Female Finnish Flash having a ball

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This article was published 28/07/2022 (1513 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ella Honkonen has endured an adolesence that even she struggles to take a stance on.

In 2020, the bashful 12-year-old from Finland packed up her life with her parent’s sights set on Canada, it was a decision that had a two-fold effect on the family. Honkonen’s father, a long-haul truck driver, transported goods all around Europe, but thought Canada offered him a chance to further his career.

As for Ella, a high-level under-15 ice hockey player who was not only playing up in competition but also skating with boys at the time, the Great White North’s hockey programs would provide her an opportunity to blossom more than at home.

The move was an adjustment Honkonen, now 15, still waffles about, despite being settled into her new home.

“It was a big change in my life but I love it. I love being here but I kind of miss Finland. I want to live there but I want to live here,” she said sheepishly, sporting a grin and a strong Finnish accent.

But if there’s one thing that helped Honkonen acclimate to her new environment, it was her ability to put the puck in the back of the net. Skating since she was two years old and exhibiting a penchant to play with the best, it was only fitting the newly-minted Winnipeg teen found an elite group with which to showcase her skills and further her game.

Honkonen will join the Interlake Lightning female U18 AAA squad this upcoming season, in what will be her second taste of hockey in North America.

The 15-year-old’s first taste came at the end of June when a friend asked her to play ball hockey on a newly formed U16 girls team, the Manitoba Monarchs.

The Monarchs, sporting just three players with extensive experience in the rapidly growing sport, were being assembled quickly after news broke that the Junior National Championships, currently underway in Winnipeg, would include a U16 girls division for the first time.

Honkonen accepted the offer after a lengthy internal debate and hasn’t looked back.

“You make friends,” she said about her favourite aspect of ball hockey. “I like running, I like shooting and just being with the team.”

In a short time, Honkonen’s tenacious playing style and wicked shot earned her the respect of her teammates and turned her into one of the squad’s biggest threats.

“(My tenacious style comes from) playing with the boys. Their game is really aggressive. So I’m an aggressive player who likes to shoot. Shooting is just… I don’t know why but I like scoring goals.”

Her scoring touch was on full display in the Manitoba Monarch’s first round-robin matchup at the Junior National Championships, hosted in Winnipeg for the first time since 2014, potting the team’s lone goal in a 1-0 win over the Team B.C. Warriors.

“It was awesome moment,” she said. “My linemate got the ball, she passed, I shot and that was it. It was a good pass… it was lucky goal.”

What Honkonen didn’t mention was that it was her forechecking that forced a turnover that ultimately led to her goal.

Head coach Josh Tymchak wouldn’t concede that his left winger’s marker was luck.

“She’s a hard worker and likes to really dig out there and make shots,” he said after the game.

“She obviously scored a huge goal for us today and she’s really important. The whole team is really important but she really helped us out today, for sure.”

The Monarchs didn’t look like a team that had only been playing together for five weeks in Thursday morning’s tilt. After a sluggish first period that saw no shots from the home team, Manitoba came out flying the rest of the game, thanks to a strong forecheck that ultimately drew five penalties.

Tymchak said his girls have come a long way since their first game together against a U15 boys team in the Manitoba Minor Ball Hockey League.

“The first two games we couldn’t get out of our own zone. They didn’t have a clue on how to play. So, it was a lot of work,” the 13-year coach said.

“It’s getting them together, getting them out here, seeing what it’s all about… I told the girls when they first came on, if you’re playing other sports, you’re probably going to end up leaving your other sport on the back burner and showing up to ball hockey. They kind of thought I was kidding, but a lot of them did do that.”

Heading into the weekend, the Monarchs will look to continue etching their Cinderella story as the province’s only U16 girls representation.

For as strong as Honkonen’s thirst for scoring goals is, it’s topped by her yearning to make new friends and win her first championship on Canadian soil.

“Win this tournament, that’s the goal for me,” she said. “Win this tournament and make new friends from other teams.”

The National Junior Championships will continue through Sunday, July 31.

Jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jfreysam