed in the power of long skating exercises.

– We went from end to end. The pucks were on the sideline in the basket throughout the training, a bit like on the TV.

Even though the tough training took its toll mentally and physically, Rautakallio learned a valuable lesson that carried him through the rest of his career.

– In order to perform the skating with honor, it was necessary to pay attention to the technique. Through hard work, the fluency began to take hold and gradually turned into automation.

Points record

Rautakallio returned to Pori after two WHA seasons. Refined skating skills and perhaps the most handsome nickname of all time in Finnish hockey, Rocky, had taken hold of the journey.

Aces built Rautakallio and another WHA visitor Veli-Pekka Ketolan around one of the toughest fives in league history: Rautakallio–Harry Nikander; Arto Javanese–Ketola–Kari Makkonen.

Rautakallio dominated the rink and, as the fourth forward, scored the defensemen’s single-season point record, which is still valid: 53 (25+28).

The same score has only been achieved later Brian Rafalski – who played 17 more matches than Rautakallio in his record season.

Rautakallio was wanted in the NHL, even if by force.

– That ace gang was the best of its era, but when thinking about the NHL, the national team was more important, because the scouts followed the World Cup, among other things.

“Donny Was Right”

Rautakallio barked Arya-with his wife, a stack of contract offers in the kitchen of the Luvian home. A legendary agent Don Baizley recommended the Atlanta Flames, who offered a two-year contract and a salary of $125,000 per season.

– Money was not the motivating factor, but playing and the NHL itself, Rautakallio emphasizes.

– Donny said that in the Flames I would have a good chance to be in the team immediately. Donny was absolutely right.

Played for the Islanders Stefan Persson had opened North American eyes to how defenders play. He didn’t hit the puck through the plexiglass out of the area, but served nice openings to the attackers’ shoulders.

The same was wanted from Rautakalli. Do as you see fit, was the succinct instruction of the Flames coaching staff.

– I don’t remember that we ever had a tactics meeting. The coaches put together the chains and pairs of packs but didn’t go through what we should do.

In the White House

Rautakallio quickly learned the ways of the NHL. 30 points were scored in the first season, 56 in the second and as many as 68 in the third.

The highlight of the NHL season and perhaps the whole career was being selected for the all-star game as the first Finn. The Campbell conference team had 20 players: 19 Canadians and one Finnish.

– We had (Wayne) Gretzky(Mark) Messier and (Paul) CoffeyRautakallio lists.

– Playing was quite high-quality and easy. Those guys really knew how to play.

Despite the Oilers’ superstars, the Welsh Conference took the win with a 4-2 win. The recently deceased Islanders star Mike Bossy scored 3–2 and 4–2 goals and bagged the MVP award.

The match was preceded by lunch Ronald Reagan hosted by the White House.

– In the handshake line, the adjutant asked who you are, where you come from and what club you represent. When it was my turn and I told my name, the adjutant looked at me with rolling eyes and asked if I could tell the president myself, Rautakallio said.

– Then I told myself, but the president was not very interested. The event must have been quite a chore for him.

360 degrees

Rautakallio saw up close Gretzky’s rapid rise from prodigy to master of the Puck World. The Flames coaching learned the special abilities the hard way.

– The players said that the guy has scored a hard result, but the coach was upset and said that he is so small and announced that we don’t have any problems, says Rautakallio.

– Well, I guess we had quite a few problems. In the following practices, the players joked to the coach that ‘yeah, that Gretzky wasn’t amazing’.

In the 1981–82 season, Gretzky roared with a mind-boggling 92-goal, 212-point season. The number of goals is still and probably forever the NHL record.

– Gretzky’s skill level was in a class of its own, but the number of games was something else. He always knew how to release the puck at the right time and knew where and when the player was ready, Rautakallio describes.

– He wasn’t particularly fast. I thought many times that I was going to overdo it, but he did a 360 degree pirouette at full speed and slipped past.

The Flames, who moved to Calgary, and the Edmonton Oilers played in the same division and met eight times. Rautakallio was memorable, because once in the middle area, Gretzky muttered ‘oh, fucking Finn’ – and, contrary to his habits, was content to throw the puck at the end and turn towards the substitution box.

– Maybe he had a bit of a long shift underneath.

“This is a family affair”

The Flames’ intention was to sign Rautakallio with a long contract, regardless of the money. GM by Cliff Fletcher however, the paper remained blank.

– When I told him my decision, there was probably five minutes of silence, Rautakallio recalls.

– We looked at each other. Then he asked a little about the reasons for my decision. I said this is a family affair.

Fletcher pulled an empty A4 sheet onto the table, held out a pen and asked to write down the amount.

– He said he would pay like a million (for the season). I immediately pushed the sheet back and said it’s not about the money.

Super contracts had already been seen in the 1970s, when the WHA clubs took stars from the NHL, but Gretzky, for example, crossed the million-per-season mark for the first time only after his famous move to the Kings at the end of the 1980s.

Your puck?

Rautakallion’s playing career continued for another seven seasons in HIFK and Rapperswil-Jona of the Swiss league. The magic of playing began to gradually disappear, but in five HIFK seasons, an excellent 168 points were still produced in 174 matches.

Today, Rautakallio, 69, shows off his skates, which have been integrated into Huckli’s endless skating practices, as a member of the Extremes senior ice hockey team.

He remembers to feed, unlike when he was a young and eager pot junior.

– Competitiveness is still in the DNA, but it doesn’t go so that the rest of you take your own puck, because I have mine, Rautakallio laughs.

– I’m not going to burp at all – but I will say that a year ago we won the SM gold in the 65-year-old series.

In addition to the interview with Rautakallio, the book Rocky Road (Bazar) published this week has been used as a source.