Laine pumped to play series in his home country

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This article was published 29/01/2018 (2782 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Patrik Laine can’t wait to go home.

No, this isn’t in any way a slight on Winnipeg, where the talented winger absolutely loves plying his trade, but the sophomore sniper admitted Monday he’s already pumped about playing a pair of games in Finland next season.

“It’s exciting to go play back home. Hockey is super big in Finland, and it’s becoming bigger and bigger all the time. There’s a lot of people that haven’t seen NHL hockey live. So it’s a good opportunity for them to see a good couple games,” Laine told the Free Press on Monday.

The NHL confirmed last weekend the Jets would be part of the next Global Series, which involves playing two regular-season games against the Florida Panthers in Helsinki. The exact dates haven’t been announced, but they are believed to be in early November.

For Laine, that means going up against his good friend and fellow countryman Aleksander Barkov.

“I’ve talked to him. He’s just as excited as me. Too bad it’s not in our hometown, that would be even better,” said Laine, a native of Tampere, Finland. “That’s going to be sick for sure. I think every Finnish guy and all the players are going to be excited.”

Jets coach Paul Maurice has already coached two games in Finland earlier in his career — both were victories.

“It was a great bonding experience,” said Maurice. “There’s a real passionate base in Europe of fans, like there is here. They love their hockey. For the kids especially in Finland, you get to see your idols play hockey. I think there’s a great benefit to it.”

Maurice said the only concern would be having enough time for his team to recover from the trip.

“As a coach, you worry about the in-season part, how long does it take you to get back off the time-zone change,” said Maurice. “I’d like to think because it’s part of how we live here, we must have changed time zones about 10 times last month, about 8,000 miles, I’d like to think we can handle it as well as anybody. I’m excited about it. It’ll be great for our team and a great experience.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg