Riku Koivunen, the maintenance manager of the lions, knows the rackets of the different players like the tips of his fingers.
- Riku Koivuse has plenty of stories from his 13 years as guardian of the Lions.
- Caregivers’ work is much more than doing laundry.
Riku Koivunen sighs deeply when asked about the various coincidences that have happened along his career.
– There are a lot of them. I could probably write a book, the Leijoni maintenance manager laughs.
Kaapo Kako preparation four years ago for the World Cup in Slovakia experienced a surprising bump.
– We had the last WC camp before the Games a week in the Czech Republic. The only item left from the flight was Kako’s game bag, Koivunen says.
The mistake was not Kako’s or Suomen’s maintenance, but the airline’s.
– The bag had fallen somewhere in the dark. It took several days before we could sort out the stuff in Brno.
– Kaapo was allowed to play for a few days, and the rest is history, Koivunen refers to the young man from Turku’s six goals and Finland’s sensational World Cup gold.
Rain of medals
Koivuse, who started in Leijon in 2010, is already in his 18th prestigious competition. There are nine medals, the brightest of which are three World Championship golds and one Olympic gold.
– At the World Championships, everyone gets a medal, but at the Olympics, only the athletes, Koivunen elaborates.
– At the Olympics, the management team will receive a commemorative medal on behalf of the Ice Hockey Association. It’s a nice memory.
Koivunen, who previously worked at Espoo Blues, has been part of the Leijoni’s successful years, which can be said to have started – or returned – from the spring 2011 world championship.
– It’s always harder when the games go well. But if we talk about everyday maintenance, then the same tasks have to be done regardless of whether we win or lose.
The guardians’ work also covers EHT trips and camping.
– The hardest part is the four-week World Cup camp, when players change and positions are changed every week, says Koivunen.
The amount of goods is enough to move. Koivunen estimates that there are about 50 different boxes and bags in service, and on top of that the players’ equipment bags. The total weight is about 1500 kilograms.
The answer to the question about the best part of the job comes quickly.
– That’s everyday life with the players. It’s really great to work with them.
Fix the blades
And what is the daily rhythm of maintenance at the World Cup, for example, on a game day when the match starts at 20:20?
– Basically, it starts the day before, Koivunen elaborates.
– I need to read the game a bit in terms of sharpening. Some people want sharpening for the morning of game day, and others straight to the game.
– Over the years, these have been agreed upon with the players. I have a list of all of them, whether it’s clothing size or blade shape or when you want it sharpened.
The morning ice sharpening is therefore already done the night before.
– Then in the morning at 8-9 we come to the hall. We distribute the clothes washed the previous day and put away the long-sleeved shirts. Let’s make coffee and check the drinks cabinets.
The players come to the hall at around 11 o’clock. Some go to the ice and some to exercise or take care of their bodies.
– When I see who is going on the ice, I can start sharpening my game a little earlier, Koivunen says.
– If everyone went on the ice, I would have to wait so long for the players to come off the ice.
Laundry drum
The players return to the hotel after 1 p.m., but the guardians can’t catch their breath right away.
– We wash the players’ personal laundry as well as their jerseys and socks. It’s four machines.
The whole day’s laundry accumulates eight machines. However, the unit of measurement is not a conventional washing machine.
– No, yes, they are large industrial machines. I would miss my mother on the home plane, Koivunen smiles.
– And if the players have any wishes – as they usually do – they will be taken care of in the meantime. Some equipment is broken or something is broken.
Koivunen teaches that the most important characteristic of a guardian is foresight.
– Whatever you can do in advance, do everything, because the next day something always comes up.
Booth arrangement
The guardians put the Lions’ locker room on the miter. Riku Koivunen
If the anticipation is successful and there is no work piled up, the guardians have time for a short break at the end of the afternoon.
– We eat in the hall, and when we have the nice facilities of Tappara here, we go to the sauna during game day maintenance.
Players arrive at the hall no later than two hours before the start of the game.
– An hour before the players’ arrival, we have the booth set up. The jerseys, face towels and socks have been distributed and the visors cleaned. The equipment is the same at each location. Sports drinks and supplements have been deemed to be sufficient.
Koivunen still sharpens the skates of those players who have announced that they will tell them when they need sharpening.
– There may be one or two of those, and Aki and “Andy” will fix the replacement shed, Koivunen refers to the other members of the maintenance team.
Koivunen is responsible for the whole and the sharpening, but the practical division of labor Aki Bergin and Antti Muurilan with is smooth and not so precise. Things are handled quickly with long shared experience.
– They put drinks, towels and papers in the bulkhead as well as bulkhead bags at both ends. There’s a honey stick, energy gel, ammonia smell, erka, tape, and a tatty stick, and I have a combat belt on my hip that has the same things.
Atitio also has parts of the goalkeeper’s mask and tools needed for blade maintenance.
With the “Tatsikepe” you can tighten the handle of the racket for a better grip.
– Then there is baby powderwhich is put in the sheath of the racket if it feels too sticky.
Speed trumps
Riku Koivunen at work in the Leijonien exchange shed. Jussi Saarinen
The blades of the skates can be changed so quickly that the player does not lose a single change. Two pairs of blades are available for each player.
The action is even more rapid when the bat breaks in the middle of a change. The new racket is in the player’s hand in five seconds.
– You have to strive for that. There are 1-3 backup sticks for everyone, and for example, when the defensive end starts, I have the stick of the center on one finger and the stick of the forward playing against the possible forward on the other finger. I’ve learned to feel the players’ rackets with my fingers, since everyone has different sheaths, Koivunen says.
Many people want to play with dry gloves, and for example Mikko Rantanen wear three pairs of gloves during the set. Juho Lammikko according to Koivunen, is the most extensive in terms of equipment.
– Emil Larmi on the other hand – which is a great feature of a hockey player – he always puts the equipment in the same way and is careful about it.
The most expensive piece of equipment carried by the team is a sharpening machine with a price of around 7,000 euros.
– We usually have two of them, but now we also use a Tappara machine. Glove dryers are 3,500 euros each, and we have three of them.
Confidence
The guardians are the first in the hall and the last to leave. After the match, they start the laundry room again and don’t get to the hotel until around one in the morning.
The job of a guardian requires social skills because there is a lot of interaction with players.
– If we are tired or it is otherwise a bad day, then it cannot be shown, because it quickly catches on, Koivunen emphasizes.
– There is quite a lot of talk about other than hockey. What is said inside the booth is confidential and stays there in the booth.