A Sprint Across The Atlantic For Firkus Parents 

HELSINKI, Finland – Lorne and Shelly Firkus don’t much mind that they’ve almost certainly set their tiny Alberta town’s record for the shortest trip to Europe. 

Not when the pair saw everything needed on their very first European voyage, arriving at Veikkaus Arena on Saturday night just ahead of their son, Kraken forward Jagger Firkus, taking his rookie warmup lap prior to his NHL debut against the Carolina Hurricanes. That was impressive, considering they’d gotten a 3 a.m. text Friday from their son at their Irma, Alberta home in Canada, drove nearly two hours to Edmonton, flew 8 1/2 hours to Amsterdam and then continued onward to Finland after a four-hour layover. 

“We almost didn’t make it,” his father said.  

Indeed, even with the flights going seamlessly, more issues would await them just making it from the airport to the arena and then inside. But they were parents on a mission. 

“We were going to do all we could to be there,” his mother said. 

Their journey is reminiscent of how forward Oscar Fisker Molgaard’s parents made it to Chicago from Denmark a year ago with just minutes to spare ahead of their son debuting against the Blackhawks. But they had one additional hour of time zone distance on their side, while Firkus’ parents also had to wait until early evening Edmonton time on Friday – about 2 a.m. Saturday in Helsinki – to catch that city’s lone daily flight to Amsterdam. 

Firkus is the 38th NHL player to make his debut outside of North America and the first to do so for the Kraken. Early Saturday afternoon, he’d spoken after the team’s optional morning skate about the fact his parents had touched down in Amsterdam late morning ahead of their long layover.

“It's a whirlwind,” Firkus said with a chuckle. “Obviously, you don't really picture playing your first game in Finland, but it's a unique experience that you'll look back on and be grateful for.  

“And my mom and dad did end up making it earlier and they’re on the way right now,” he added. “So, that's exciting to be able to have some family in the building. You're so far away from home.” 

He didn’t yet know how hairy things would be for them still. 

Upon touching down in Helsinki about 5:30 p.m., they immediately went through passport control and then checked into their airport hotel. They dropped their bags off and donned matching Kraken jerseys with their son’s name and No. 57 on them. 

After, they quickly hopped a train from the airport to the arena, somewhat jetlagged and not really clear on where they were going. 

“We ended up missing our stop,” his dad said. “We went one stop too many and had to walk back the other way to the arena.” 

That took another 15 minutes. Then, upon arriving at the arena’s entry doors, Firkus’ mother was told by security that her purse was too big and had to be gate checked for retrieval later.  

His mother told the guard at the arena entrance doors that she’d just wanted to see her husband over to the ticket turnstiles so he could go watch the warmup and then would come back with her purse. But when the first guard let them through the doors to the security officers manning the turnstiles, the couple got lucky. 

“They just ran our tickets and let us through,” she said.  “So I said, ‘OK, let’s go!’”  

They both took off and made it to their seats, exhausted, about 20 minutes before the warmup begin. 

Their son, drafted in the second round in 2022, started on a line with Chandler Stephenson and Freddy Gaudreau. He got 11:38 of playing time in the Kraken’s 5-1 loss. 

“He looks like he’s a little bit nervous out there,” his mother said. 

But when asked, both parents insisted they were not nervous at all. After all, they’d already done their part in making it there.

“We’re really happy for him,” his mother said. “He’s sacrificed so much for hockey and now he gets to do this.” 

She described Firkus, 22, missing his high school graduation to take part in a pre-draft combine camp. Then missing his brother’s wedding for a Team Canada junior tryout, then his sister’s wedding when he made the Canadian team and got called up to play for them. 

He’d also been an undersized 150-pound forward throughout his junior career, his “Firkus Circus” scoring exploits dominating the Western Hockey League with Moose Jaw before checking in at 5-foot-11, 177 pounds for his NHL debut. 

“Now, he gets to prove everybody wrong,” his father said. 

The trip and postgame reunion with their son in the arena’s dressing room area would prove fleeting. The Kraken are staying in the city and leave here early Sunday morning while his parents headed back to their airport hotel and were booked on a 6:40 a.m. flight Sunday back to Amsterdam and then home to their Alberta farm town of 482 people. 

That means, if everything runs according to schedule, they will have traveled halfway around the world to spend roughly 13 hours in Finland without even seeing it in daylight.  

“That wasn’t what this trip was about,” his dad said. “This trip was about him.”