Larmi's fun-loving personality shines through on social media
In an internal survey where Penguins players were asked, "Who is your favorite follow on social media?" Larmi wrote, "Me."
"It's just fun," Larmi said with a laugh.
That's how his teammates and coaches would describe his personality, which shines through on both his Twitter and Instagram accounts - where he uses the handle @emillarmi for both.
"I think it's a great quality to have because it rubs off on the rest of the team," goaltending coach Mike Buckley said of the 22-year-old netminder, who signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Penguins in June after coming off of a championship season with HPK of Finland's top professional league, Liiga.
"He's really excited to be here. He genuinely loves Pittsburgh," Buckley continued. "Typically, players come over from Europe and it takes a little time to adjust to the (United) States and the environment. But he's jumped right in. It's a breath of fresh air, for sure."
Larmi's Twitter feed is particularly funny, especially when he posts about his traveling adventures - which he did in a recent series of tweets he called "Life in North America."
It began after he arrived in North America a few weeks ago for a camp run by Buckley in Portsmouth, Massachusetts for all of the goaltenders in the organization.
"We skate for four days, we work out, get on the ice," Buckley said. "It's just kind of a bonding experience for the goalies and they all get to know each other. And they push each other, too, in a good way."
Larmi was able to get from Finland to Portsmouth just fine. But it was when he tried going from Portsmouth to Pittsburgh that his troubles began.
Tristan Jarry drove the two of them to Boston Logan International Airport, since they had flights that were departing at the same time. Except once they got there, they realized the flights were actually leaving from different airports.
It turns out Larmi had booked a flight out of Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, which is roughly 50 miles north of the city.
"We were lucky that I had plenty of time," Larmi said. "I just took an Uber and went to the right airport."
Larmi posted another one of his "Life in North America" tweets after riding in an Uber whose Check Engine light was on.
"Not a big issue, but usually if my car had that light on, I would maybe do something," Larmi said. "But the driver just put some tape over it. Like well, problem solved. I saw Homer Simpson did that once."
While there's been some adjustments, overall, Larmi is loving life in North America. One of the things he's been working on since arriving is trying to improve his English, which resulted in some of his funniest tweets so far:
Larmi has had nothing but positive reactions from Penguins fans not just on social media, but when he runs into them around the rink. He plans to keep on sharing as much as he can with them and keep giving them insights into how he approaches life.
"I think life has to be fun," he said. "It's like karma. If you do good things, you'll get good things back. I think that's how it works. I try to be a good person. I just try to be a good guy. I just want to be who I am, and that's the biggest thing I want to show."
He has that same approach on the ice, with Buckley saying Larmi reminds him of Marc-Andre Fleury. Like Fleury, not only does Larmi clearly love to play, but he's also an explosive, athletic goalie with a high compete level. Larmi said he has been enjoying how hockey is played in the States, saying that it fits with his style.
"Of course, it's tough and stuff like that, but I've really been enjoying it," he said. "It's much quicker and the rink is a bit smaller, so everything happens much faster. I really like it. It's not boring at all."
Just like Larmi himself.
