Former NHL veteran reveals heartbreaking struggles that come with being a hockey player
Photo credit: NHL.com
Former Detroit Red Wing Teemu Pulkkinen admitted to the press in Finland that he had gone through struggles playing in the KHL at the peak of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which led to conflict within himself.
Former Detroit Red Wings forward Teemu Pulkkinen addressed the media in his home country, Finland, after joining the Mestis league's Kiekko-Vantaa.
Pulkkinen would opt to play in Russia, in the KHL, when the conflict between the country and Ukraine heightened in 2022.
For Pulkkinen, someone who wasn't playing in the NHL anymore, money was his main motivator. A motivation that caused conflict within himself.
He came full circle with the Finnish media and would admit the error in his ways:
"That was the biggest motivator, there's no denying that,» Pulkkinen acknowledged. «I stayed there for the money, and I signed a new contract for the money.
«I bear responsibility for staying there myself, and it was completely my own choice."
«I bear responsibility for staying there myself, and it was completely my own choice."
In 2023-24, Jokerit Helsinki would rejoin the Mestis league, after abandoning the KHL as the conflict remained unabated.
Pulkkinen's Mistakes & Return Home
Pulkkinen would play a total of six years in the KHL and remain the lone Finnish player after the conflict would pick up.
The confession comes from a place of honesty and, for all intents and purposes, shows he's willing to own up to his failures. A sign that he intends to learn from his mistakes.
Pulkkinen and Jokerit would pull out of the KHL at the same time, ironically, and Pulkkinen would play around Europe in Germany, Slovakia, and Switzerland.
Pulkkinen was a former 4th-round pick in the 2010 NHL Draft and played a total of 83 games in the NHL.
He's fortunate to still have a professional hockey career and is mature enough to own up to his mistakes.
Previously on Red Wings Insider
| POLL | ||
AOUT 13 | 323 ANSWERS Former NHL veteran reveals heartbreaking struggles that come with being a hockey player Do you think forward Teemu Pulkkinen, a former Detroit Red Wing, owned up to his mistakes well? | ||
| Yes | 179 | 55.4 % |
| No | 144 | 44.6 % |
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