There is no single hockey club in the world that is as well represented at the Men’s U18 as Tappara Tampere, the Finnish institution that has been developing players for decades.
Consider that nine players from four countries played for Tappara this past season, including Czechia forward Simon Katolicky. Still only 16, he left Dukla Jihlava in Czechia to play in Finland this past season, a tough but ultimately rewarding decision.
“I went there because it’s more challenging training,” he explained. “I think it’s much better than in Czech. I think I improved a lot more this year than if I had played at home. I think I got a lot stronger and faster. The Finnish league is pretty fast, so there is not as much time to make decisions.”
But he is not the only player in Frisco with Tappara on his resume. Germany’s Darian Rosling and Slovakia’s Jan Chovan also played on the team, and six members of the Finnish team played with them in 2024-25: Jesper Kotajarvi, Eetu Orpana, Juho Piiparinen, Joonas Rajala, Oliver Suvanto, and Vilho Vanhatalo.
This international collection of players had a great season, winning the U18 Finnish league championship by sweeping JYP in three games of the best-of-five finals under coach Kasperi Saarinen. The final game at Hakametsa was a 3-0 score and came courtesy of the above players. Piiparinen got the first goal, assist to Kotajarvi and Rajala. Kovan made it 2-0 with assists to Piiparinen and Kotajarvi, and Vanhatalo scored an empty netter.
“We were in the playoffs, and the training camp for U18 had already started here,” Katolicky explained. “I came to the camp the next day after we won the championship.”
Of course, playing on a club team is different than a national team, and Katolicky has had to adjust his game accordingly.
“I think I have a bigger role in Tappara because it’s a league and this is the national team where it’s hard to be better than many players,” he explained.
Still, he will have the chance to renew acquaintances in Frisco, but on ice teammates become rivals.
“I played with the 07s, Chovan and Kotajarvi, for only ten games, so I don’t know them that well, and some other were playing under 20 and I was playing under 18, but there are some players who I know are playing here, so it will be fun.”
Katolicky will turn 17 in the summer and is planning on returning to Finland for another year. But at his age, circumstances can change quickly. For now, he is relishing his Tappara championship and hoping to…
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