HELSINKI — The announcer at Helsinki Ice Hall pauses before trying to pronounce the names of Canada's players at the world junior hockey championships.
All except Vancouver Cannuck Jake Virtanen, which he attacks with Nordic zeal: "YAKE VEER-tah-nen."
Virtanen hasn't earned any points at the world junior hockey championship for Canada so far, but he's been an impact player on the ice and a leader in the locker-room as one of four returnees from last year's gold medal-winning team.
He's also been something of a tour guide for his teammates, as his father Rainer emigrated from Finland to Canada as a child.