Play in Finland - Tryout placement

I offer tryout placement for PLAYERS and GOALIES who want to play ice hockey in Finland.

Cost of my tryout service:

Option A, 500€

I will provide you a weekly updated list of teams that have published their tryout info so you can fill the forms or contact directly to the coach. How it works is that teams announce tryouts, they have a form that you fill and then they will invite those who they want. For imports I recommend filling the form and then sending an email because you need to do travel arrangements. With this option you are on your own and I will not help you with anything. Just providing the list.

Option B, 950€

I will get you 1-2 tryouts with money back guarantee. Beforehand we will agree on the level that I’ll get the tryouts. If you want to play in the highest league of your age group then you can’t be playing in #2-3 league in your own country. As an import you need to be better than locals and often even that is not enough. Why is the price so high when you can do everything yourself? It is so much work to sell imports in Finland and I will also help you with travel arrangements and everything else.

Cost of a tryout:

Most likely free. I have never seen a tryout that costs in Finland (opposite to North America).

Cost of living and playing in Finland:

For a junior aged guy typical cost of living and playing in Finland is 1500-2000€ / month. Below is a break down of the cost.

Apartment 500-750€
food 500€
team fees 250-500€
other expenses like a bus card for transportation 250-500€

If you make it to a really good U20 team you may get something or everything for free. But my general advice is that you have to be prepared to pay everything yourself.

How Finnish teams train:

Typical high level U18-U20 team’s week consists of:

4 evening practices
1-3 morning practices
2-4 lifting sessions,
1-3 games
Warm-ups, cool-downs, video sessions, etc.

How long is the hockey season in Finland

Teams train together from the first week of August until mid-April. Then there is a 1-2 week break and then training continues until Mid-June. From mid June to first week of August there is 4-6 week break when players are training by themselves or in small groups if they want to.

Good to know:

Usually, teams are 50-95% set before the season ends because players from U16 and U18 teams will move up within the organization. That is why tryouts are often just normal team practices where players from outside of the organization are invited to.

How does this work if you want my help:

Step 1:

You email me the info below and I will contact teams to see if there is any interest. I will take full payment before contacting teams.

Name:

Birth year:

Height / Weight:

Link to elite prospects:

Link to highlight video:

Career goals:

Background info:

Step 2:

Come to Finland in the spring. Tryouts are always between mid-April and the end of May. Most teams have tryouts between the week after Easter - the first week of May. After tryouts teams finalize their summer training rosters. Team rosters will be always finalized by end of August but usually, if you make it to the summer training group it means you made the team. If there is the possibility that you may be dropped out in August due to a goalie from a higher league comes along it is usually clearly communicated to you at the beginning of the summer.

Step 3:

If the team likes and wants to keep you then it is time to get your paperwork done to get a visa, apartment, etc. Those are things I will not be helping you with or do them for you. You are on your own with that. My fee covers just getting you on a tryout. This is the best website to find an apartment https://asunnot.oikotie.fi/vuokra-asunnot and this is where you can read more about visas https://migri.fi/en/home and here especially if you are non-EU citizen https://visa.finland.eu/

What can go wrong:

The team may invite you to a tryout but at the last minute they’ll tell you not to come because they got someone else coming and can’t take all the goalies to tryout. That happened to me when I was playing juniors in North America and it has happened to goalies who have gotten tryouts by themselves in Finland. My job is to make sure that doesn’t happen to you. Another thing is that a team may take you to a summer training group but in August a goalie from a better team comes along and you are sent away. This is very common in North America but not so much in Finland. Usually, when the team is set in May the team is set for the season.

What is the level I can get tryouts at:

It depends on your stats and video. For example, if you are a U18 national team goalie from a big hockey country I will get you tryouts with the highest and seconds highest U18/U20 teams but if you are U18 AA goalie from North America then it might be 3rd highest level that is realistic for you. As an import goalie, you must be clearly better than local goalies on high-level teams. With players everything is much easier.

How to apply for tryout service:

Email me the following info to goalieforce@gmail.com and let me know which option of my services you want. Sooner the better even it would be for the next season.