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Sound Tigers assistant coach, Bernie Cassell has been given a special assignment by the New York Islanders to travel to Finland to help prospect Jesse Joensuu develop his skills in the hopes of him becoming an effective player for the Islanders in the coming years. Joensuu showed a lot of promise at the team's mini-camp in June and the Islanders hope for another productive season out of him in the Finnish Elite League. Fans can expect a daily posting from Cassell about the different events that he is doing in Finland.

DAY 6

Hi Sound Tiger Fans,

I want to start by mentioning that the town I am in, Pori, is Masi Marjamaki's hometown. He is in North America at this time so I am unable to see him but I thought you all would be interested in that.

Today started with a bang. When you order a wake up call here, the television turns on and wakes you. The hotels do not have alarm clocks. Today, my usual wake up came at 6:30am and for some reason, the television was blasting. I nearly jumped through the roof. So, I laid there for five minutes to get my pulse back to normal and went to breakfast.

The on ice session was a good one again today. I sound redundant but, it is true, they are better every day. I feel that Jesse and the other players are still getting comfortable with me. Jesse is there now but some of the others have never had a "foreign" coach before, according to Jesse, and they were a little apprehensive at first. Two of the players I have been working with are playing in Lake Placid, New York next weekend at the under 20 (year old) world tournament for Team Finland. Another, an older defenseman, played for Team Finland in the most recent World Championships this past spring. Those are a couple of interesting side notes.

The arena that Assat-Pori plays in, name withheld as there is no way I could ever write it or pronounce it, is an old building but with character. There are differences from what we are used to back home and North American hockey fans will notice them immediately upon entering the facility. First, the rink is longer and wider. That is not the only difference on the ice, there are many many more advertisements than we have. The entire neutral zone is covered and all five faceoff circles are filled with advertisements. It is actually difficult at times to track the puck while sitting in the seats and watching practice. Strangely enough, I have not noticed them while passing and puckhandling on the ice.

The arena must be able to accommodate 5,500 to 6,000 people. The reason I said accommodate and not seat is what makes this facility unique. I have been told, by Vellu, Jesse, and two fans (one senior citizen and an eleven year old) that the standing room area is the best. Behind the team benches, there is an area almost the entire length of the ice surface and rising up to the balcony entrance, of only stairs. It looks strange but that is where the rowdy fans stand. Fifteen hundred strong and they sing and chant for the entire game. I would love to see it during the season, it must be incredible. Other than that the remaining seats are your typical minor league bowl with a small balcony and a press box.

As I mentioned earlier, the Assat-Pori fans love their club. The attendance at practice has increased over the week and the coaches spoke of several hundred fans at a 10:45 am scrimmage last week. Now remember, this is all during the work day and this is exhibition season. The club has an exhibition game tomorrow against a bitter rival. Jesse will not play as some players are sitting this one out so the young players going to Lake Placid can get some last looks from the coaching staff. I hear that the crowd should be good but not great. The assistant coach noted that the weather will be too nice on the weekend and the locals will all go to their lake houses for relaxation. Finland has many lakes in the central part of the country and, similar to Ontario, most people have lake houses. It will be business as usual for jesse and I. We will be on the ice (he and I only) for 50 minutes in the morning.

Well, I hope you enjoy the postings, tomorrow will be a late one as the game starts at 7:00pm here. So until then, take care.

Bernie

DAY 5 - Pori, Finland

The on ice session today was very upbeat. We were more intense with our skating and again very specific with having the drills resemble game-like situations. Jesse responded well. He is a big player, 6'4'' so we worked on his explosiveness in tight areas in the offensive zone. A winger his size will need to get to the net from the corners and the half wall after winning battles for the puck. Today, we worked on those specific things.

After the practice, I once again had a great conversation with the Assat coaches about hockey systems, more specifically, the differences between North American hockey and European hockey. The give and take was excellent, I enjoy their style of play and I look ahead to watching them in their exhibition games on Friday and next Tuesday. I have watched their practices and I see that they allow their forwards more freedom to swing in the neutral zone. On occasion, there are open lanes and two players filling the same lane on an attack. This would not work well in North America as the rink is not as wide and the defender can cover two attackers simultaneously. Another difference on the offensive attack is the Assat team always carries the puck on entries into the zone. For most teams in North America, a chip off the wall around the defense and a sprint past him for possession in the offensive zone is the desired play (watch Jason Blake).

