When Luke Lehtimaki dreamed of playing in the World Lacrosse Championships, he usually pictured himself wearing the red and white Team Canada jersey.
But when he got a call from Team Finland asking him to don the blue and white nordic cross and join the club this summer, the Port Coquitlam Saints player couldn’t say no.
“I am flabbergasted,” he told The Tri-City News. “I don’t even know what to think. I have no idea what I am in for.”
Now, Lehtimaki is getting ready for his first overseas visit, heading to the country his grandfather moved away from many years ago.
The trip begins in Turku — Finland’s oldest city — where the 20-year-old lacrosse player will meet his adopted team and begin training.
He admits that he doesn’t know a lot about Finland, but will be bringing his grandfather along to help navigate the country and see some of the sights.
The trans-Atlantic flight will not be the only air miles Lehtimaki accrues this summer. He will continue training with the Finnish club in Toronto next month before the team gears up for the 2015 FIL World Indoor Championship in Syracruse, New York, in September.
The opportunity to play in the tournament has upended Lehtimaki’s summer plans.
He initially planned to play out the schedule with the Saints, where he racked up 10 points in 19 games this season, before heading to Calgary, where he studies civil engineering at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.
Lehtimaki isn’t even entirely sure how he came up on Team Finland’s radar.
“I guess they look at B.C. junior A rosters,” he said. “They were looking for Finnish names and I guess they saw mine.”
Up until now, the biggest stage Lehtimaki has played on is the provincial field lacrosse championships, which his team won three years in a row.
At the worlds, he said it will be interesting to square off against Team Canada, which could potentially feature players he has seen before.
But he is quick to note that he does not mind playing his home country — in fact, he said he is going to relish the opportunity.
“It will be even better,” he said. “I think it will mean more to me.”
He’s also excited to see how he performs at a world championship against some of the toughest competition he has ever seen.
“Of course you want to play at the world level,” he said. “I didn’t think I’d ever get the opportunity to do it.”
