I met ESA TIKKANEN at HIFK match! (Finnish Liiga Playoff)

I met the legendary 5 times Stanley Cup champion, Esa Tikkanen at a IFK vs. Pelican playoff match in Helsinki, Finland! Totally speechless! He won more Stanley Cup than Wayne Gretzky!
Check out my reaction at a Finnish hockey game, meeting Esa Tikkanen.
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JetLagWarriors is a Canadian couple -- Steve and Ivana. After travelling here and there for a few years, mostly during Canadian winter, we fully caught the travel bug and decided to travel INDEFINITELY! Subscribe to keep up with our journey. Thanks!
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - HOTTEST TREND IN TRAVEL: Finnish hockey playoffs!
1:47 - GAME START: Competing fan-sections make for a great atmosphere
2:56 - PLAYOFF HOCKEY: Big saves and bigger hits!
4:11 - End of the 1st: CAN'T BELEIVE I'M GONNA MEET ESA TIKKANEN
4:35 - In hindsight, the refs did the right thing
6:41 - HIGHLIGHT: First goal of the game
7:54 - IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING?
8:40 - In the private box with FINNISH HOCKEY LEGEND ESA TIKKANEN
15:17 - Esa Tikkanen is the greatest. WHAT A MEMORY, I'M SPEECHLESS
17:51 - HIGHLIGHT: Great save by Pelicans goalie
18:10 - DISASTER: I can really sympathize with HIFK goalie. I've been there
20:53 - THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ESA & PETE. GREAT MEMORY

[@Rafu01]

walking in the crowd with Tikkanen and people shouting "hey, Jetlag warriors"

[@JetLagWarriors]

Amazing, right? That was a funny feeling. I'm thinking who cares about us?? It's Esa Tikkanen!!

[@oggamer735]

@@JetLagWarriorsFinnish humour 😊

[@bylikov6894]

This is crazy :DDD

[@alanarifuku3500]

How did you get into Tikanen’s private box?

[@Rafu01]

@@alanarifuku3500 Probably invited through IFK social media team. Collaboration.

[@thejjzz]

Meeting Tikkanen is nice, but congratulations to be the first person in the world cheering for both Jokerit and HIFK!

[@kristiankoski3908]

Hahah, that's an achievement for sure!

[@wrs900]

Yeh and not getting bullied makes it even more sppecial

[@terrylyn]

Second, after Tikkanen.

[@Tedger]

Thats so wrong... next thing you know they will be cheering tps..

[@kristiankoski3908]

@@TedgerAU AU AU, HUNAJATA HUNAJATA!

[@oqlthorp]

"Leo went full Komarov" is a great sentence

[@JetLagWarriors]

LOL, I was proud of this when I came up with it. I wanted to let people know that his style of play/reputation in Toronto was the same as here, but do it as quickly as possible, as to not make the intro of the video too long.

[@MM4332_]

@@JetLagWarriors He was back today, as HIFK made the series a 3-2 thriller with a 0-3 away shootout, and was a bit afraid to do anything, as the refs have been singling him out the whole season because of the name in the back and the logo in the front (double whammy). But luckily we have our home-grown "Komarov" in Micke-Max Åsten #45 😎 He is the kind of player who only knows how to stop as he hits the wall, and hope that there is an opponent in between the wall and him when he does 😂

[@terrylyn]

Such an unique treat to see familiar finnish hockey from canadian hockey fan's point of view. I think we are among the very few countries where hockey is the most popular sport, which already ties our countries together, the love for a good old hockey game.

[@jorluo]

Legendary first line: Esa Tikkanen (5 Stanley Cups) - Wayne Gretzky (4 Stanley Cups) - Jari Kurri (5 Stanley Cups).

[@JetLagWarriors]

The Finnish Sandwich!!

[@edonveil9887]

The Wayne dude was not that much into fame.

[@kristiankoski3908]

I guess that Wayne guy was okay too.