Well, the afternoon was sunny and I took advantage by taking a long walk around Pori. Jesse tells me it is a city of 70,000 people. The downtown area features an open market place. This is typical for most Finnish cities. The people gather there and buy goods and use the time to converse. I found a great bakery nearby and had some baked goods and a coffee. The place was packed in the middle of a Wednesday afternoon. After having the pie, I see why. I will see many more people there on the weekend as Assat gave the team Sunday off and I will return to the square for sure.

An interesting note, Jesse is going to try to bring me to a Finnish baseball game on the weekend. I told him how much I love baseball and he began to tell me the rules of Finnish baseball. Apparently, the pitcher throws underhand and the most powerful hitter is not rewarded as there are out-of-bounds in the deep outfield. That will be interesting! I can't imagine that "Rocket" Roger or Barry Bonds would like these rules too much.

Ok, I am on the ice early in the morning so off to bed, I will be in touch tomorrow.

Bernie

DAY 4

Hello Bridgeport,

Day four was gloomy outside. Not only did I fly seven hours ahead, I feel like I flew three months ahead as well. It is windy, rainy, and in the 60's today. Finally, though, I had a normal night's sleep and felt ready for the on ice session.

On the positive side, Jesse and I had a very good on ice session today. I had nine players and it was a fast paced, fifty minute, skills session with the focus on skating balance, posture and puckhandling. All of the players enjoyed the session as their coaching staff allowed those that skated with me to miss the team's morning practice.

Jesse's posture has been the focus here the past two days and he really made some positive adjustments from yesterday. As I mentioned yesterday, he is a good student and he applies new concepts quickly. He actually realized that his posture is better when he handles the puck and therefore he is a more powerful and effective skater. What we have done is simulate handling the puck in all non-puckhandling situations and this keeps his proper form more consistently.

After practice, we had dinner, went over the practice, and talked more about professional hockey in North America. We ate at a Spanish restaurant in Pori and we both had a great meal.

Jesse's current team, Assat-Pori, competes in The Finnish Elite League or the "SM Liga" as they call it over here. The league is a professional league with a junior system that feeds it. The clubs also attract players from around the world as well. They are allowed four "imports" on each club. From what I can gather from talking with different people about the league, there are two or three wealthy and, therefore, strong clubs every year and the rest battle year in and year out to try and upstage them. Sound familiar Major League Baseball fans? Two years ago, Assat-Pori went to the finals. They came up short, but the tickets were selling at record speed and the arena was sold out. They still talk about the rink selling out in 10 minutes.

After dinner, I returned to the hotel to write up my reports and copy down some notes I took during the two Assat practices today. It is now 8:30pm, the rain has stopped and it is light out until 11:30pm over here, so I am going for a walk and a coffee. I'll catch you all tomorrow.

Bernie

DAY 3

Hello everyone in Sound Tiger Nation,

Well day three began as a rough one. I sat in my hotel room and watched the clock until 5:00 a.m. Now, I think jetlag has got the best of me. I got up at 7:00 to meet Velu for breakfast at 7:45. Every breakfast here has a sandwich bar of some sort and since I was going on two hours of sleep, I came back to the table with the always appealing ham and turkey on toast and a glass of O.J. It was just, ok!

After breakfast, Velu drove me to the arena to meet the Assat-Pori coaches and work with Jesse. The head coach's name is Jari Harkala and Mika Pieninemi is his assistant. Both of these guys made me feel at home. We had coffee and sat in the coaches office talking hockey. I was informed that I would have a few of their players with me. It turned out to be seven players all together including Jesse of course. Velu and I watched them practice and then it was my turn. (The Assat-Pori team is in training camp now and they are having 2 practices a day).

We hit the ice and worked on some skating techniques that focused on straight line skating into cross overs. We then worked on proper starts and we added pucks and focused on some game-like scenarios like cycling and play along the wall in the offensive zone. The boys all worked hard and Jesse really grasped onto some new concepts immediately. He and I met after the practice as he drove me back to the hotel. He picked me up at 3:00 to watch his other practice...yes he was on the ice again and working very hard. You could see the fatigue in all of the players yet they were all working hard. They are a determined group. Some of the local fans came out for the afternoon practice. This small taste made me realize that the fans are very into this team. They watched every drill closely and even had reactions to goals, near goals, and missed plays.

