Aleksi "loimmu" Loimuvirta: "if you're interested in NHL, I suggest you pick up the controller and try to take some influence from top players"

Despite his young age, Aleksi @loimmu Loimuvirta has been playing virtual hockey for several years. During his career, he has represented not only his current team FILADELPHIA in various constellations and under various names, but also Farjestad BK and teams like Victorious Secret HC and Laser HT back in the day. Recent years have been very rewarding for the solid defenseman, filling up his trophy case nicely, most recently with the FCL title together with FILADELPHIA.

A lot of different memories have been seized along the long virtual hockey career. However, one memory is above all others, namely playing for the first time in a live event, which also turned out being a success.

"The best memory for me is definitely the first live event, which was the IS Cup 3/eSM, where we managed to grab our first Finnish Championship title. It was amazing to be able to put faces to all the gamertags and to get to know people better in general."

Beginning of FILADELPHIA

Loimmu has been a part of FILA's defense corps for several years already. He talks about how the team started in the first place and how it has become one of the long-term success stories of the scene.

"FILA was built from the start with the mentality of being a team coming to challenge for the title of best team in Europe. Joonas @Patzlaf Paatiala then put together one of the most skilled teams in the scene, but at the same time the team also had the best team spirit, at least in my own opinion. Out of these two factors I'd consider the latter as being the x-factor for us, although the importance of raw skill cannot be understated. Often we'd be trailing but catch up and eventually win due to maintaining a level of humor in the game despite our playing not being that good at the moment. I think we've always been on the same track and kept spirits high."

When asked, he admits to being a very big fan of the Philadelphia Flyers and being especially fond of Kimmo Timonen besides legend Jaromir Jagr as a kid.

In addition to playing NHL, Loimmu's selection of favorite games also includes CS:GO, which he often spends his free time playing. He admits that playing CS:GO is a very good change of pace from the regular NHL grind.

"If I wouldn't spend so much time on NHL, CS would definitely be my game of choice. Currently it works as a great tandem for me alongside NHL. The most intriguing aspect of CS is the importance of skill, perhaps a NHL could also take inspiration from this, taking into account the growing popularity of competitive."

Gaining experience on the right wing

Loimmu is a very familiar sight in the defensive zone, but over the course of his virtual hockey career he has also played as a right winger. Even though his career began as a forward, the defenders role gradually became his favorite.

"Yes, the RD spot is the most comfortable place for me to play, and RW comes in as a good number two. I started my career on the right wing, and then moved over to the middle lane before establishing myself as a defenseman. I'm ready to play as a forward if the team would need me to. In the off season, Erik @EkiTammenpää wanted to test out defense and we ended up switching spots for a couple of weeks. The team quickly realized their mistake and moved Eki back up front."

Playing as a defender has its own challenges and aspects to it. Loimmu admits that possessing some forward experience has been very useful. He notes that often mistakes made by a defender are more clearly visible, as they often lead to goal-scoring situations for the opponent. Nor do defenders often get the credit they deserve for their success.

"I'd say pacing the game is one of my strengths and as a forward I clearly noticed how much it would help you out when the defensemen would also handle joining the rush well. On the other hand, there are downsides to playing as a defender too, mainly that your mistakes are usually regarded as graver when compared to making similar mistakes on offense. I think defenders also rarely get credit for a good game. If a team wins 7-2 then the attackers have been great, and if you win 2-0 the goalkeeper has been a brick wall."

When asked if Loimmu has any favorite way of scoring a goal, he grins and says that he enjoys deflecting the puck in via opposing players shin guards.

Starting off with Joukki

Loimuvirta has always liked hockey, and he admits that's the biggest reason he's still seen on the virtual ice. He notes that the console scene has grown very much over the past few years, which is only a positive thing.

"I've always liked hockey, that's the biggest reason I'm still playing NHL. Back in the day when I started out, the scene wasn't as big as it is now (thanks to @Kenu) so I didn't really look up to any specific top players. On the other hand, Joakim @Joukki Nyholm introduced me to 6s at the beginning of my career, and back then he was way better than me. Despite this, we got along well and I think Joukki must have seen some potential in me since we kept playing together. At the time, I looked up to him and I'm happy to say we're still good friends to this day."

Starting 6 - Loimmu's picks

We asked the defender if he could put together the starting lineup of his dreams - then what would it look like. The only condition was that he can't pick his own team's players.

"In my opinion, there are too few absolute top players in the scene, so this is what I'd call a 'project team' consisting of some veterans and prospects.
C Risto @Dominointi Järvi: ''Seppo'' is one of the longest serving top-of-the-line forwards in the entire scene, and would certainly be a good mentor in this team with his great hockey sense.
LW Roope @pikkuroger Bergström: Scouted by Patzlaf, pigguroger is (at least according to Joonas) a big name for the future, and would surely have a good time scoring with the next guy besides him.
RW Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen: Perhaps the scene's most skilled forward, ''NikkeDee" guarantees jaw-dropping plays perfected on the practice ice.
LD Kristian-Mikael @Nassustelija Katajisto: Lempäälä's gift to the world, Nassustelija would be the backbone of this team, supporting with surefire defensive play day in and day out.
RD Viljo @viba2008 Kähkönen: Despite his very young age, Viba has caught the attention of several teams. There are rumours that he also has potential in hockey on the actual ice and I'm sure he'll do great in whichever sport he chooses to be his number one.
G Ville @Supreex Korhonen: Supreex has been around the game for a long time, and it would be interesting to see him play for a top team in the league. Right now, one of the best goalkeepers around."

We asked the experienced defender what kind of greetings he would send to those young people who might dream of playing competitively at the top of the virtual hockey world one day.

"As I said before, there aren't too many top players in the scene after all, so if you're interested in NHL, I suggest you pick up the controller and try to take some influence from the streams of top players. After that you should be ready to get into some 6v6 action!"

"Most of the top players have a background in either hockey, floorball or football, so I suppose that won't hurt you. I don't think it's a coincidence, because you need that sense for the game. Secondly I'd like to pinpoint that even this game requires some grinding and hours put into it, and above all a passion for hockey. Of course to succeed in a team sport you also need to be able to take others into account, no one likes playing with grumpy gamers", Loimmu continues.