Blue Jackets fans from near and far enjoyed Finland visit

Jarkko Niemi had a problem.
He knew one his favorite players, Patrik Laine, was coming with the Blue Jackets to play in his hometown of Tampere as part of this season's NHL Global Series games. A longtime hockey fan from the city, Niemi has supported the local legend since Laine helped one of the city's two top-level pro teams, Tappara, win the Finnish Liiga championship in 2016.

"Because Laine is a Tappara man, he is our man," said Niemi, who wore both a Tappara necklace and ring to the game Friday night in Nokia Arena.
Laine's return to his roots has been a major story in this hockey-mad city in a hockey-mad country, and Niemi wanted to celebrate by getting Blue Jackets jerseys with Laine's name and number for the whole family.
But he ran into some trouble with ordering the jerseys to Tampere, so he did what any Finnish fan might do. He sent a message via social media to CBJ general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, who also happened to be born in Tampere.
"Because we are Finns, we can do that," Niemi joked. "When I sent that message, I thought that he would never answer me -- and he answered in a few days."
Kekalainen eventually forwarded Niemi's information to Robin Vlah, the team's retail director, and the wheels were in motion. Finally, Friday morning, four Laine jerseys -- one each for Niemi, his wife Minna, his daughter Erika and her boyfriend Joni -- were delivered to Niemi in Tampere by CBJ vice president of ticket sales and service Marty Mulford.
Mulford often speaks with great pride of the service his staff provides Blue Jackets fans, but to Niemi, this was above and beyond.
"The most important thing here is the customer experience," Niemi said. "That's something incredibly nice. In Finland, that kind of experience is not possible."
Many things about this weekend's games seemed impossible, including Laine's return to the city that gave him everything. But that's part of what made it so memorable, as even despite the two CBJ losses to Colorado, everyone involved got to experience something new when the Jackets headed to Finland.
For those like Niemi and
the rest of the Finnish fans who have started following the Blue Jackets
at least in part because of the Tesoman tyyki, it was a chance to see one of the game's top players live in a city that means so much to him.
For the Blue Jackets fans who traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to come to this proud country of just over 5.5 million residents, there were memories made that will last a lifetime.
Kyle Toops is a Westerville native whose family has had season tickets since day one, but he moved to St. Petersburg, Fla., back in 2005. When the Global Series games were announced, it didn't take long for five members of the family -- Toops and his wife, Brittany, plus his father, brother and sister-in-law -- to decide to go.
"My dad said, 'Do you want to do a family vacation and watch hockey?'" Toops said. "And here we are."
One of the highlights of the trip for Kyle and Brittany came on the flight over the Atlantic Ocean when they were able to see the Northern Lights on the plane ride to Stockholm.
"You're asleep on the plane and the stewardess goes, 'Wake up, roll down your window,'" Kyle said. "And you're like, holy crap."
Other memorable parts of the "absolutely awesome" experienced included interacting with the Finnish people, who Kyle described as some of the nicest on earth, and getting to try delicacies like moose and reindeer. For someone who now lives in Florida, he also didn't mind the chilly temperatures because he wore a rather warm Blue Jackets onesie to the Friday game and fan events.
"I'm actually enjoying being cold," he said "I was like, 'Everyone has the same jacket. I brought this, why not wear it?' It's a great way to get on TV in another country."
Worthington resident Thom Wright and his mother, Helen, also were part of the CBJ fan group that traveled overseas, which was a new experience for the two despite the fact both have worked in the aviation industry and done plenty of traveling.
"We absolutely loved Helsinki," Thom said. "Neither of us had ever been there before. It was just never on our list. Helsinki was awesome. Tampere is just crazy. We were at the 2019 Global Series games in Berlin when Chicago played the Berlin Polar Bears, and it was fun. Here, because it is a real game and not the preseason, it's another level up. It's just absolutely fantastic."
Thom and Helen attended the Friday game and then were joined by his aunt and brother for the second game on Saturday, and he said the family enjoyed its tours of the cities during the trip. Another highlight was eating mustamakkara, a local Tampere delicacy that is black sausage served with lingenberry jam.
An extra benefit to the experience came when the group was making small talk with the butcher at the shop.
"The best part was the guy that ran the butcher shop, he is the godson of (original Blue Jacket and Finnish hockey Hall of Famer) Petteri Nummelin," Thom said. "He was a great guy and just made it that much more fun."