JYP Jyvaskyla captain Tuomas Pihlman is glad that his team survived a surprisingly difficult Group N. However, despite the challenges his team has faced so far, he feels confident that they can “climb up the next step of the ladder.”

by Jon Rowson

After being drawn into a group with Swedish powerhouse Frolunda Gothenburg and the British champion Sheffield Steelers, JYP Jyvaskyla were expected to be among the 32 teams still in contention for the CHL title after the group stage, following two defeats to Frolunda and two victories over Sheffield. While none of that was a surprise, the closeness of all of the games, particularly the ones with Sheffield, made the group interesting.

Speaking after the game in Sheffield, which JYP won 4–2 to secure a berth in the playoff stage, team captain Tuomas Pihlman could not hide his delight at securing the three points. “It was a very difficult game for us tonight. [The Steelers] got a great feeling from the home crowd and we had to battle very hard today, but I was happy that we were able to get the win.”

The win came despite being out-shot 28–25, and the team needed a three-point effort from forward Janne Tavi and a 26-save performance in goal from 18-year-old Veini Vehvilainen to secure the victory.  For long stretches of time the team was back on its heels, and it looked like the British club might pull off an upset, but JYP came on strong in the end and prevailed.

“The game of hockey is always 60 minutes and we knew that if we played our game, took it step-by-step, in the end we would get the win,” the 32-year-old winger added.

“The Steelers were great at the start of the game. We knew it before, and they showed in the first period that they are ready to play today in front of their home crowd. It’s always a little bit harder to get going in away games, especially in a different country. I loved the crowd though, it was a great atmosphere.”

A week later, Pihlman and Co. fell 4–1 on home ice to Frolunda, in a game in which JYP had a chance to finish first in the group with a win. 

Reflecting a CHL campaign which has so far been satisfactory, though probably not much more for JYP, Pihlman commented, “The group stage was the first step we had take, and we’ve taken that. We can feel just a slight moment of happiness, but we have to keep going, and we have to climb up the next step of the ladder.”

Despite being born in Espoo, Pihlman has JYP blood running through his veins. Rising through the junior program in Jyvaskyla, the big-bodied winger flew onto the radar of the New Jersey Devils, who selected him with their second round selection in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. Pihlman recorded two points in 15 games for the Devils, spending the majority of his four years in North America in the AHL.

Upon his return to Finland, Pihlman re-signed with JYP and quickly became one of the best players in the Liiga, scoring a total of 54 goals in two seasons between 2007 and 2009 and forming a key component of JYP’s Liiga winning teams of 2008–09 and 2011–12. After spells with Jokerit Helsinki and Assat Pori, winning a Liiga title with the latter in 2012–13, he returned to JYP midway through the 2013–14 season. 

Since his return, Pihlman has regained his form of old, finishing the 2014–15 season as the third top goal scorer in the Liiga, netting 21 times in the regular season, before adding 6 goals in 12 games as JYP defeated Lukko to win the bronze medal. 

Speaking of his success last season, Pihlman was philosophical, stating, “Of course, I try to be better than I was last season. I scored some goals last year, but they don’t help me, or the team, this year. Every year you have to earn your place and earn your success. My main goal is, is the same as my team, which is to go far in both Liiga and CHL.”

After having an ‘A’ on his jersey last year, Pihlman was named as JYP’s new captain following the departure of Eric Perrin in the off-season, to which the Finnish forward could not hide his delight.

“I’m very honoured to wear the C. I’m proud that I can be captain of my home team. It’s a big honour. I try to lead the team my way. I don’t try to be like previous captains. I’ve always had great captains in my career, for example last year with Perrin. I try to be the best teammate and captain I can be.”

With qualification for the next round of the CHL secured, Tuomas Pihlman has every chance to lead his team to glory come February.  The next step in that direction comes when JYP host TPS Turku in the first game of their Round-of-32 home-and-away series on 22 September.