nccanes
07-19-2003, 03:21 PM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 7/19/03
Lehtonen acclimating to heat, new team
By GUY CURTRIGHT
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It was very obvious to Kari Lehtonen that he wasn't in Finland anymore as soon as his airplane landed in Atlanta last week.
"It's very hot here," Lehtonen said. "It's never like this at home."
But the Thrashers are counting on the 19-year-old Finn getting acclimated quickly to the heat and humidity. Although the second overall pick in the 2002 draft still may be a year away from the NHL, Lehtonen is being projected as the team's goalie of the future.
"He has the potential to be our goalie for a long time," Thrashers general manager Don Waddell said.
But right now, Thrashers' prospect development camp is offering Lehtonen a first look at his new team and his eventual new home.
"This gives him a chance to get used to things here and start to feel comfortable," Waddell said.
Lehtonen is appreciative of the chance. He had to look at a map before he left Finland just to have an idea where Atlanta was located.
"I had heard about Atlanta because of the Olympics and I know Coca-Cola," Lehtonen said, "But that is all."
Lehtonen's previous trips to the United States had been to Lake Placid for training sessions with Finland's national team. But Atlanta is hardly upstate New York, and this time Lehtonen is on his own.
After a delay getting his U.S. visa, Lehtonen took a three-hour flight from Helsinki to Frankfurt, then a 10-hour flight from Germany to Atlanta. He was two days late for camp, but he has caught up fast on the ice and off.
Unlike Ilya Kovalchuk's arrival two years ago, Lehtonen doesn't have to worry about a language barrier. Translators aren't needed for the 6-foot-3 Finn.
"I took English in school, but I was very bad," Lehtonen said. "Now, I'm better."
For that, he thanks Jamie Ram, a goalie from Canada who joined his team in Finland two seasons ago. "It helped me a lot to speak English with him," said Lehtonen, who also learned from watching American television shows like "The Simpsons" and "American Idol."
But Lehtonen, who will fly back to Finland on Sunday before returning to Atlanta in late August, still must adjust to life in a new country.
Wednesday, he played in a flag football game. Thursday, he saw his first baseball game as the Thrashers prospects made a trip to Turner Field to see the Braves and New York Mets.
Lehtonen had watched TV in an attempt to better understand the game. But he hasn't really been impressed. Although he enjoyed visiting the Braves clubhouse, he still said that he finds baseball "a little boring."
Hockey has always been the only sport for Lehtonen, who began playing at age 5 and switched to goaltender the next season. Before he was quite 17, Lehtonen was already playing with Jokerit in the Finnish Elite League as a backup to Thrashers goalie Pasi Nurminen. When Nurminen came to the NHL, Lehtonen took over and led Jokerit to the 2002 championship, winning the award as the most valuable player of the playoffs.
Lehtonen, the highest drafted European goalie ever, returned to Finland for another season in part so he could fulfill his six-month military obligation.
"That was harder than I thought," Lehtonen said. "I could go to practices and games, but then I had to come right back to the army."
Now, that is all in the past and Lehtonen can get on with his NHL dream. Already, he is a rich young man. Under the standard three-year rookie contract he signed in June, Lehtonen will get about $1.2 million per season, plus incentives.
So far, he hasn't been a big spender. He plans to buy a new car, but he is already concerned about driving in Atlanta.
"It is very wild on the roads here," he said.
Playing behind Nurminen and Florida's Jani Hurme, Lehtonen didn't get into a game in the World Championships last spring. But he will be given a chance to compete with Nurminen and Byron Dafoe at Thrashers training camp in September before likely starting the season in the minors with Chicago (AHL).
"I have nothing to lose," Lehtonen said of the training camp competition. "I'll do my best and then see where I play. But I want to be in Atlanta."
He is already is getting used to it here.
Lehtonen acclimating to heat, new team
By GUY CURTRIGHT
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It was very obvious to Kari Lehtonen that he wasn't in Finland anymore as soon as his airplane landed in Atlanta last week.
"It's very hot here," Lehtonen said. "It's never like this at home."
But the Thrashers are counting on the 19-year-old Finn getting acclimated quickly to the heat and humidity. Although the second overall pick in the 2002 draft still may be a year away from the NHL, Lehtonen is being projected as the team's goalie of the future.
"He has the potential to be our goalie for a long time," Thrashers general manager Don Waddell said.
But right now, Thrashers' prospect development camp is offering Lehtonen a first look at his new team and his eventual new home.
"This gives him a chance to get used to things here and start to feel comfortable," Waddell said.
Lehtonen is appreciative of the chance. He had to look at a map before he left Finland just to have an idea where Atlanta was located.
"I had heard about Atlanta because of the Olympics and I know Coca-Cola," Lehtonen said, "But that is all."
Lehtonen's previous trips to the United States had been to Lake Placid for training sessions with Finland's national team. But Atlanta is hardly upstate New York, and this time Lehtonen is on his own.
After a delay getting his U.S. visa, Lehtonen took a three-hour flight from Helsinki to Frankfurt, then a 10-hour flight from Germany to Atlanta. He was two days late for camp, but he has caught up fast on the ice and off.
Unlike Ilya Kovalchuk's arrival two years ago, Lehtonen doesn't have to worry about a language barrier. Translators aren't needed for the 6-foot-3 Finn.
"I took English in school, but I was very bad," Lehtonen said. "Now, I'm better."
For that, he thanks Jamie Ram, a goalie from Canada who joined his team in Finland two seasons ago. "It helped me a lot to speak English with him," said Lehtonen, who also learned from watching American television shows like "The Simpsons" and "American Idol."
But Lehtonen, who will fly back to Finland on Sunday before returning to Atlanta in late August, still must adjust to life in a new country.
Wednesday, he played in a flag football game. Thursday, he saw his first baseball game as the Thrashers prospects made a trip to Turner Field to see the Braves and New York Mets.
Lehtonen had watched TV in an attempt to better understand the game. But he hasn't really been impressed. Although he enjoyed visiting the Braves clubhouse, he still said that he finds baseball "a little boring."
Hockey has always been the only sport for Lehtonen, who began playing at age 5 and switched to goaltender the next season. Before he was quite 17, Lehtonen was already playing with Jokerit in the Finnish Elite League as a backup to Thrashers goalie Pasi Nurminen. When Nurminen came to the NHL, Lehtonen took over and led Jokerit to the 2002 championship, winning the award as the most valuable player of the playoffs.
Lehtonen, the highest drafted European goalie ever, returned to Finland for another season in part so he could fulfill his six-month military obligation.
"That was harder than I thought," Lehtonen said. "I could go to practices and games, but then I had to come right back to the army."
Now, that is all in the past and Lehtonen can get on with his NHL dream. Already, he is a rich young man. Under the standard three-year rookie contract he signed in June, Lehtonen will get about $1.2 million per season, plus incentives.
So far, he hasn't been a big spender. He plans to buy a new car, but he is already concerned about driving in Atlanta.
"It is very wild on the roads here," he said.
Playing behind Nurminen and Florida's Jani Hurme, Lehtonen didn't get into a game in the World Championships last spring. But he will be given a chance to compete with Nurminen and Byron Dafoe at Thrashers training camp in September before likely starting the season in the minors with Chicago (AHL).
"I have nothing to lose," Lehtonen said of the training camp competition. "I'll do my best and then see where I play. But I want to be in Atlanta."
He is already is getting used to it here.