Tikkanen builds resume in Asia League

TOKYO – Now pushing 40, Esa Tikkanen has found a whole new reason to come to the rink.

The former star of the Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers spent almost two decades in the NHL. He’s a long, long way from the NHL, digging in the corners in one of the sport’s distant outposts, but at least there’s hockey to play.

Tikkanen is a player-coach for the South Korean team Halla in the new Asia League, hoping the experience will lead him back to the NHL, now shut down for business because of the lockout.

“I’d like to coach in the NHL someday and this seemed like a good place to get a start,” he said.

In the NHL, Tikkanen was an agitator on the ice, goading players into bad penalties. In his new role as player-coach, the five-time Stanley Cup winner spends more time yapping at his teammates than at opponents.

In Saturday’s 5-3 loss to the Japanese team Oji, Tikkanen assisted on Halla’s first goal with a pinpoint pass to Marco Poulson but spent much of his time on the ice directing his teammates.

Whether the South Korean players can understand the Finn’s “Tikkanese” is anyone’s guess, but the message is getting through.

The eight-team Asia League is made up of teams from Russia, Japan, South Korea and China. Each plays 42 regular-season games. Russia and Japan have the strongest teams. Halla is in fifth place.

“The skill level here is pretty good,” said Tikkanen, who has a one-year contract.

“There’s no doubt about it,” he added. “There are some very good players here and this league will help to create more good players.”