DENVER --Ville Nieminen has the proper role models to find success in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The 24-year-old native of Tampere, Finland grew up watching countrymen Esa Tikkanen and Jari Kurri pile up Stanley Cups during their stellar NHL careers. Kurri, a native of Helsinki, claimed five Stanley Cups as a right wing with the powerhouse Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s. Tikkanen, also from Helsinki, won four Cups with those same Oilers' squads and another as a left wing on the 1994 New York Rangers.

"I remember as a kid watching Tikkanen and Kurri playing for Edmonton and winning all those Cups," explained Nieminen. "When I saw Esa and Jari lift that Cup, I said I want to be there like that."

Now, Nieminen is like there like them, playing second-line right wing for the Avalanche as they battle New Jersey for this year's Stanley Cup.

Although Nieminen traces his hockey lineage through both Kurri and Tikkanen, he is more like the gritty Tikkanen than the flashy Kurri, who topped 30 goals 10 times during his NHL career.

Nieminen is an agitator, a whirling dervish along the boards and in the corners, and an all-around pest in front of the opponent's net.

And like Tikkanen, he enjoys a special place in the hearts of teammates who appreciate his reckless style of play and
the smile he brings to the rink every day.

Shjon Podein described it best when he called Nieminen, "a little left of normal."

It is that mindset and the agitating style that served Tikkanen so well during his legendary career.

"Sometimes you have to find the puck and [goalies] get mad," Nieminen said earlier in these playoffs. "I'm not going to score from
the blue line with a rocket shot into the top shelf, so I have to go where the puck is going to be. Most of the time, I score a
garbage goal, but nobody remembers what kind of goals they are."

And, nobody but Nieminen will remember as the Finals are contested how lucky he is to be here. He made three trips to and
from the minors this season before sticking for good after Adam Deadmarsh was lost in the Rob Blake trade in February.

Even Nieminen, who is almost always smiling, was surprised when he arrived for good. He scored 14 goals in 50 NHL
games. In the playoffs, he is the leading rookie goal scorer with three goals and four assists in 16 playoff contests.

"When they called me up for the third time and told me to get a place, I knew I was going to stick around," says Nieminen. "I knew that we would have a chance then to play for the Stanley Cup."

Sentiments like that show that Nieminen is rarely at a lost for confidence. But, he was struggling with his confidence during his last stint in Hershey, Colorado's American Hockey League affiliate.

"I was down in the minors and I was wondering if I would ever play in the NHL again, and then I got the chance to play [here] again, and now here I am."

Here he is, on hockey's biggest stage, ready to follow in the legendary footsteps of Finnish legends Kurri and Tikkanen. His every move will be followed and recorded by a reporter from his hometown newspaper.

"It is the first time they are sending somebody from the paper to cover me," said Nieminen with more than a touch of pride. "they will be here [Saturday] and I'm really looking forward to that."

He thinks he'll have a good story for the readers back home to read. He believes in his heart that he will win the Stanley Cup, like the idols that he followed. He knows, no matter the outcome, that he is living a dream, a dream he first entertained as a young
player back in Tampere.

"I'm still living this dream and please don't wake me up until after Game 7 and the season is over," Nieminen said with a smile.

The colourful chatterbox is now in the playoffs, and says he is just a regular guy.

There is a ruckus at the end of the hall. Judging by the commotion, Colorado Avalanche ice hockey player Ville Nieminen is on his way over. The young man is fuming with anger, because coach Bob Hartley has just lectured him for a full fifteen minutes.

The morning practice of Colorado ended an hour ago. The team lost at their home arena in Denver last night to the Los Angeles Kings, and the atmosphere is tense. Colorado’s brightest star, Swede Peter Forsberg, explains the reasons for the loss to reporters.

Nieminen pops into the locker room, grabs a couple of bottles of water, dons fashionable sunglasses, and steps outside. In the parking lot, Nieminen’s huge black jeep stands waiting.

After he starts up the jeep, he notices a group of people by the gate to the practice rink. It is time to sign the compulsory autographs. “Damn, I should drive out the other way”, he grumbles, but drives up to the gate and stops the car.

“I always sign autographs for kids, but here there are old guys begging for them that do business with them.”

Despite his complaints, Nieminen rolls down the window and writes his name on the shirts, photos and caps the people offer him. Then he shuts the window, turns up the stereo and accelerates through the gate.

In June 1997, the NHL bosses convened in Pittsburgh for the Entry Draft of new players. At the time, Nieminen was a 20-year-old boy from Tampere, playing in his home town team of Tappara. He had only made the junior national team a few times, whereas many of his peers had already been drafted by NHL teams.

Nieminen’s agent, former NHL player Petteri Lehto, decided to play it safe this time – he would take Nieminen to Pittsburgh to be introduced.

It is customary for the teams to interview players that interest them in hotel rooms. Colorado Avalanche Vice President Michel Goulet arrived with a few assistants to meet Nieminen in Pittsburgh. Lehto interpreted.

The hockey executive asked Nieminen questions about his family, whether he had finished school, what his goals were, and other general matters.

Next Goulet inquired whether Nieminen used snuff. Nieminen resorted to sign language in his answer. He pretended to stuff the substance under his lip, threw himself down on the couch, and admitted he had tried it once, but nearly passed out.

The interpreter was getting a bit nervous. Nieminen informed Goulet that he was a free man for the NHL, because he was done with school and the compulsory military service, they were “in the box”, as he put it. And if Colorado was interested in him, he could come right away. He would only have to drop by Tampere to change his underwear.

