![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/finlandhavertownhockey.jpg\")
article <\/p>\n article <\/p>\n
HAVERTOWN, Pa. – The Haverford Hawks youth hockey<\/a> team is hosting the annual Finland-USA Exchange Tournament at the Skatium, welcoming dozens of players from Helsinki, Finland, coaches and family members for a week of games and cultural experiences.<\/p>\n Hockey teams from two countries reunite in Havertown <\/p>\n What we know:<\/p>\n The Finland-USA Exchange Tournament brings together the Haverford Hawks and the ViikingIt club from Helsinki, Finland, for the nearly 30-year tradition. This year, 41 Finnish players are staying with Hawks host families, according to the Haverford Hawks.<\/p>\n What they’re saying:<\/p>\n “It\u2019s cool to see their different style of play,” said Jonah Cohen, a player for the Haverford Hawks Hockey Club. “It\u2019s just cool because [my dad] tells me stories of when he went to Finland and how he hosted when they came to the US,” said Cohen.<\/p>\n Jonah\u2019s dad, Micah Cohen, was part of the first Hawks team to travel to Finland in 2000. “I love watching [Jonah] play, love that he\u2019s a Haverford Hawk. A lot of my friends make fun of me that he’s just reliving my life. Sometimes it feels like a cold world out there, but this brings everybody together. This is a completely good thing.”<\/p>\n The tournament is more than just a series of hockey games. Players and their families are sharing meals, attending a Flyers<\/a> game, and taking trips to Philadelphia and New York City.<\/p>\n The backstory:<\/p>\n The exchange began in 1999 after the Rinta-Panttila family moved from Helsinki to Havertown and hosted Finnish friends for a school tournament. The tradition grew into a formal exchange, alternating locations each year.<\/p>\n “This is more than hockey. This is like making lifelong memories, friendships. Showing everybody that hockey is not just a sport,” said Otto Kinnunin, future head coach of the Helsinki ViikingIt Hockey Club.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s exchange includes 112 visitors from Finland, with the 41 ViikingIt players joining Hawks families for 10 days. The week wraps up with a three-day tournament featuring teams from Snider Hockey, Wissahickon Skating Club, Montgomery Youth Hockey Association, and Philadelphia Little Flyers, along with the Hawks and ViikingIt.<\/p>\n The exchange alternates each year, with the Hawks traveling to Helsinki in odd years for a similar experience hosted by the ViikingIt club.<\/p>\n The Source: Information in this story is from the Haverford Hawks Hockey Club.<\/p>\n Sports<\/a>Delaware County<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"article HAVERTOWN, Pa. – The Haverford Hawks youth hockey team is hosting the annual Finland-USA Exchange Tournament at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":539118,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[377],"tags":[29143,5,40,1421,43,1321],"class_list":{"0":"post-539117","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hockey","8":"tag-delaware-county","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-pa","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116342774283490212","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=539117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/539118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=539117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=539117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=539117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rink.jpg\")
Exchange program history and cultural impact <\/p>\n