[@artorias7742]

Wow. That Wayne guy is so lucky to have played with those legends, whoever he is. Sounds like a nobody.

[@Evan-hockputer]

​@@edonveil9887Bro really said "the Wayne dude"

[@novittucrafty]

Glad you got to experience so much during your trip here

[@JetLagWarriors]

It's been such a blessing. We knew we wanted to come and watch some hockey, but didn't expect the reception to be so good! We've had some incredible memories here. We really appreciate our Finnish audience :)

[@Ed7501]

Wow... Tikkanen. Now that's a blast from the past!

[@Lebron-ib3ij]

I actually have met esa tikkanen before too. I was on a cruise ship with my family and tikkanen just happened to be in the same elevator with us. I was still a little kid so i asked my dad ”who is that?” And tikkanen told me ”when you grow older u will know” haha what a legend😅

[@valtterrasanen8234]

Funny thing is if you played hockey In Finland you will see him many times in ice hockey rings watching kids games and he has watched maybe 10 times my ice hockey game

[@duzzzz94]

Fun fact: did you know the trophy awarded for winning Liiga playoffs is called Kanada-malja (Canada bowl in English). According to wikipedia the trophy is so named because it was donated by Canada's Finnish community in 1950.

[@JetLagWarriors]

Oh, wow! I didn't know this, but it makes me happy 😎😃

[@JetLagWarriors]

This is very interesting! We made sure to mention it, in the video where we went to the Finnish HHOF.

[@user-rh1yd4ur8f]

15:43 Wow lucky you this guy was probably one of the best 2 way players ever in the NHL. I use to love watching this guy play #10

[@VilleKuitunen6]

Esa is a class act, very well liked everywhere. Humble and funny.

[@markopelaa]

Probably least liked in ice :)

[@VilleKuitunen6]

@@markopelaa 😂 for sure!

[@Reladan187]

Damn you got the full experience! And Tiki seems like a nice nice dude. Outside of the rink ofc

[@JetLagWarriors]

Tiki was so nice to us! He really didn't have to meet with us at all, or be so kind and funny. But, he chose to, and we are very grateful for that :D ! What a great memory for us.

[@terokoskinen3036]

@@JetLagWarriors Well, you don't just meet a five time Stanley Cup Champion like it's another day at the office. :) Tiki is one of my favourite Finnish hockey players. Him and Teppo Numminen! Two completely different personalities but still players you'd just liked to be on your team!

[@steffenweidlich8698]

I'm from Germany and I met Esa during the "Rendez Vous 1987" in Quebec City. Oh man, we both get old in the last 37 years. But it's ok 😆

[@-Agis-]

This is really good. Awesome commentary and fine camera work! It's a joy to watch 👊🏻

[@JetLagWarriors]

Thanks for watching! It was such an honor to meet Esa. What a guy

[@aussietomik84]

I know next to nothing about ice hockey, but I thoroughly enjoyed this vlog

[@JetLagWarriors]

Hah! Thanks for this comment. I wasn't sure how to present Esa in the video... on one hand: for people who know him, he needs no introduction (especially to Finns). But on the other, non-hockey fans might be a bit confused. In the end, I figured the best way to do it was just to film everything on the way into the private box, and sort of fill people in along the way. Rather than a proper introduction and explain who he is-- and it worked out great, mostly because Esa was hilarious and engaging right from the moment we walked in. What a great memory, and we are glad the video turned out well :)

[@zatramander]

Omg that 2nd intermission, living the dream. I never stopped smiling. What a moment.

[@Ideatloppu]

The goalie of Pelicans in that game is actually just on loan from Seattle Kraken, Niklas Kokko. He was on loan first at Kärpät, but got better playing time in Pelicans due to injuries and selling of their 1st choice goalie. As a Pelicans fan I'm happy to have him, young future star there!

