Former NHL star Kimmo Timonen marvels at hockey’s accelerating pace: “I wouldn’t keep up anymore”

Former NHL defenseman and Stanley Cup winner Kimmo Timonen says the speed of modern hockey has left him astonished, admitting he would struggle to keep pace with today’s game. The Finnish legend made the remarks during a public NHL-themed event in Kuopio, where he participated in a podcast recording and alumni exhibition match.

The two-day event, organized by Street Games, has transformed Kuopio’s market square into a hockey festival, complete with an outdoor rink and skills competitions. Organizers expect around 12,000 visitors—matching last year’s attendance in Oulu—fueled by local enthusiasm for the sport, particularly after Kuopio’s KalPa advanced to the league semifinals.

Timonen, now a broadcaster and co-owner of his former club KalPa, noted the dramatic shift in media coverage since his playing days. “Back in the early ’90s, all we had was text-TV page 235,” he said, contrasting it with today’s saturated hockey media landscape. His son, Samuel, recently began his own professional career in Finland’s top league.

The event also features an alumni game on Saturday, with Timonen joining fellow Finnish NHL veterans like Jari Kurri, Esa Tikkanen, and Teppo Numminen against local players. Reflecting on the league’s upcoming reduction to 14 teams, Timonen praised the reform for pushing clubs to compete more aggressively, citing budget cuts by several teams last season as early evidence of the change.

After KalPa’s playoff victory on Thursday, Timonen quipped about the sport’s evolution: “The game’s gotten faster everywhere, even in Finland. Wow—I wouldn’t last out there anymore!”