(UPDATE 9:46 AM)- And now the final chapter in the only remotely interesting Kyle Turris Saga. Turris has released a statement on the Karpat website clarifying his comments. Turns out he enjoyed his time in Finland after all. And now, a far more interesting Kyle Turris moment.
(UPDATE 9:06 PM)- The story appears to be back up on the Globe and Mail website. The story now includes a correction stating that Turris no longer players for Karpat and has returned to Canada.
(UPDATE 6:06 PM)- Or is he? The Globe and Mail has pulled the original interview with Kyle Turris and his agent has suggested that Turris was "completely misrepresented and will clarify his remarks through a statement on the team's website.
A handful of Senators have returned to Ottawa over the past week while their European League teams are on break.
While the hope was that the NHL might be able to resolve the lockout and those guys could stay here in Ottawa and prepare for training camp that seems like a pipe dream right now. With the league taking its issues to the courtroom, there’s no reason to believe this lockout will be ending any time soon.
You really don’t read or hear a whole lot about the experience in the European Leagues but an article in yesterday’s Globe and Mail shines a little light on one Ottawa Senator and his experience to date.
Sens forward Kyle Turris has been playing, and playing well, for Karpat in the SM-Ligga but that doesn’t mean he’s overly thrilled with his time spent in Finland. A few quotes from Turris that appear in the article.
- “There’s nothing to do here. Nothing,” Turris says with a laugh. “If we’re not at the rink, we’re sitting around playing video games.”
- “The travel here is horrendous. It’s worse than junior,” he said. “We’ll fly into Helsinki then hop in a bus for four to six hours, meanwhile, we’ll make three stops on a six-hour bus trip for no reason. It’s awful.”
- “The food here is awful,” he explained. “On the road, we eat at truck stops. ABC truck stops. I’m not kidding. We file out of the bus and head off beside the highway for a buffet truck stop pregame meal. It’s ridiculous.”
You can bet Turris will take some heat for these comments. Both from the team in Finland that has welcomed him during the lockout and from fans here in North America that view the players as spoiled and greedy because of the ongoing lockout.
Turris has yet to decide if he will return to Finland in January but it’s safe to assume he’s hoping the NHL ends the lockout in the near future.
You can read the full article on Kyle Turris and his time in Finland here.
