KALAMAZOO -- Pori, a city of approximately 85,000, sits on the western coast on Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia. That's about the extent of the knowledge a Bronco hockey fan would have after a simple Google search of the city, which is a similar size to Kalamazoo. But that all changed on Oct. 10, 2015 when Oliwer (pronounced Oliver) Kaski became the first Finnish-born student-athlete to suit up in the Brown and Gold for the WMU hockey program.
Kaski didn't see action in Western Michigan's regular-season opener the night before, but an injury to Taylor Fleming thrust the young defenseman into the lineup and he's been a mainstay ever since. The 20-year old has played in 22 of the team's 26 games and is currently the top-scoring defenseman on the team with 11 points on four goals and seven assists. Though he has had his ups and downs like any freshman, especially since he's relatively new to the position of defenesman.
"Oliwer has a calm demeanor, doesn't get rattled, and sees the game very well," said head coach Andy Murray on Kaski's adjustment to the college game. "He's gotten stronger and has learned to play with more pace."
"The speed and the physicality, for sure," said Kaski on the differences in the college hockey game from his experience in Finland. "The game is a lot more skillful in Europe, but here it's all about the tempo. You have to learn that you have to give 100-percent all the time, even in practice."
Oliwer had hockey in his blood and first took up skating when he was three.
"My first experience with hockey was in Germany, where my dad played. There, I started to skate and of course, hang out at the rink."
Kaski's family moved back to Finland when he was four and it was there he joined his first team, beginning his journey that eventually led him to Western Michigan.
Growing up he worked his way to through the junior ranks, eventually playing with Ässät. There he would move up from through Ässät's youth teams and eventually to the U20 team that he played on prior to coming to Kalamazoo. College hockey was on Kaski's radar, thanks to friend and fellow Pori native Erik Haula. Haula left Finland as a teenager, playing in the United States Hockey League with the Omaha Lancers before a stellar three-year career at the University of Minnesota. Haula now plies his trade for the Minnesota Wild in the NHL.
Kaski was headed for the USHL, himself, before Western Michigan intervened.
"It came kind of late in the middle of last season," said Kaski on his decision to pursue college hockey. "My advisor and my dad started to talk about maybe going to play in the USHL for the rest of the season. I decided to stay and play the rest of my season and finish high school. Then things just happened pretty quickly."
Kaski's advisor had a contact in WMU associate head coach Dave Shyiak. From there he embarked on a trip to the states to visit Western Michigan, as well as the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL.
"I visited WMU in the summer and liked the place right away. I was still supposed to go play in the USHL but Western Michigan offered me a scholarship right away."
Kaski accepted.
"We told him if we felt he was good enough, we would bring him in right away," Murray added. "When we saw him in the summer, it confirmed to us that he was capable of playing college hockey right away."
Kaski's adjustment off the ice has gone just as smoothly as it has on the ice. Thanks to technology it's still very easy to keep in contact with friends and family back in Finland.
"The time difference is the big difference," added Kaski. "I have to call them right after practice if I want to talk with them due to the seven hour difference."
Classes have gone well for Kaski, who started learning English in the third grade. The business major boasts a 3.54 GPA.
Kaski isn't alone in his journey from Europe to Western Michigan. Sophomore Frederick Tiffels made a similar journey coming from Germany to the USHL and then WMU. Kaski's also one of six seven Finnish players in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, including friend Niklas Nevalainen. Nevalainen is one of four Fins that play at St. Cloud State, and is also a Pori native.
"He had a great freshman year," said Kaski of Nevalainen's season in 2014-15. "That kind of inspired me to come here and play."
Kaski suits up again this weekend for the Broncos as they head to No. 12 Omaha. Friday's game starts at 7:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network, with Saturday's puck drop schedule for 8 p.m. ET.
