I am a hockey player. I guess I should really just say that I am an
ex-hockey player but see, I haven't really ever quit. I just didn't find a team three years ago.
Anyway, when I was 23, I was still a fairly active player (not something my coaches would agree with, maybe) and a huge fan of the game. And that summer I got my dream job at Tackla Canada, a Canadian subsidiary of a Finnish hockey gear manufacturer. I did some odd jobs at the company for three months and then flew to Vancouver to meet a Canadian friend of mine.
I was also on a mission from Tackla: In my bag, I carried three (3) T-shirts, to be delivered to the
Vancouver Canucks' trainers at the training camp.
Took the ferry to Vancouver Island to the camp site and somehow got to the rink. And into the dressing rooms. I found the trainer, (let's call him Dave, I have forgot his name, but Dave is a great name for a trainer) and explained that I had some T-shirts to deliver.
"Heyyyyyyy, great, great! Awesome. Nice shirts! What was your name again, buddy?"
"Risto." (Buddy, did he call me his buddy?)
"Hey, Risto, where ya from?"
"Finland." (Silence).
"Finland? Wanna meet a fellow countryman?" Dave said, turned around and yelled, "Jeeeeeeeerrkkkyyyyyyyyy, there's a Finn here to see ya!"
Jerky? Who?! Oh,
Jyrki Lumme.
I said "hi" to Jyrki and watched him get his skates off.
But I never got over the fact that they called him Jerky. So Jyrki's not on our list, either.
