photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation / Tim Austen
Five years ago, few people thought Emmi Juusela would be playing for Team Finland.
At least, not hockey.
The 23-year-old Finn, who is playing in her first IIHF Women’s World Championship, made her national team debut in August at the Euro Hockey Tour, scoring in her first game against Czechia.
Rewind the tape to 2021, and you won’t find her in a hockey rink at all. Well, in a rink, yes, but holding a ringette stick.
In fact, looking at Juusela’s stats coming up the juniors, they’re hardly remarkable. Although she played in an under-18 league at 14 and made her Finnish women's league debut at 17, she never appeared at the U18 Women's World Championship, for example.
In 2020-21, she scored nine points in 26 games in the Finnish league as an 18-year-old, but right after promptly disappeared from hockey.
“Well, there were a couple of World Junior Championships coming up in ringette, and I really wanted to play in those. At the time, I probably wasn't as motivated to play hockey, so I decided to take a little break,” she says.
What made the ringette World Junior Championships even more enticing was the fact that the 2022 tournament was played on home ice in Espoo, Finland.
Finland won the gold medal and Juusela became a world champion. Since the 2021 tournament had been postponed due to the pandemic, there was another junior world championship right around the corner, in 2023, and Juusela played in that one, too. And won gold.
“I think I always knew that at some point the spark would get ignited again, and I’d return to hockey,” she says.
In 2023-24, she played a handful of games with Helsinki IFK’s second-tier team. The following season, she made the jump to the club’s top-tier team, scoring 33 points in 36 games, a massive increase to her previous total.
“I feel the break did me good. After playing in those two ringette World Championships, I rediscovered my desire to play hockey. There was still so much I wanted to achieve in the game so when I came back, I did it with a completely different level of motivation,” she says.
Last season, she took another leap forward, exploding onto the Finnish hockey scene when she scored 26 goals and 60 points in 32 games in the Auroraliiga, and finished second in the league scoring race, behind her Team Finland teammate Emma Nuutinen.
Of course, part of her development came from maturing and working hard, but Juusela also credits those two years in ringette. They were not lost years in any way.
“I would say that ringette helped me develop as a player. My skating, for example, comes entirely from ringette. Of course, I had to focus on stickhandling and other hockey skills when I came back, but I definitely believe ringette played a big part in my development even if I haven't always realized it myself,” she says.
“I was actually a little surprised by how easy the transition was,” she adds.
After her monster season in Finland, she signed with the Stockholm team SDE in the Swedish SDHL. A logical next step, she says.
“Moving to Sweden was a really good step at this stage of my career. You get a completely different perspective there, and the opportunities to develop your game are better than in Finland,” says Juusela.
Now she’s playing in her first Women’s World Championship, and she’s making her mark. In Finland’s game against Japan, she collected three points and was named Player of the Game, and when Finland was chasing a goal in their 2-0 loss against Canada, Juusela was on the ice for the final push.
"She’s making things hard for the coach, in a positive way,” Team Finland coach Tero Lehtera told Finnish media. “Maybe she deserves an even bigger role on the team.”
Juusela is in no hurry.
“I feel like I'm only just getting started. As long as I keep working hard and my motivation stays the same, the goal is to play in the PWHL at some point,” she says.
She’s used to meeting her goals. It may not be a straight line, but she’ll get there.
At least, not hockey.
The 23-year-old Finn, who is playing in her first IIHF Women’s World Championship, made her national team debut in August at the Euro Hockey Tour, scoring in her first game against Czechia.
Rewind the tape to 2021, and you won’t find her in a hockey rink at all. Well, in a rink, yes, but holding a ringette stick.
In fact, looking at Juusela’s stats coming up the juniors, they’re hardly remarkable. Although she played in an under-18 league at 14 and made her Finnish women's league debut at 17, she never appeared at the U18 Women's World Championship, for example.
In 2020-21, she scored nine points in 26 games in the Finnish league as an 18-year-old, but right after promptly disappeared from hockey.
“Well, there were a couple of World Junior Championships coming up in ringette, and I really wanted to play in those. At the time, I probably wasn't as motivated to play hockey, so I decided to take a little break,” she says.
What made the ringette World Junior Championships even more enticing was the fact that the 2022 tournament was played on home ice in Espoo, Finland.
Finland won the gold medal and Juusela became a world champion. Since the 2021 tournament had been postponed due to the pandemic, there was another junior world championship right around the corner, in 2023, and Juusela played in that one, too. And won gold.
“I think I always knew that at some point the spark would get ignited again, and I’d return to hockey,” she says.
In 2023-24, she played a handful of games with Helsinki IFK’s second-tier team. The following season, she made the jump to the club’s top-tier team, scoring 33 points in 36 games, a massive increase to her previous total.
“I feel the break did me good. After playing in those two ringette World Championships, I rediscovered my desire to play hockey. There was still so much I wanted to achieve in the game so when I came back, I did it with a completely different level of motivation,” she says.
Last season, she took another leap forward, exploding onto the Finnish hockey scene when she scored 26 goals and 60 points in 32 games in the Auroraliiga, and finished second in the league scoring race, behind her Team Finland teammate Emma Nuutinen.
Of course, part of her development came from maturing and working hard, but Juusela also credits those two years in ringette. They were not lost years in any way.
“I would say that ringette helped me develop as a player. My skating, for example, comes entirely from ringette. Of course, I had to focus on stickhandling and other hockey skills when I came back, but I definitely believe ringette played a big part in my development even if I haven't always realized it myself,” she says.
“I was actually a little surprised by how easy the transition was,” she adds.
After her monster season in Finland, she signed with the Stockholm team SDE in the Swedish SDHL. A logical next step, she says.
“Moving to Sweden was a really good step at this stage of my career. You get a completely different perspective there, and the opportunities to develop your game are better than in Finland,” says Juusela.
Now she’s playing in her first Women’s World Championship, and she’s making her mark. In Finland’s game against Japan, she collected three points and was named Player of the Game, and when Finland was chasing a goal in their 2-0 loss against Canada, Juusela was on the ice for the final push.
"She’s making things hard for the coach, in a positive way,” Team Finland coach Tero Lehtera told Finnish media. “Maybe she deserves an even bigger role on the team.”
Juusela is in no hurry.
“I feel like I'm only just getting started. As long as I keep working hard and my motivation stays the same, the goal is to play in the PWHL at some point,” she says.
She’s used to meeting her goals. It may not be a straight line, but she’ll get there.