Lehtola had been a finalist for the goaltending coach with Hershey in 2017, but the position ended up going to Alex Westlund, who was hired as goaltending coach for the Detroit Red Wings on July 8. That reopened the door in Hershey for Lehtola, who worked with Capitals goaltending coach Scott Murray with Sudbury in the Ontario Hockey League from 2011-13 before spending the past six seasons with HPK in Liiga, Finland's top professional league.
That prior relationship with Murray certainly helped, but so did Parkkila.
"It's huge what Jussi has done for Finnish goalie coaching and how much he helps Finnish goalie coaching overall," Lehtola said. "The meetings we had with the national team goalie coaches, he was involved. He would do studies for us and still help us, and obviously I don't know if it helped that he won the Cup (with the Avalanche in 2022) to kind of prove that European coaches can do well here, but his part in this is huge."
Torenius had already firmly established himself in Europe before coming over to North America, spending seven seasons as the goaltending coach with Espoo in Liiga (2005-12) and eight with SKA St. Petersburg in the Kontinental Hockey League (2014-22), the last two of which he also served as Finland's goaltending director.
In Russia, Torenius worked with Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers, Pyotr Kochetkov of the Carolina Hurricanes, and Nashville Predators prospect Yaroslav Askarov. During the summer, he worked in Finland with several NHL goalies, including Kevin Lankinen of the Predators, Joonas Korpisalo of the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Georgiev.
Torenius said he thinks the time it's taken for him to come across to North America is a function of the hiring timetables, pointing out that few coaches go the other way to work in Europe.
"For sure, [Parkkila] getting that job let people know that there are capable people, but I never thought this is something to do with nationality," Torenius said. "I think it's more about how passionate you are, how much effort you put in, how much you study. It's an individual thing. I don't see a difference where you come from."
If there were questions surrounding how Finnish goaltending coaches would transfer to the NHL and AHL, they were less about the way they taught goalies, and more about how that teaching would adapt to smaller rinks and a more direct style of offensive attacks.
Torenius and Lehtola are currently in the process of making those adjustments, just as Parkkila did before them. But as for the fundamentals, they can still rely on the same methods, stressing things like crisp footwork that includes more shuffles, active hands and a calm demeanor.
"It's just goalie coaching," Lehtola said. "It's not much different."
Georgiev, who has worked with all three coaches at various points during his summers in Finland, doesn't think it will be long before the other two join Parkkila in the NHL.
"Both of these guys, when I was working with them, you can tell they really know their stuff," Georgiev said. "It makes sense they have that ambition. Now, they've got a chance, and hopefully we'll see them in the NHL for sure."
