Karpat Oulu's Sebastian Aho came up with a big performance on Saturday in the World Championship semi-final against host Russia, scoring twice en route to a 3–1 victory. He answered a few questions afterward.
by Derek O'Brien
MOSCOW – It's been a World Championship where the spotlight has been on young players, and Team Finland has advanced to the tournament final thanks to key contributions from several young players. In the semi-finals against the host Russians, it was Karpat Oulu's Sebastian Aho who starred with two power-play goals in the second period – the equalizer and the game winner – in his team's 3–1 victory.
Congratulations on the win, Sebastian, and on scoring 2 goals.
“Thanks. I didn't play my best in the quarter-finals but today I just tried to play my normal game and I enjoyed it.”
The game probably didn't start the way you wanted, though. What happened?
“The Russian team came out so hard in the first period and the first half of it was difficult for us, but we managed to survived it and then we played better.”
This was your first game in Moscow in front of an unwelcoming crowd after eight games in St. Petersburg, which were almost like home games for your team. Was that a tough adjustment?
“I don't know. We have a lot of fans and they were great in St. Petersburg. Here there were so many fans for Russia and they were loud, but it was good atmosphere and we managed it.”
You scored two power-play goals in the second period. Can you describe them?
“The first one, (Mikael) Granlund's pass was amazing and I just tried to get the puck to the net. The second was another great pass to me, and I just wanted to be between the circles and make the shot.”
Looking ahead to tomorrow, you have already beaten both possible final opponents. Which one do you think would be more difficult?
“I think it doesn't matter which one it is. Both are good. We're more concerned about our own team.”
You won a gold member at the World Junior Championship this season. How much would it mean to also win a World Championship in the same year?
“It means a lot to me. I will try to make it happen but we have one more game tomorrow and it will be a big challenge. We will all try to make it the third gold medal for Finland this year.”
Yes, that would include the gold won by the U18 team last month as well. How do you explain the development of so many good young players in Finland these days?
“We have great coaches on our youth and junior teams who know a lot about hockey, and they're great at helping us develop into better all-around players.”
Finally, your Karpat club was unable to win the Finnish title or the CHL Final, which you played at home. Would winning this go a long way to making up for that disappointment?
“Of course. I like to win but tomorrow we've got one more game and we're going to have to put all of our effort into it.”
Other stories on Sebatian Aho:
Karpat forward Aho: "The job isn't done just yet"
Kukkonen & Aho on Game 1 victory: "These are tough games"
Puljujarvi–Aho–Laine trio heading towards a bright future
Finnish Sebastian Aho: "We made it to the Semi-Finals, but every game in the CHL is different"