Raimo Summanen fired the young defender in the middle of the game – the trip home became a rare memorable one

“Me into the booth and take the things off!” shouted the coach of the Jokers Raimo Summanen to the young defender of his team.

The defender was then 22 years old Pauli Levokariwho had moved from Aces to Jokers a little earlier. At the turn of the year, he traveled with the Helsinki team to Davos, Switzerland for the traditional Spengler Cup.

In the match against Sparta Praha, Levokari made a mistake in the second set, from which the opponent conceded the lead goal. When he returned to the bench, he heard Summanen’s order to leave the booth.

Levokari looked confused at the team’s physical trainer and wondered what he should do now.

“Just do as your coach says, go to the cubicle and take off your clothes,” instructed the physical trainer.

Levokari sat in the locker room even a little scared, some of the equipment still on, when the rest of the team came to the set break.

“The message of the half-time break was only that I was cheered up as a player and as a person. When the set break was over, Summanen said that you are of no use. You get fudu”, Levokari recalls in the book published on Thursday Line player.

At issue was the first day of the Spengler Cup.

The next morning, Levokari went to the hall, where he was informed that he does not have to come to the ice and that he does not have to participate in the team’s activities anymore.

“I was in Davos for three days, eating bratwurst and watching the games in the crowd.”

When the tournament was over, the then owner of the Jokers Hjallis Harkimo had rented a private plane so that the team could spend New Year’s Eve in Finland. The plane was so full that the players’ equipment was also inside.

“My place on the plane was Summanen’s and the head coach’s Erkka Westerlundin between. It was one of the most memorable trips home of my life. Neither of my neighbors said anything, and the more experienced guard was already pulling behind, it was New Year’s after all,” Levokari says.

He adds that afterwards the story has been laughed at many times with his fellow gamers.

In Helsinki-Vantaa, Westerlund informed Levokar that his games will continue with the farm team in Kiekko-Vantaa. That’s where Levokari played the rest of the season, after which he moved to HIFK.

Levokari, who played more than 500 league matches and spoke openly about his brain injury after his career, is one The line player book of the three main characters.

The other main characters are the current TuTo coach, who became known as a colorful cult player in the rinks Jonne Virtanen and played in the SM league in SaiPa, KooKoo and Jukurei Marlo Koponen.

The book is written by Levokari’s spouse and caregiver Riina-Maria Metso.

One of the themes of the book is the constant insecurity of line players’ jobs, of which Levokari’s case is an extreme example.