Glasgow’s Braehead Clan are delighted to announce the signing of Finnish centre Ville Hämäläinen for the remainder of the 2017/18 season.
The 36-year-old has spent much of his career in his native Finland, but left to go to DEL2 side Dresdner Eislöwen in October last year.
Hämäläinen is excited by the opportunity to come to the UK, but says he has no expectations about what’s to come for him.
“The Elite League is an attractive place to come and play in and the results in the Champions Hockey League have shown that this season” he said.
“I’m also an experienced guy so I wanted to help some of the other players, plus I’m versatile and have played defensive and offensive roles.
“I spoke to John (Tripp) a few times about the move and I liked what he had to say. I can’t wait to come over and see things go. It’s going to be fun for me.
“I’ve no expectations as it’s my first time coming to the UK so I’m looking forward to playing some good hockey and I want everything to go well.”
Hämäläinen comes to the Elite League with great pedigree and experience of over 900 games across the top two tiers in Finland.
He competed in the Champions Hockey League for SaiPa in the 2013/14 season and was a runner-up in the SM-liiga play-offs in 2010 with HPK.
Braehead Clan head coach John Tripp spoke of his new man and was especially at the attributes he’ll bring to his team.
“Ville was a player I was familiar with from his brief time in Germany and I liked what he brought to his team,” he said.
“Having come from a league as high standard as Liiga and the years he spent there, it shows he’s a real quality two-way player with qualities that will benefit this group.
“He has great leadership skills, which will be a great asset for me and for the rest of the team and we spoke a lot about how he’ll fit into the team.
“I’m looking forward to working with him when he arrives and will be a good addition to the roster.”
Hämäläinen will arrive in the UK today and should feature this weekend in Clan’s homecoming game against Fife Flyers on Saturday, face-off 7:00pm.