[@RangerRon75]

Esa was HUGE with the Oilers , you were very fortunate to meet him! Jari Kuuri was my favorite Finn with Gretzky . Being a Minnesota North Star fan growing up , along with the Montreal Canadiens in the 70s and early 80s. Watching CBC North Hockey Night in Canada on our cable system. Don Cherry , Former Boston Bruins coach as a commentator was some of the best memories I had. I was at the first playoff game when the North Stars beat the Bruins in 81 seeing Jack Carlson beat up Terry O'Reilly and getting a picture of it!

[@derianpenosway4442]

Watching from canada 🍁

[@ludenunes6606]

Seeing Steve interacting with the world of hockey feels like watching a fish in the water, or a kid in the candy store. I got used to seeing him trying to grasp the world of football /soccer, chiefly in Romania and Brazil, a world to which he's still a novice, so seeing him moving around a sports culture where he knows all the ins and outs is an interesting change of pace.

[@ebin5720]

Esa Tikkanen=GOAT

[@JetLagWarriors]

Fact!

[@Yoni123]

13:05 what was the record?@@JetLagWarriors

[@Graystripe02]

Shortest time between scoring two shorthanded goals@@Yoni123

[@LohiHarHar]

@@JetLagWarriorsGretzky wanted Tikkanen on Edmontonfor sure...

[@skytari]

Tikkanen is the greatest pest NHL has ever seen. Nobody else has reached that level of skill combined with being an annoying prick on the ice. Former players have talked how Tikkanen would never shut up and keep yapping and get into scrums. He would infuriate the opposing players and keep coming at them every shift.

[@JetLagWarriors]

Absolutely right!

[@Garbox80]

The big difference to most other similar kind of players is that I've not heard Esa being reckless. Like Corey Perry for example, he can play and be a pain in the ass, but he has done some boneheaded s*it more than once (kneeing Laine in the WHC comes to mind first for a Finn). I don't claim to remember everything Esa did and stuff happens on hockey, but there's difference whether it's a misjudged decision or reckless (or intentional).

[@artojhannula]

Tiki talk

[@imerz87]

I have no interest in ice hockey, but great to see your passion for the sport! Much love from England

[@holoholopainen1627]

Finland IS The Only European country - where Ice Hockey IS bigger than soccer ! Many know NHL ( 32 Teams ) - Better than Premier League ! Finland has over 150 NHLers - and ICE HOCKEY IS Not Even Our National Sport ! Finnish Baseball IS older - over 100 Season played as PESAPALLO !

[@-m-8653]

Tiki was a true living legend

[@originalPupa]

He is!

[@oldtimer7635]

Still is, I believe!

[@-Finlander-]

And he truly and very much con- tinues to be to this very day.

[@ozku17]

I'm glad you're going to Ilves game! It will be a great experience. Make sure to see the pre game show.

[@JetLagWarriors]

Yes! We will go to the game early. :) The comments have been very helpful

[@jukkaviljanen6307]

You should have chosen tonight's Tappara - TPS game in Tampere! Tappara is one the most successful hockey teams globally, won back to back titles along with CHL title last year. Biggest crowds and plays the most entertaining/quick turnover game etc....the other team from Tampere, well worth mentioning

[@murvakana6384]

@@jukkaviljanen6307but dont sytytä as much as ilves

[@rainymanish]

Tiki is so humble😊

[@samttolainen]

awesome to see how great the fiinnish people are treating you!

[@filipohman7277]

Awesome Work Bro, Greetings from Helsinki, Finland

[@JetLagWarriors]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@JP-oe4ry]

The last time Tikkanen met a Canadian it was Bubbles form Trailer park boys in the back of a karaoke taxi

[@zoolkhan]

you sure network fast :) nice work.. and yes, very good camerawork the whole time. easy on the eyes, and one sees the whole time what one wants to see. cheers with beers toronto :)

[@larscederberg8564]

What a moment meeting Esa Tikkanen an humble man

[@Cataracta]

Amazing ive watched all finland videos and im here to stay! Awesome u had such a deep dive into finnish culture.❤ Wish i could move there someday. 😅

[@vitonen]

I am fully addicted to your hockey videos. Need to check rest of your vids too.❤🎉😊 Welcome to Finland. Greetings from KALPA🏒 home town Kuopio whos game you were already.

