Role models visit schools

Kiekko-Espoo’s players visit Espoo’s primary schools to talk about a healthy lifestyle and real friendships.

Meeting a player is a unique experience for many children, especially when they get to ask their role model questions.

“The children listened intently and asked all kinds of questions at the end. The visit was personally important to me, and I think the children also liked it,” says Kiekko-Espoo’s alternate captain Tomi Sallinen.

Almost half of the players in the Kiekko-Espoo league team are from Espoo, so they can choose to visit their own primary schools. Sallinen visited Kuitinmäen koulu because he went to school in the same area.

Sallinen has played hockey for a long time, also internationally, and is proud to represent his hometown on the ice and serve as a role model for schoolchildren. In addition to a healthy lifestyle, the school tour focuses on discussing bullying and how to build team spirit.

“Alongside living a healthy lifestyle, we emphasise that everyone should be who they are. Our team has players from many different backgrounds, and everyone is included. The same applies to the school world,” Sallinen says.

For Kiekko-Espoo, school visits offer an opportunity to highlight important issues and to introduce the sport to children everywhere in Espoo.

“Practically everyone in Matinkylä has gone to a hockey match at some point, but people are not that well-acquainted with the sport in Espoon keskus. It’s great that we can spread the word about ice hockey in Espoo,” says Oscar Visa, Marketing and Communications Manager for Kiekko-Espoo.

School visits always culminate in an autograph signing, where the children are given lanyards and the players’ autographs.

Text: Susanna Cygnel.

This article was originally published in the Espoo-lehti magazine 1/2025. Read other articles in the Espoo-lehti.

Learn more about the partnership  between the City and Kiekko-Espoo from Espoo-lehti's article Connected by ice.