Goulet had seen enough. He announced he would need to make a telephone call. He mumbled into his mobile phone and reported that he had alerted President and General Manager Pierre Lacroix to the scene. “He has just got to see this show”, Goulet grinned.

“Ville, I could fit nine more of these on my fingers”, Lacroix said. Nieminen responded immediately: “No worries. Just remember to give me a call.”

Colorado Avalanche picked Ville Nieminen in the third round of the draft. A professional contract was signed a few weeks later. Petteri Lehto believes that Goulet and Lacroix thought Nieminen was either a jackpot or a complete nutcase. They wanted to see which one he was.

According to Nieminen, he was just being himself in the interview. “For some reason, I just talked a bit more than usual.”

“I talk a lot, because a young player needs to bring energy into the team”, Nieminen announces, in an emphatically careful way – and laughs afterward. One experienced coach has already warned Nieminen that he should be a bit more careful of what he blurts out in public. Nieminen assures me that he is trying.

Back home, many laughed at Nieminen, and foresaw a quick return to Tappara. American farm teams have lousy reputations in Finland. There are loads of games, and the long journeys are covered by bus. Many Finns feel the games are of a lower standard than in the Finnish national league.

“I will never say a bad word about the farm league. If they played over 80 games in the regular season in Finland, I doubt the hockey would be that pretty all the time. The farm league is a tough place, but if you can handle it, you will be sure to develop as a player.”

“I played over 200 games in the farm over a period of three years. I sat on a bus going to away games for 1,300 hours, and counted every single one. It was an experience I’ll never forget.”

“The coach felt I was a Communist. I was kicked out of practice sometimes and sent to the showers, and once I had to go to the gym to ride a bike in the middle of a game”, Nieminen recalls. The conservative coach was also upset by the fact that Nieminen’s girlfriend, Kaisa, also moved to Hershey.

And after Ville quickly bought a new car, the coach called Petteri Lehto to tell him the boy had gone crazy with his money. What the coach did not know was that Nieminen had been involved in an accident, and that the new car was quite modest by local standards.

Finally, in January, Nieminen got his chance. He was told to come to Denver, where he played a few games in the third or fourth line. One morning, Hartley asked Nieminen to come to his office.

The coach took his time asking Ville all about his goals and ambitions, and finally asked who he would like to play with. “Put me in the first line with Peter Forsberg”, came Nieminen’s immediate reply. Hartley was silent for a moment, but then a smile spread across his face. “Ville, I like your style.”

Peter Forsberg is one of the most skilled players in the NHL. As his left wing, Nieminen scored two goals and two assists in his first three games. Nieminen did exactly what was expected of him: wrestled with the defence of the opponents in front of the goal, leaving room for Forsberg. He also got along well with the Swedish superstar.

Nieminen soon received the message he was hoping for: you can buy a home in Denver. His career in the farm league was over. Nieminen emptied his apartment in Hershey and gave the furniture to the Salvation Army.

For one thing, he knows how to annoy opponents: when Nieminen wrestles with someone and smiles broadly at the same time, the opponent blows up easily and receives a penalty.

Nieminen is not particularly fast, but he is prepared to give everything for the team. Coaches long for players like him, who will willingly skate in front of the opponent’s goalkeeper, ready to be pushed around and hit with sticks. Nieminen needs to get accustomed to bruises, but every now and then he also gets to shoot the puck into the goal.

Nevertheless, it would be to no avail if Nieminen requested a session with the team’s only masseur after a tough game. In an NHL team, a newcomer always comes last, unless he was born to be a superstar. And after all, even Nieminen maintains he is just a regular guy from Tampere, and he does not complain.

“One of the teams oldest players, Dave Reid, is looking after me now, giving advice and helping.”

“I am not saying no to the money. A few years ago I was driving around Tampere in a rusty Ford Escort, wondering if I could afford to buy gas.”

A Ville Nieminen fund that assists young hockey players now operates in Tampere. Nieminen himself has donated FIM 30,000 so far. And when his career is over, Nieminen plans to return home to Tampere as the same man who originally left. “I want to be a regular guy.”

Nieminen’s father never got to see his son play in the NHL, but he did visit Hershey during Ville’s first year there. After that visit, his father told his friends his job was done. His son was all set for life.

A Finnish hockey player will be fighting for the NHL championship, the Stanley Cup, for the fifth consecutive year. The team of Ville Nieminen, Colorado Avalanche, made its way to the finals by beating the St. Louis Blues by four games to one. Jere Lehtinen of the Dallas Stars has been the Finnish finalist for the past two years.

Nieminen’s season began in the farm league team of Hershey Bears, but he has played with Avalanche permanently since January. He admits he has dreamt for years of winning the coveted Stanley Cup, just as all hockey players do.

Nieminen’s assist for the winning goal in overtime in the fourth match of the Blues series earned him praise from coach Bob Hartley, who rarely dispenses positive feedback. Nieminen has also been active in battles in front of the opposition’s goal.

“My arms are all black and blue, but once I get into the bathtub after a game everything is fine”, Nieminen laughed.

Nieminen is critical of the media, which has regarded each of the team’s twelve victories as based purely on luck. “Of course we have been lucky too, but still it sounds a bit strange.”

The 24-year-old declined to comment on the final series yet. “Let’s just wait and concentrate properly”, Nieminen planned.