Salo’s shot could bring Finland glory

Originally published on IIHF.com in 2006

By Lucas Aykroyd

At the 2002 Olympic hockey tournament, a guy named Salo gained the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

Swedish goalie Tommy Salo was beaten by a long shot from Belarusian defenseman Vladimir Kopat late in the quarter-finals, enabling Belarus to pull off an enormous upset.

In Turin, another guy named Salo is aiming to make headlines in a more positive fashion. Veteran Finnish defenseman Sami Salo of the Vancouver Canucks will be expected to shoulder a big load in his second straight Winter Games, especially since injuries have forced blueline workhorses like Joni Pitkanen and Ossi Vaananen to pull out.

The hard-shooting, hard-hitting Salo has come a long way since originally breaking into the NHL as a late-round pick of the Ottawa Senators. He’s having a career offensive year in 2005-06, with more than 30 points. Relative to individual expectations, Salo has enjoyed a better all-around season than either Ed Jovanovski or Mattias Ohlund, both of whom get considerably more attention with the Canucks. Now it’s a matter of translating his NHL flair into success on the world’s biggest sporting stage.

IIHF.com’s Lucas Aykroyd caught up with the 31-year-old Turku native recently.

IIHF.com: How much of an impact has the departure of Marek Malik and Brent Sopel had on your performance with the Canucks so far this year?

Sami Salo: Well, obviously I’ve gotten more ice time on the power play and penalty kill, as well as at even strength. So I’ve had more chances to be out there and contribute. But losing those guys was tough for our team. They’re two really good defensemen, and we had a strong group. Still, the guys who have come in have done a really good job of filling those shoes. It’s been going pretty well.

IIHF.com: People keep calling you the “Finnish MacInnis.” Have you ever actually hung out with Al MacInnis and talked about your slapshots?

Salo: No, I don’t even like people calling me that. I never like to be referred to as anybody other than myself. You can’t compare us, when you look at the career he’s had. You can leave it right there. I basically concentrate on my game and try to work on it and be better every day.

IIHF.com: What did you gain from playing with Frolunda in Sweden last season?

Salo: It was a really good experience. I got a lot of ice time and played with a lot of great players. The coaching staff and the whole organization was really great too. So it was a really good year, especially considering we were rewarded with a championship at the end. It was good to be part of that team.

IIHF.com: Based on that year, will you have some tips for your Olympic teammates on how to stop Daniel Alfredsson and score on Henrik Lundqvist?

Salo: Not really. I remember during practices last year that it was really tough to score on Lundqvist. He works so hard in practice, and he would sometimes even get [angry] if someone scored on him. So I don’t think I would be the right guy to be giving out tips on how to score on him! [laughs] And everybody pretty much knows what kind of player Alfie is. He’s the whole package. He works hard at both ends of the ice and has an unbelievable shot.

IIHF.com: What kind of role do you expect to play on the Finnish Olympic team?

Salo: I don’t think it’ll be much different than over in Canada. Every year that I’ve played with the Finnish national team, it’s been kind of the same role, playing PP and PK and even strength. But we don’t know what the pairings are going to be yet, or anything like that. We’ll find out when we get there. It’s a really short set-up in terms of getting going. We’ll get there basically the night before the first game, and then it’s back-to-back games right away. We have a good feeling about the team, though. It’s pretty much the same team as we had in the World Cup, and we had a lot of success there.

IIHF.com: Janne Niinimaa was part of the defense corps at the last two Olympics. Were you surprised he wasn’t included this time?

Salo: I was. Janne has been a key player for many years in the national team, and obviously seeing that he wasn’t named was a disappointment, knowing what kind of player he is. But you know, it’s tough choices for the coaching staff and Jari Kurri as our GM. They’ve seen a lot of games this year, and they’ve seen the players play. I think they’ve probably made the best picks they could.

IIHF.com: What was your reaction when Miikka Kiprusoff announced he was going to skip the Olympics and give his hip a rest?

Salo: I was shocked–it was actually a day when we played against Calgary. He was a big player for us in the World Cup. But after talking to a few of the guys, as well as him, I found out he will need that rest. It’s understandable. Calgary is his employer, and I think they want to control what’s best for the team as well as the players. We’ve got a lot of good goalies anyway, so I don’t think we have to be too worried.

IIHF.com: The guy named to replace Kiprusoff comes from your hometown of Turku. How well do you know Antero Niittymäki?

Salo: I know him, although I’ve never played with him. I’ve practiced with him when he was playing with TPS Turku. All the Turku NHL players always practice with the team during August when we’re there. He’s a good goaltender. And then we’ve got [Niklas Backstrom] and [Fredrik] Norrena, so those are good goalies as well. More tough choices for the coaching staff in terms of picking a starter.

IIHF.com: Jarkko Ruutu regularly gets his name chanted at GM Place this season. Do you expect the Finnish fans in Turin to do the same?

Salo: I think so, sure. He plays hard every shift and every minute he’s out there. He’s a big asset for the Canucks and the Finnish team. It’s great to see him getting the rewards with some goals and assists.

IIHF.com: What are the main differences between the coaching styles of Erkka Westerlund, who’s running the Olympic team, and Raimo Summanen, who handled the 2004 World Cup?

Salo: The systems they use are pretty much the same. The biggest difference is that Erkka’s a quiet guy and he doesn’t say much. He just shows you the way you’re supposed to do things. “Rami” is totally different. He tells the guys what to do in a little more vocal fashion and pushes the guys more. Both guys have their upsides. We’re happy with the way it is right now.

IIHF.com: How much has going to the World Cup final changed the expectations for Finland in terms of what represents success in international hockey?

Salo: The expectations have gone up hugely since then. We played against Canada in the finals there, and we had a good feeling about the game. They scored that early goal in the third period, and that kind of ruined us. It would have been tighter for longer and maybe could have been a different story. But now the fans expect more. We want to be playing in the last game of the Olympics, but that’s a long way away. You just have to concentrate on the first game and go from there. So many things can happen.