The Finnish Liiga introduces a new CHL team for the upcoming season: the Espoo Blues. Known in Finland for their exceptionally good junior hockey teams as well as their relentless style of play, they are most definitely a team to follow closely despite not having any superstars.

by Vilja Paatalo

Espoo is Finland’s second-biggest city and it’s located right next to the country’s capital, Helsinki. This means that the club's hockey team, the Blues, have had to carve out a fan base in an area that is filled with loyal supporters of the two major Helsinki teams: IFK Helsinki and Jokerit.

Compared to the established teams in Helsinki, the Blues are a relatively new club and this has sometimes made it difficult to establish themselves. The future, however, looks bright as both enthusiastic young fans and young players are among the things the organization is best known for. The Blues are frequent champions in junior levels and many of these young talents have already shown their skills in the Liiga.

From Kiekko-Espoo to Espoo Blues 

The Blues are a relatively new club. It was founded in 1984 under the name of Kiekko-Espoo and, after several years of lower division hockey, they earned a promotion to the Liiga in 1992.

Among the stars of that era’s team was Jere Lehtinen, who later became a modern-day icon of Finnish hockey. Lehtinen’s number was retired in 2014 by the Blues, making him only the second player in history whose number the club has retired. Another notable player of that period was Tero Lehtera, who will join the team's coaching staff for the upcoming season.

Kiekko-Espoo changed their name to the Blues in 1998 and their current home Barona Areena opened in 1999. Since then, they’ve had fairly good success in the Liiga, playing in the finals as well as the bronze game numerous times. They are, though, still chasing the club’s first Finnish championship.

They have earned their reputation as a relentless team throughout the years, and that was affirmed in 2012 when they became the first ever Liiga team to win a playoff series after being 3–0 down in wins. 

“We decided we’d never give up. That has been our motto: the Blues won’t give up. Ever,” Roope Talaja said back then, summing up perfectly the team’s attitude. They are not the biggest or the most traditional or richest – but they never give up. 

Interesting team gets ready for CHL

The Blues had a terrible start to the 2013–14 season but once again, the underdogs fought back, earning a spot in the playoffs. They were eliminated in quarter-finals by fellow CHL team JYP Jyvaskyla. Fifth place in regular season was, however, enough to secure a spot in the CHL. 

The team has a talented head coach, Jyrki Aho, who is now starting his third season with the club. He is now joined by another coaching talent Lehtera. Since Aho is continuing as the head coach it is safe to assume that the Blues will continue to play as they did last season: simple, straight-forward and hard-working hockey. 

The core group of players stays mainly the same as it was last season. The brightest star in the team has to be Kim Hirschovits, 33, who played the best season of his life in 2014–15. Not only was he the best player of his team, but he was also among the best players in the whole Liiga. If he can be anywhere near as dominant next season he is sure to pose a threat to any opposing team in CHL, too.

The goaltending situation of the team is interesting. Young Eetu Laurikainen was magnificent last season but he left to play in North America. The man who is expected to take the starting goalie’s position next, Christian Engstrand, last played in an exotic hockey country – Hungary. The Swede, who has previously played mainly in his home country, spent the last season playing in Szekesfehervar in the Austrian-based EBEL, but now Engstrand is clear to play in Espoo. 

The other goalie is an equally interesting one as well. Kaapo Kahkonen,18, is the most likely starting goalie for Team Finland in this winter’s World Junior Championship and he is now going to play his first season in the Liiga for the Blues. Another young talent is Veeti Vainio, who turns 18 in June. He’s one of the most talented young defencemen in Finland and he is expected to get a chance to show what he can do both in the Liiga and in the CHL.

Both the young guns and the more experienced ones all share the commitment to play according to Aho’s wishes. Soon Europe will see how far the relentless style will take them in the CHL.

Team facts

Click here for current information about the club.