Hockey|Lions forward Toni Rajala remembers the rough everyday life in Hanty-Mansijski.
Parkano Kiekko -83’s on the farm Toni Rajala33, is a hard worker. He is the foreigner who has played in the same club in the Swiss ice hockey league the longest. Rajala moved to EHC Biel in the summer of 2016 and has remained loyal to the city of Biel in the canton of Bern.
In the early stages of his career, the winger had time to see many other clubs. Fresh Daily Gazette in an interview with the magazine, he recalls the short-lived period in the KHL club Jugra Hanty-Mansijski in the fall of 2014. He had signed a three-year contract with the Russian club, but it was canceled already in November 2014. The Finn managed to play 21 KHL matches.
Boundary didn’t have a good time in a city far away in Siberia.
“Thank God I was able to leave there”, Rajala says Daily display rissa.
I enjoyed ice hockey, but everyday life was harsh in Hanty-Mansijski.
“On Monday, the truck brought goods to the grocery stores, and if you couldn’t go shopping then”, you were in trouble.
The goods were taken out of hand.
“We ran out of meat on Wednesday, and everything else on Thursday,” Rajala recalls.
After leaving From Russia, Rajala played for one and a half years in Färjestad BK and Luleå HF. After that, the gate to the alpine country opened, where Rajala’s wrist shot has made a clear mark from season to season.
In 2026, Rajala will be able to apply for a Swiss passport, after which he will not be counted in the foreigner quota.
Toni Rajala is playing his ninth season in the ranks of EHC Biel.
Rajala may well stay in Biel, where his family is having a great time. The customs are also European. In an interview with a Swiss magazine, he says that he learned to greet strangers in Biel. Today, he works in the same way during his summer vacation in Tampere.
“Then I get strange looks, it’s not our Finns’ thing,” says Rajala.
in Europe as a player, Rajala has often been available for the Leijona shirt. He has participated in the prestigious competition three times, and each time he has been awarded a gold medal. Rajala was able to celebrate the 2019 and 2022 World Championship titles and the 2022 Olympic victory.