If anyone has a unique perspective on the Champions Hockey League Quarter-Final between Karpat Oulu and the Espoo Blues, it's Kim Hirschovits. The captain and leader of the Blues has moved north to Karpat in the midst of the home-and-away set, and he spoke after his first game with his new club on Thursday.

by Miikka Jarvenpaa

OULU – As captain and one of the few A-class stars in the Espoo Blues roster, centre Kim Hirschovits created a buzz in the Finnish hockey world by parting company with the Blues to join their CHL Quarter-Final rivals, Karpat Oulu. Behind the move is the Blues' financial situation, which has made it difficult to pay the highest salary on the team. 

Hirschovits has been the physical and spiritual leader of the Blues for two and a half seasons. Last year the Helsinki-native scored the most points in the Finnish Liiga and was deservingly awarded the league's MVP. Karpat will gain a huge boost in their offence and playmaking and especially their power play is sure to improve after Hirschovits's arrival.

Another top trade of a top player to a top club? Not quite. What makes the move peculiar is that Karpat and the Blues are playing against each other in the Champions Hockey League Quarter-Finals. The news of Hirschovits's departure broke on the day of the first leg last Tuesday and the contract with Karpat was confirmed on the following morning. To the surprise of many, the Blues won the first game 2–0 with a shutout from young goalkeeper Kaapo Kahkonen. 

Because Hirschovits has played in the CHL for another team, he is not eglible to play for Karpat in the European competition. If his new club were to overcome their two-goal deficit in the second leg and win, Hirschovits would get to enjoy the semi-finals from the stands. Hirschovits is out of the CHL even though his current and most recent teams are still in the race for the European title. 

"The CHL in general has been sweet. I enjoyed those games a lot. They brought a nice twist to our season. We got to travel a bit and see different kind of hockey. It would have been great to play some more CHL games but now it just went like this. The timing of everything was silly and pure coincidence. As is the fact that Karpat and the Blues are facing each other," Hirschovits commented after his first game with Karpat. 

Karpat played Thursday night on their home ice against Ilves Tampere. Hirschovits centred a line between fast skating Julius Junttila and former Blues teammate Miro Aaltonen. The game was tied 0–0 after the first period. Karpat had a great start to the game but couldn't break the stalemate. 

On his first game with his new team, Hirschovits said, "It felt great. We got three points – awesome. Personally I was a bit lost every once in a while, but overall I did surprisingly well and there were lot of good things."

The teams traded goals in the second period, and then late in the third it was the Hirschovits line that produced the game-winning goal. Hirschovits's pass found Aaltonen and Junttila scrambling in front of the net. Eventually Junttila was the one to get the glory for the scored goal to secure the 2–1 victory. 

"I was happy with the amount of chances we created. When we get more experience playing together it will go more smoothly," Hirschovits said modestly after assisting on the game-winner with 2:05 on the clock.

Hirscovits's decision to leave the Blues was far from easy. "It was one of the hardest decisions in my career. I had great support there and when you give your everything for something for two and a half years, it's really hard to leave it behind. But as a professional athlete I have to be able to focus on hockey 100 percent." 

On choosing Karpat, he says, "I'm sure I made the right decision. Karpat is a top-notch organization and this community drives them to success every year. It feels liberating to be able to focus solely on the game."