I'm still blown away. Or at least surprised. There are still so many people alive in the world who remember Finnish wooden hockey sticks! Before I headed out to visit Forssa, I thought maybe a few people would be interested. But what on earth—my visit around the KOHO factory area in Forssa has caused a near-digital invasion on my social media channels! People have come out of the woodwork to reminisce about their old sticks and share their experiences. And I don't mind at all. But wow! I was born in 1989 in Northern Finland. My dad played recreational hockey, and my very first memories of sticks are specifically of KOHO. An old white KOHO stick had been up on the attic roof tucked into the fiberglass insulation, and playing with it gave your hands a terrible itch. One Christmas, my older brother got a Jari Kurri signature KOHO, and that was so cool. He didn't even play with it much, so I got to borrow it a lot. In 1997, a biography of Jari Kurri also came out, and I remember reading it cover to cover, over and over again. It was an inspiring book, and I spent a lot of time in my imagination playing the role of Jari Kurri. Back then, in my childhood and youth in the '90s, Titan and Torspo were no longer popular here in Finland. So I never really got to witness the golden years of Titan. KOHO was popular then, and Montreal made a massive breakthrough! Our parents—and especially their parents who had lived through the war—were used to living frugally, which is why we didn't get new sticks or skates either. Only in Forssa was the situation different, since you could apparently get sticks for free around the factory. Up north, and surely elsewhere too, sticks and gear were expensive. As a rule, nothing was ever bought brand new or straight from a store. Flea markets and second-hand shops were our go-to spots. I still remember those annoying rich kids' brats who got new skates or sticks and whom we envied. They often had candy in their pockets when we were out on the outdoor rinks. Unfair! Even though I played a lot and every day, for some reason my dad wouldn't even agree to buy me black skates. It was embarrassing to play in blue-and-white skates. When I finally got black Cooper skates—even though I would have wanted Grafs—I had to color over the brand with a black marker. Or I kept my pant legs pulled down over my skates and lied that they were Grafs or Bauers. Sometime later, I got a used pair of Bauer Vapor skates, and that was a huge deal! The skates were a bit too big, but it didn't bother me one bit! Another big moment was when I happened to get an almost brand-new Montreal stick from a friend's dad. I think I even took it to bed with me to sleep. That's how good it felt. Although I've never played on any team or officially in organized hockey leagues, I've played continuously in full gear for going on 30 years now. I started this whole thing when I was around 10 years old. There hasn't been a single winter in my life when I haven't played hockey weekly. I hit the ice about 1 to 3 times a week. Outdoor rinks have become rare for me nowadays, and I mostly just go there with my own kids. But I can't resist sharing that last year, as a reward to myself, I bought the most expensive skates in the store! I walked in, went straight to the salesperson, and said I wanted the absolute most expensive, best skates they had. I have no idea if they've improved my game at all, but they genuinely feel better on my feet than shoes! It brings a huge smile to my face when I lace them up in the locker room. In 2008, I was doing my military service in Rovaniemi. That same year, the American company Warrior acquired the Finnish-owned Montreal brand. Sticks were manufactured in Padasjoki until 2019, but after that, everything came to an end. The other Finnish stick brands have met the same fate: Torspo, Titan, KOHO, Montreal, etc. The crazy part is that I nowadays play with a Warrior stick myself. My next plan is to visit Padasjoki to research the history of Montreal. And I've already arranged to go back and visit KOHO again. Let's keep digging! #hockeytwitter