[@JetLagWarriors]

More hockey vlogs coming!!

[@knolli72]

Seems that all capital based teams are heading for summer v-cay @@JetLagWarriors

[@jormaralli3925]

'I guess Leo went full "Komarov"', PIRCELESS! :D

[@hexilaiho6858]

You litterally met a hockey royalty! Also, the ONLY player as far as it goes, both HIFK&Jokerit consider him a legend which is very rare.

[@rustyspace900]

Hah Esa started regenerating more and more American accent as the conversation evolved, even miss pronounced his Finnish collegues names :D It's so fun when it happens with second languages

[@loivatoikka1092]

F1 driver Valtteri Bottas has played in Pelicans junior team couple years ago you can find him play on yt

[@JP-zs8qk]

Yeah and now Valtteri owns part of team Pelicans

[@SK-nw4ig]

When u were wondering about the taking back the penalty, someone said "rare!" In finnish in the background. I have never seen thst either.

[@rikukalliokoski5129]

5:24 "harvinaista" :D

[@dorragtcycklere6031]

very nice video big respect 😀

[@wellthen...1539]

Dude! Foreigner's advantage! I have been to many hockey games and i never: 1. Got to speak to the mic at the game 2. Much less got to meet Esa Tikkanen But actually really happy and thrilled for u 😂👍💪 Wish you grt more such chances during your stay in Finland ❤ PS. I love how abviously you are a hockey guy

[@Seppo_raty12]

Kaukalopallo is a team game played on an ice hockey field, which was developed from ice hockey in the 1970s. In 2006, rinkball had 47,000 fans in Finland, and it was the seventh most watched sport at the major league level. In 2016, there were approximately 2,000 licensed players.

[@arska77]

You guys got great 🇫🇮 memories 👍

[@JetLagWarriors]

Absolutely right! Our Finnish audience has helped us so much through the comment section.

[@JakeThaCake]

My favorite quote from Tikkanen: "Fucking Chicken"

[@samivartiainen702]

Btw komarov also played for Pelicans before leaving KHL and then NHL

[@Aar0FN]

Great video AGAIN! Welcome to Finland again and hope you enjoyed your visit. You should visit to see the Liiga Finals. Its always a great series :)

[@Gibbetoo]

unpredictable backhand that first goal.

[@dianegreig4627]

What can be better than that!!! Keep safe, healthy and happy.

[@jarikivimaki8686]

😀Great video. This is special. Fun to see how the conversation went. You were really a bit frozen with Tikkanen. Also interesting about the consequences of the match.

[@myrskykeiju]

Even though I'm not a Pelicans fan, I really love the baby blue, it stands out from the other Liiga teams so well.

[@HerrDirektors]

Tiki talk.. That's pretty much all i remember about the man. 😎

[@HerrDirektors]

Yes. And i am Finnish

[@tlrx0806]

I liked this video. I saw Jari Kurri in an airplane in the 80's and I froze. And that's the story. He even said "Hi" to me.

[@shakejuntti]

You are lucky. You have a goalie background so you really must get to know some players from the team. I went to see Oulu Kärpät game in Oulu and ended up to to play poker with Jason Demers (San Jose Sharks) & homies from the team. He was playing in Oulu for a while. This only happens in Finland - a small country nuts

[@Riimumaa]

I'm a bit sad you weren't able to see an IFK goal. It's so cool when the whole arena wearing red jumps in less than a second from their seats, and after which the ultras start jumping.

[@JetLagWarriors]

Ah, it's too bad, but no regrets! We had to miss some game time in order to meet Esa, which was definitely worth it. I'm more bummed out that there wasn't another IFK goal!

