Mulletman
Registered User
- Feb 23, 2013
- 3,997
- 3,830
NHL.com had a really nice article about Olli Jokinen's school of hockey in Florida: https://www.nhl.com/news/longtime-n...ey-in-south-florida/c-284872482?tid=277548856
Jokinen's quote from the article: "I see this as my chance to give back to the game and grow the game. Before, families had to send their children away to Minnesota or New England or Canada to continue their development after they were 14 or 15 years old. We want them to be able to stay here. Hopefully, someday we can have some kids that make it to the big leagues."
I think that OJ will be a really good role model for young players growing up. There's not been many players that's had so much adversity on his road to become a successful NHL player. Olli was mismanaged a ton during his early years and made some mistakes himself, especially after beeing forced to leave the Panthers. Olli could've been and should've been so much more. There's a good case to be made that he's probably the best prospect to ever come out of Finland, but he never reached that potential. But hopefully he can mentor some young players to greater success, not just when it comes to hockey knowledge but also when it comes to the mental side of the game.
It's a shame how the panther's organization pushed out OJ all those years ago and basically hasn't wanted anything to do with since. Hopefully with time OJ will get the recognition that he deserves in Florida and maybe this is the first step in the right direction.
Jokinen's quote from the article: "I see this as my chance to give back to the game and grow the game. Before, families had to send their children away to Minnesota or New England or Canada to continue their development after they were 14 or 15 years old. We want them to be able to stay here. Hopefully, someday we can have some kids that make it to the big leagues."
I think that OJ will be a really good role model for young players growing up. There's not been many players that's had so much adversity on his road to become a successful NHL player. Olli was mismanaged a ton during his early years and made some mistakes himself, especially after beeing forced to leave the Panthers. Olli could've been and should've been so much more. There's a good case to be made that he's probably the best prospect to ever come out of Finland, but he never reached that potential. But hopefully he can mentor some young players to greater success, not just when it comes to hockey knowledge but also when it comes to the mental side of the game.
It's a shame how the panther's organization pushed out OJ all those years ago and basically hasn't wanted anything to do with since. Hopefully with time OJ will get the recognition that he deserves in Florida and maybe this is the first step in the right direction.
