Jesperi Kotkaniemi settles in after nerves in NHL homecoming

Jesperi Kotkaniemi said the nerves wore off once the puck dropped in Helsinki. The Carolina Hurricanes centre wrote in his Friday diary for NHL.com that playing in front of family and showing teammates around Finland made Thursday’s Global Series opener feel unusual at first.

Before leaving for Finland, Kotkaniemi told The Hockey News he was looking forward to seeing family and friends. After the game at Veikkaus Arena, he wrote that he had spotted familiar faces in the stands and enjoyed playing in front of them.

Kotkaniemi played 10:58 without a point in Carolina’s 4–1 win over the Seattle Kraken. In his diary, he joked that he would try to score in the second game after two of his fellow Finns scored in the opener.

The Hurricanes and Kraken play again at Veikkaus Arena on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.