[@ThaErvr]

Are you guys gonna stay in Finland during the entire playoffs? You should definitely go see as many games in different cities as you can. I recommend you to go visit Lahti and Pelicans game (it's only 50min by train from Helsinki and the atmosphere is grazy in the playoffs!

[@Finland-SkiTeam39-40]

That was a great encounter; Esa is always a cool guy, always.

[@wrs900]

You probably have noticed that the top teams goalie play and defence is very high. Some of the goalies could play on nhl if there wasnt so few spots. Still a lot of goalies have migrated from finland liiga straight to nhl. Also scoring is lower because the skill in the net is so high. It isnt as entertaining pace and physicalwise as nhl but the game in bigger rink is bit different. Btw the rinks are different sizes for some teams which is what i find bit odd. Nhl all rinks are equal but in finland one tesm can have 2 meters wider rink so that also makes game flow differently because 2 meters is huuuuuge. I say meters because idk what the dimensions are in freedom units. Anyway i love the content from hockey to food n other things. Im disabled so i cant travel and find your other older vids amazing. Thanks for this it is nice way to get peek into different cultures!

[@jeantodt666]

That Pelicans goalie is future NHL goalie, my opinion is he most impressive goalie of Finnish league for decade

[@mikaelranki]

Great video! Honestly Amazing that you got in to the VIP box with Tikkanen. He is one of the greatest! Unfortunately you support the wrong team though ;) Our boys in baby blue have been amazing this season!

[@JetLagWarriors]

Yeah, what a memory for us! Esa was humble and kind to us, as well as talkative and funny :). Just great! And, I tell you what! The Pelicans outplayed HIFK. I said it at the end of the video: The better team won! But hey: the series is far from over!!

[@forestshark59]

Lol we were sitting right next to ya😂

[@whoyell2888]

Love of Hockey. Gives you keys to new experiences.

[@Varuct3394]

Pelicans ftw 😉 Greetings from Lahti!

[@kimanthoni6377]

Nice video!! You should watch Pelicans commercials. Those are quite funny!!

[@Zarniwooper]

Not much tiki-talk anymore, he's pretty fluent now 😂

[@mlg_iesus8898]

Esa

[@fredferguson1226]

8:25 That guy in the black shirt speaking is the most famous sports bettor in Finland. I'm jealous that you got into the same vip box with him 😅

[@PILLUHOLISTI69]

Missä muka valavuori

[@Valokaari]

Guys!! In a few years there will be a time when Jokerit returns to Liiga. I hope you guys can attend the first official Jokerit - HIFK game. I can't even imagine what the feeling in that game will be after all these years and events!!

[@JetLagWarriors]

Oh, wow! If/when Jokerit plays HIFK, we wish to be there! What a blast that would be!!

[@rustyspace900]

Kinda fun that you go from Helsinki to Tampere as they are the only cities in Finland which have two major teams each (Jokerit used to be 1st league too). More bang for the buck I guess ;)

[@kaljaukko5439]

Tiki! 👍👍

[@cathyhaynes154]

November is nhl games in Finland 🇫🇮- Fla Panthers playing Dallas

[@PeterSaari]

Awesome 😎👍

[@samisaarela74]

Tiki rules indeed !! I have his unused stick 🤩🙌

[@Eimosss]

I love Pelicans it's from my home city 💙🤍

[@Morkoo]

8:26 that tall guy with glasses is Jorma Vuoksenmaa a betting guru

[@derby3763]

I wish refs called back penalties more aka. had the balls to admit their mistakes.

[@joonasyli-huhtala395]

You should go check out Ilves-Kalpa playoffs at Tampere on Friday, great arena and energy!

[@zeizei8475]

PELICANS!

[@Vvopat96]

Yes, you can cancel the penalty if you are sure it was wrong and then it's getting checked and cancelled. I think it's good as it reduces referee mistakes

[@timoaksel9320]

Tiki looks good!