I took some notes on the practice and Jesse and I had dinner to discuss the positives and negatives of the day. After giving him my evaluations, he gave me some feedback from his perspective. Jesse is a pleasure to work with. He picks things up quickly and applies them to his game. He understands the importance of skill development and he works very hard at it. It was a fun day, and I look ahead to tomorrow to expand upon today's drills. I hope to get some sleep tonight.................Catch you all tomorrow.

Bernie

DAY 2

Hi Sound Tiger fans,

It is day two here in Helsinki and the weather is great again. It is in the low 70's and the sun is shining. This morning I woke up and had breakfast at the hotel. Over here, you can have sushi for breakfast if that's your thing. Today, it wasn't mine, as I was feeling a little out of it from the jet lag. I forced myself to eat and take a walk. After my walk, I hit the local coffee shop and hung out there for a while. The pace seems a little slower over here, maybe that's because it is just the weekend. Helsinki is great and the people are a lot calmer than say New York or Boston. After my coffee, I went back to the hotel for a workout in the gym and then showered.

I checked out of the hotel and met Islander European scout, Vellu Kautonen, at 2 p.m. for our trip to Pori. Vellu and I chatted the entire three hours to Pori. It was fun and educational to hear about professional hockey in Europe and about his career and his work for the Islanders. Vellu took me for Finland's finest pizza and more conversation along the way. We checked into the hotel here and met Jesse Joensuu for dinner.

I met Jesse at the prospects camp last month. He is a big winger playing for Assat-Pori in the Finnish Elite League. He was a second round draft pick of the Islanders last year and we are working on his skating these next nine days. The three of us talked hockey, both North American and European during dinner. We also discussed what we would be working over the course of the nine days on the ice. We broke the meeting and agreed to meet in the morning and get to work after his team's practice. Jesse seemed excited to get to work and I am really looking forward to getting on the ice as well. Tomorrow, Vellu and I will meet the Assat-Pori coaching staff and discuss my plans for Jesse. It is ten past ten in the evening and time to turn in. We have an early morning. Talk with you tomorrow.

Bernie

DAY 1

Hello Sound Tiger Fans,

Day one in Helsinki was a mix of excitement and tiredness due to jetlag. I spent the entire previous night on a flight from Boston to Frankfurt, Germany. I was able to sleep a little bit despite the continuous kicking of my seat, thanks to the little girl seated behind me. I spent four hours in Germany awaiting my flight to Helsinki. I slept for about an hour and a half there and the entire two and a half hours to Helsinki. When I landed and boarded the bus to downtown, I felt well rested and ready to go.

I wasted not time after checking into the hotel and went on a long walk around the city. I felt very comfortable as most everybody spoke English. I decided to eat at a place called Bakers, a steak house in the middle of town. After reading the menu I decided on the filet.... although the reindeer did sound appetizing. Maybe later in the week. At the restaurant, I realized I must stand out as a North American as I was greeted in English and the people just before me and after me were greeted in Finnish. I don't know, maybe it's the Red Sox hat. The steak was great and I was on my way for some more sightseeing.

The narrow cobblestone streets led me around the city to explore all of the shopping areas in the business district. It being Saturday, the area was packed with people and they were all enjoying the sunshine by eating outside and sipping coffee drinks at the many cafes. I visited a coffee shop and as I was sitting inside enjoying a cup, a couple from up-state New York sat next to me. I chatted with them for a while and then continued my walk. The fatigue from jetlag was beginning to set in so I decided to return to the hotel.

My hotel room is very interesting. The hotel is beautiful and in a great location downtown. The room however looks like an advertisement for Ikea. So if you shop there and you have ever wondered, do Scandinavians really use this stuff...the answer is yes. While at the hotel, I received a phone call from Vellu Kautonen, a European Scout for the Islanders, he said he would be picking me up at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday to drive me three hours northwest to Pori. It is in Pori that I will be working with Jesse.

Well, I will talk with you all tomorrow.

Bernie