ST PAUL, Minn. — The TRIA Rink in downtown St. Paul is home away from home for the Kahkonens.
Kaapo practices there with the Wild, while his younger sister Peppi practices and plays there with Hamline University.
"It is kind of crazy that from all the places, that we ended up in the same place," said Peppi.
"Of all the teams and countries in the world that I could be playing, and she could have picked whatever school and in whatever state or back home," said Kaapo.
Peppi is a relative newcomer to the sport. The freshman forward didn't start playing hockey in Finland until she was 14 years old.
"Because I started late, I have to work more on my basic skills, confidence and making decisions under pressure," said Peppi.
"She's been fantastic, There's always a transition going from your senior year in high school to freshman year in college. She's just so mature and she's handled it with grace and she's done a fantastic job in terms of the pace of the game," said Hamline University head coach Whitney Colbert.
Kappo is helping his sister with her game, and so are her younger brothers.
"Sometimes she asks like, 'Hey, what should I maybe do here? Or what did you think of the practice or whatever?' I'm happy to tell whatever I can," said Kaapo.
"We have all played hockey at point in our lives, and they all are supportive for sure. Growing up with with brothers, it has helped a lot for the game," said Peppi.
Kaapo is five years older than Peppi and they have a younger brother and step-brother.
Despite their busy schedules on the ice, the siblings have been able to spend some time together in the Twin Cities.
"We are close and it's awesome to have someone so close and know that you can always call. I'm super grateful for that," Peppi said.
She is experiencing first-hand the puck passion that fans have here in the State of Hockey.
"There's probably not a single person here that doesn't know how to skate or wouldn't have anything to say about hockey. It's great! It doesn't matter if it's an NHL game, an under-16 game or a girls tournament. There's people watching and that's awesome," said Peppi.
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