Tappara's Benjamin Rautiainen starts military service, returns same day for Ilves semifinal
Tappara forward Benjamin Rautiainen began his military service at the Sports School in Santahamina but returned to Tampere the same day to prepare for Tappara’s Liiga semifinal against Ilves.
Aamulehti reports that Tappara forward Benjamin Rautiainen began his military service at the Sports School in Santahamina on Monday.
Photographs published by Aamulehti show the 20-year-old walking out of Santahamina's equipment depot carrying heavy kit and later undergoing an equipment inspection. The visit was short: Rautiainen returned to Tampere the same day to focus on Tappara's Liiga semifinal series against Ilves, which starts on Thursday. "Today I get back to Tampere and concentrate on the rest of the season. But of course we'll report in, it's part of this," he said.
He said he has been thinking little about military service lately and plans to return to full-time duties after the season. He joked that trying out firearms would be the most interesting part, while early wake-ups — he normally gets up closer to eight — would be the hardest.
Rautiainen was named the men's league's best player of the regular season and won the scoring race with 77 points (25+52) in 59 games. In Tappara's first five playoff games he has two assists (0+2).
Catch the full story over at Aamulehti
