Petri Kontiola: I already miss Olympics

Petri, share with us your impressions from the Olympics. Did you actually see what you had expected to see?
What I saw exceeded my expectations. Accommodation, transportation, catering – everything was done to perfection, almost ideal. Finnish delegation did not have a single complaint. It was the best hockey tournament in my life, both atmosphere and result wise. I can't imagine what could have been done better, except for getting the gold, of course.

Who was your roommate?
Leo Komarov. We have been friends for quite a while, so we asked to be roommates.

Was it Jari Kurri or Erkka Vesterlund who invited you to the Olympic team?
Erkka Vesterlund has been making phone calls to me throughout the season, telling me he watched me perform and assuring me that he wanted to see me in Sochi. I had found out that I was going to the Olympics long before the official announcement. This tournament is the main objective of each national team, which is why I am glad I was there and performed quite well.

Everyone is aware of team Finland's roster problems as it lost Mikko Koivu, Valtteri Filppula and Aleksandr Barkov. How did it impact the team?
It was difficult, no doubt. Those guys are leaders of their respective clubs. Good thing Finland had terrific goaltenders who somewhat compensated for the loss of said players. And of course, Teemu Selanne. Those were the key factors that allowed us to capture bronze medals.

A couple of words about Aleksandr Barkov. What are your impressions from him?
I knew him well before the Olympics. He and I were born in one city, plus I played with his father in Tappara. I remember him as a kid. It’s amazing how he has matured as a player; he is a valuable asset both for Florida Panthers and team Finland. And don’t try to lure him back to Russia – you have got too many talented forwards already (laughs).

Now to Teemu Selanne, MVP of the Olympics, the heart and the soul of team Finland. Rumor has it, the team used bikes to move around the Olympic village, and other players rode Teemu on the back seat as a sign of respect. Is it true?
Of course not. Everyone who knows Teemu also knows that he’s like a kid in adult shoes. He rode the bike himself and had a lot of fun doing it. It seems as though he will never get old! By the way, bike is the most convenient transport to get around the village. What a great idea on hosts’ part!

Let us now switch to the hockey tournament itself. Team Finland did not have any trouble in the group stage, having suffered an OT loss from Canada. Along comes the quarterfinal, and still Finland beats the star-studded Russian team. As a participant of this match, what do you think was Russia’s biggest problem in this game?
I don't want to share my opinion on the opposing team’s problems. However, I can cite the reasons why I think Finland was victorious – we played a disciplined game and, obvious as it may sound, scored more than Russian did. Everyone knew that roster-wise Russia was light years better than Finland, so we tried to focus on following the game plan. Plus, Rask put on a terrific showing; I have to give him a lot of credit.

Did you manage to meet with Valery Nichushkin?
Yes, we bumped into each other somewhere in the back of the arena. I don’t know about him, but I for one was really glad to see him. I was surprised how well he speaks English. He told me a little about his life in Dallas. I am very happy with the way things are going for him. Valery is a great guy; I was really glad to meet him and wished him good luck in his NHL career!

Now let’s switch to the semifinals against Sweden…
We pulled ahead, even though it was a somewhat cheap goal. Unfortunately, we could not build on it and eventually lost. Bad luck…

All hockey fans and experts were surprised to see Lehtonen replace Rask in the nets for the semifinal. Why did it happen?
Rask was not feeling well, and you can’t put a goalie in between the pipes if he is not 100%. Thing is, Finland has always been rich with awesome goaltenders, so all three goalies deserved to be in the nets. In case all three of them caught a cold, we would have had trouble, although we still could have found 5 or 6 other quality goaltenders. Point is, I think the problem in this game was not the goaltending, but the performance of the skaters. Even though we tried our best, Lady Luck was not on our side.

You had plenty of ice time during the tournament. Moreover, closer to tournament’s end you played in top and second line…
Some of the players got hurt throughout the tournament, therefore the coaching staff sometimes would put me along with Selanne and Granlund. This was one of the best episodes of my hockey career, representing my country at world’s most celebrated hockey tournament.

Now to the bronze medal game. Most Russians in the arena cheered for team Finland. Did you feel their support during the match?
Yes, and we were very surprised to hear them chant for us. Maybe it was due to the fact that Finland has always been a dark horse in tournaments like this, so the fans wanted us to win something. Plus, there were many KHL players on the roster, so there also were some fans of their clubs; I personally saw a guy in Traktor jersey, and another guy holding Russian flag with my name on it. I was very flattered, and I would like to say that I appreciate their support!

There is an opinion that North Americans do not care much about bronze medal games. Is it true? Five nothing in a match of this caliber is somewhat odd, don’t you think?
I don’t think they neglect bronze medal games. Just one day before they had an exhausting matchup against Canada, so I believe they could not quite get moral and physical strength for this game.

But Finland and Sweden also gave it their all in the semifinals. And let’s not forget the history between those countries.
I agree. Probably we were hungrier than the Americans, which is exactly why we came out on top.

The last thing – what did you do right after the Olympics?
As soon as the bronze medal game was over, we were congratulated by members of Finnish government, and after that everyone went to their respective clubs. I, however, went to Tampere to spend a little time with my family and show them my beautiful yet heavy medal. And then this incident with my luggage. But, despite this, I have had probably the best two weeks of my hockey career. The emotions and grandeur of the Olympics will not wear off soon, and quite frankly, I already miss the Olympic Games!