The Finnish striker has returned to the strength of Traktor Chelyabinsk. In that case, there is no need for lions.
Teemu Pulkkinen also played in the Traktor shirt last season. EMIL HANSSON / AOP
Finnish striker Teemu Pulkkinen has returned to Russia and the KHL team Traktor Chelyabinsk.
Russian Sport Express said on Thursday that the Finn had joined the team’s training camp. In addition, on the team’s website there are three pictures of the training sessions in which Pulkkinen appears. The photos were taken on July 18, 2022. You can look at the pictures from here.
From Trakotri’s head coach From Anvar Gatijatulin was asked what he thinks about Pulkkinen’s return at the rehearsals open to the media organized in July.
– We welcome all players, he answered.
Iltalehti reached out to the president of the Jääkieckoliitto Harri Nummelan, who, however, did not know about Pulkkinen’s situation. He has not been in contact with the player.
Nummela said that the players make their own decisions, after which the Jääkiekkoliitto makes its own conclusions.
– I am now speaking on a general level, and I am not evaluating the situation of an individual player. In the current world situation, players playing in club team activities in Russia would not be selected for the national team at the moment, Nummela said.
– Hopefully one day the geopolitical situation will be quite different and peace will have returned and relations between states will have normalized. Then sports will also look at things again.
Pulkkinen has a valid contract with Traktor for next season. He played 49 KHL regular season matches in the club last season with an output of 22+12=34.
Pulkkinen has played a total of four seasons in the KHL. In his career, in addition to Traktor, he has represented Dinamo Minsk, Dynamo Moscow and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.
Pulkkinen has played one World Cup in the spring of 2016 in the jersey of the Lions.
There was already speculation about Pulkkinen’s possible return to his KHL team in June. Then MTV Sports reached Pulkkinen by phone.
– Yeah, I don’t… I’m not… And there’s nothing here. I don’t want to take any position on this, Pulkkinen said according to MTV Urheilu at the time before hanging up the phone.
Teemu Pulkkinen has also represented Dynamo Moscow in his career. Photo from 2020. EMIL HANSSON / AOP