[@sucersdungeon]

Esa Tikkanen is a unique player. The guy used to talk and talk and frustrate his opponents. He was "decent" during the regular seasons, but always amazing in the playoffs. According to some he is an annoying guy, but looking at him now it seems clear that Tikkanen only had his agitating mode on during hockey games as a unique strategy. One of my favorite players!! Fun fact, he is also the favorite player of Daron Malakian from System of a Down!!!🎉

[@ilkkak3065]

Probably only player ever to win SC without playing any regular season game.

[@samivartiainen702]

Lets go Pelicans

[@villekoskela9073]

Now meet hall of famer Jari Kurri next 😂

[@JetLagWarriors]

Wow, that would be something special. I bet he could tell some funny stories about Esa! Especially the Tiki-Talk

[@oldtimer7635]

Could skip that one!

[@rainmakerfn]

So good videos

[@JetLagWarriors]

Glad you like them!

[@jormaralli3925]

Btw, did you find out about the golden helmet, @Jetlag Warriors? Case you didn't, it's for the current scoring lead of the team... which, come to think of it, is a pretty sick target to put on a player, eh? 🤑

[@Sakutora]

5:24 someone next to you said "harvinaista!" which means "that's rare!"

[@henry3092]

Hello

[@JTD33]

You got into it with Tiki but he's an interesting (some would say controversial) guy in the Helsinki hockey scene because he's kind of considered a HIFK legend but his number #5 is retired by Jokerit and as a kid he used to skate on the ice as the Jokerit mascot. Clearly he was also kind of trying to avoid that topic 😂 PS. You did a good job being respectable towards the hosts and not showing your true Jokerit fandom 😉

[@moonliteX]

Lol you seem to be having fun :D Did you know beforehand that any of this would happen to you? You've become celebrities :D

[@JetLagWarriors]

We just learned we would be meeting Esa a few days before the game. We are really grateful. What a memory!

[@moonliteX]

So cool! :)) I meant .. did you know any of this before you came to Finland at all?

[@unknownentity8256]

It's so cute how your like a kid meeting Santa Claus for the first time 😅 Completely flabbergasted 🤭

[@JetLagWarriors]

LOL I was a bit out of my mind. What's good is Esa is very talkative, so he helped me out because I was a bit speechless lol.

[@suolakurkkuuu5535]

Esa❤

[@Kake-nz5to]

Esa Tikkanen is total legend! How did you get to his VIP lounge??

[@JetLagWarriors]

Big shoutout to our new friend Pete. That's him at the end of the video. He reached out to us with the offer, and we were immediately like YES, LET'S DO IT!! So, big thanks to Pete.

[@Kake-nz5to]

Awesome !! @@JetLagWarriors

[@JTD33]

@@JetLagWarriors Was Pete actually a Jokerit fan or was he just trolling? 😅

[@holoholopainen1627]

How did You find Tiki ?

[@Jukkajknh]

1:02 Onko tuossa Palsanmäki vai Sillanpää?

[@pullapoika1]

What are you recording these videos with?

[@G1100L]

Great game, great, video great memories ....sorry your team lost. 😢

[@valtterrasanen8234]

Funny thing is if you played hockey In Finland you will see him many times in ice hockey rings watching kids games and he has watched maybe 10 times my ice hockey game

[@biifzeri]

1:17 Ei kajahtanu POHJOINEN ihan samallai ku oulussa😂

[@Vestu]

Atlanta Thrashers also wore baby blue

[@Jupetuning]

Tiki

[@Kauppamopo]

dude literally had stick up buddys armpit and yet it wasnt hooking lmao

[@hannaijas-hyvarinen4141]

😍😍🎉🎉

[@sss9718]

March is generally not a peak season for HIFK either 🤭

[@HurrJimus]

Tiki talk! Trash talk king