Postcards From Europe: April 26

Thursday brought another full day for the Colorado Avalanche Pee-Wee Hockey Team, and it began with an adventure to Suomenlinna, also known as "the Fortress of Finland."
Accessing the island via ferry from Market Square, the team took a guided tour around the Unesco World Heritage site. The fort was originally built by Sweden in the mid-18th century and was then occupied by Russia before finally being taken over by Finland when the country gained independence in the early 1900's.

The boys checked out scenes of former bunkers, corridors and bastions, as well as Finland's only remaining World War II submarine during their visit.
"The ferry to the fortress island was a lot of fun," said second-year defenseman Danny Andreen. "Then we did a tour around the island, and I learned that Finland used to be part of Russia."
Following the journey to Suomenlinna, the team took a trolley trip to a hockey store in downtown Helsinki to buy some Finnish souvenirs. The Jr. Avs then headed to Espoo to play their final exhibition match versus the Jr. Blues.

The Jr. Blues ousted the Jr. Avalanche 8-3 in the game, with center Noah Grolnic tallying two goals and right wing George Poirier adding the other.
"It was a new level of play for us. They were a lot more physical, and we just weren't ready for that." Danny said. "We can improve on moving the puck up quicker to try and match that level."
Following the game, the players connected with their billet families that they will be staying with for the remainder of the trip. Each player presented their host families with a gift bag containing a Mikko Rantanen-signed puck, a 2017-18 Avalanche team-signed pennant and other team apparel.

"The billet family is great. They have three kids, and they're just a really nice family," Danny said. "After our game, they took me to the Finland vs. Russia hockey game. It was a lot of fun, especially since Finland ending up winning in a shootout, and I got to wear my new Team Finland jersey that I got at the hockey store."
The Jr. Avs begin the Nordic Hockey Trophy international tournament this weekend.