Although Kasper Björkqvist arrived in America from Finland more than one year ago, he still hasn't quite adjusted to life off the ice. He misses his mother's cooking. Even the milk tastes different than what he drank at home.
The 20-year-old winger describes the culture shock as "constant." But his transition on the ice is a much different story, as he displayed Friday night on what could be his home ice someday.
Brjörkqvist, a second-round draft pick of the Penguins in 2016, did not record a point in Providence College's 6-0 victory over Arizona State to open the Three Rivers Classic at PPG Paints Arena, but he showed how traveling across the globe to play college hockey is prepping him for the NHL.
"I’m still in the process," Björkqvist, a native of Espoo, Finland, told DKPittsburghSports.com in a one-on-one interview after the win. "In a way, when you come from another hockey country, you never sort of transition to the other culture 100 percent. I don’t think you need to. You need to keep the player you were before. That’s what I’m trying to keep. I want to keep what I’ve learned in Finland, but add aspects to my game that I learn here."
Next for Björkqvist, a first-line left winger for the 11th-ranked Friars (11-7-1), is the tournament's championship game Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. against Robert Morris (8-11-1), which defeated Lake Superior State, 5-0, in the first round.
His hockey journey, though, is still in its early stages. He's only a sophomore at Providence, and his game is not without flaws. Björkqvist's head coach, Nate Leaman, would like to see the power forward shoot more often.
Björkqvist has only six goals and two assists in 19 games this season, but he's also only attempted 40 shots, often focusing on being a disruptive force in front of the net instead of playing on the perimeter. The adjustment continued Friday, when he was scoreless with four shots on goal.
The size of the ice is partially to blame for the deliberate learning process, as international rinks are 15 feet wider than in North America. The Penguins were aware of the transition Björkqvist would need to make when they made him their first pick two summers ago. Their advice to him is to develop an identity and focus on the adjustment to college hockey.
Although it has not led to an offensive outburst yet, Björkqvist is creating more scoring chances and has developed a two-way game that will help him eventually transition to professional hockey.
"He’s really good at screening," Leaman said. "If you want to compare him to a guy on the Penguins, it’s (Patric) Hörnqvist. He’s an excellent penalty killer. He’s very good at getting to the net. ... He’s got a good stick. I think he can make plays, but he can make a lot of strong plays low.
"The thing that I think that people might not think about him is he’s an outstanding leader. ... I anticipate him probably being captain next year."
He wants to prove he's capable of more, though. After all, Björkqvist scored 28 goals with 38 assists for the Espoo Blues, the junior team in his hometown, in 2016. He also helped his home country win gold in the World Junior Championships in 2016, and he served as a captain for the national team last season.
But he wasn't asked to be a dynamic scorer for Finland. Björkqvist was a fourth-line, defensive-minded forward, an experience that prepared him for college hockey. In his debut season for Providence, he scored only three goals with six assists in 30 games, recording only 60 shots on goal.
But he was sound defensively, and quickly became a leader both on and off the ice.
According to Leaman, the offensive trouble started early last season when Björkqvist hit the post on his first several shot attempts, which "rattled his confidence." That doesn't appear to be an issue now, though.
Now, Björkqvist's a key cog in the Friars' penalty-killing unit, which ranks sixth nationally (87.1 percent), and he's also earned time on the power play.
"I’ve always tried to be a power forward," he said. "I think, in general, (Division I NCAA) college hockey is a great league. It just so happens that it’s in North America. The smaller ice rink is part of that. I like it because if you want to play in the NHL someday, that’s what the sheet is going to be like. It’s more the fact that college hockey is such a great league and that’s why I wanted to come here."
Well, he didn't always want to come here. Björkqvist had traveled to the United States on vacation with family as a child, but playing here after juniors did not become a dream until he watched Scott Conway, a forward from England, score a goal for Penn State three years ago.
Björkqvist saw the raucous student section at Pegula Ice Arena in State College. The physical nature of the game caught his eye. Sure, playing in his home country, especially representing it on the national stage, was always his goal, but he wanted to prepare himself to play in the NHL. College hockey presented that opportunity. Not only would it offer him as many as four years to adjust to the style of play, but it gave him a chance to learn what life is like in North America.
Both remain a work in progress, but Björkqvist is relieved he was drafted by a franchise that values what college hockey can do for a player's development curve. And yes, playing in a tournament in what could be his future home is "special."
"It's been interesting being in America," Björkqvist said. "My mom used to tell me that she moved when she was 18 across the country and she’s always like, ‘Well, I don’t know how you were able to move there.’ I couldn’t have even moved across Finland if it wasn’t for hockey. That's why I'm here."
LONG HONG GALLERY
Here's a bonus gallery from Game Two of Day One of the Three Rivers Classic.
