Columbus Blue Jackets president John Davidson made history Tuesday when he hired the league’s first European general manager, Finland’s Jarmo Kekalainen.
But how much do you know about the barrier-breaking hockey man and the guy charged with guiding Columbus’s three first-round picks this summer? Here are the Coles Notes:
15. When news broke of Kekalainen’s hiring, the Canadian Press had only one photo of the man and it was 12 years old. In it, he’s embracing Ottawa Senators forward Jason Spezza at the 2001 entry draft.
14. His surname is pronounced kehk-uh-LIE-nehn. (Bonus fun fact: Kekäläinen contains not one but two umlauts.)
Signs you’re really into hockey: You don’t understand the need to include a pronunciation guide with an article on Jarmo Kekalainen
— Brian Schaich (@BlitzburghBrian) February 13, 2013
“If his last name was Johnson or Smith or something, it still wouldn’t matter,” Davidson said. “He’s had success everywhere he’s been, and we expect the same.”
13. He was really the only candidate for Scott Howson’s old gig:
#CBJ John Davidson made it clear: he talked to nobody else in last few weeks, had Jarmo Kekalainen pegged as his guy from the start.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) February 13, 2013
12. The 46-year-old shares his birthday, July 3, with fellow Finnish hockey men Teemu Selanne, Teppo Numminen and Antti Miettinen. And Tom Cruise, who is not the least bit Finnish.
11. He was a point-per-game player (seven in seven) for Team Finland during the 1986 world junior hockey championships.
10. Though undrafted, he still enjoyed two separate stints as an NHL winger, 1989-91 with the Boston Bruins and 1993-94 with the Ottawa Senators, during which he amassed five goals and eight assists.
“I couldn’t brag as my NHL career as a player, it was 55 games,” Kekalainen said, according to Juha Hiitela, NHL correspondent for Ilta-Sanomat & Veikkaaja in Finland. “I never got chance to win the Stanley Cup as a player. Wearing a suit is my chance.”
9. He spent seven seasons as a scout for the Ottawa Senators and three years as a scout for the St. Louis Blues. Under Davidson, he served as assistant general manager of the Blues from 2005-06 to 2009-10.
“@jkekalainen congrats on being named GM of Columbus! I remember you telling us it was your dream to become one! Enjoy it!” tweeted Blues player David Perron Tuesday.
8. In addition to Perron, Kekalainen drafted such Blues as captain David Backes, T.J. Oshie and Alex Pietrangelo.
7. His greatest draftees as a Senators scout? First-rounders Jason Spezza, Bryan Berard, Chris Phillips, Marian Hossa and Martin Havlat; second-rounder Mike Fisher; third-rounder Chris Kelly; fourth-rounder Ray Emery; sixth-rounders Chris Neil and Brooks Laich; and ninth-rounder Sami Salo.
6. Previously unable to break the European NHL GM barrier, Kekalainen returned to his native Finland, where he was serving as GM for the Finnish Elite League’s Jokerit before getting the call from his new/old boss Davidson.
5. Kekalainen held a simultaneous press conference in Finland Tuesday while Davidson addressed the media in Columbus.
Can’t say when Jarmo Kekalainen will come to Columbus. Immigration issues need to be settled.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) February 13, 2013
4. He earned a bachelor’s degree in management from Clarkson University and a master’s in business marketing from the University of Tampere.
3. He and his wife, Tiina, have as many daughters as Tiina does i’s: two. Emilia and Sofia.
2. Kekalainen is a popular hockey colour commentator on Finnish television.
1. He has never traded away Rick Nash.