Auksi ends hockey career with head held high

Mike Auksi is more than happy with how his hockey career ended.
Auksi, a 34-year-old who lives in Toronto, finished off his playing days by participating in an Olympic qualifying tournament in Budapest, Hungary.

He decided to retire after representing Estonia in the Olympic qualifier, which concluded on Feb. 14.

Though he’s Canadian and his father George is Ojibwe, in 2010 Auksi was able to get his citizenship from Estonia, where his mother Juta was born. He was keen to become a citizen of Estonia so he could represent the country in international hockey competitions.

Estonia, ranked 28th in the men’s world hockey rankings, had breezed through its first Olympic qualifying tournament this past October. Estonia hosted a four-team event, which also included Bulgaria, Israel and Mexico.

Auksi, a defenceman, and his teammates won all three of their matches, outscoring their rivals by a whopping 58-4 count.

Estonia though had its 2018 Olympic dreams dashed in Hungary as it only managed to win one of its three contests. Poland won the event and advanced to the final Olympic qualifier, which will be staged this coming September.

Auksi, however, is content.

“I’m so happy,” he said of the fact he was able to take part in the Olympic qualifier. “In my last game we were able to beat Lithuania. It’s the first time Estonia was able to beat Lithuania in 16 years so it’s a big deal.”

Estonia’s victory over Lithuania was considered a mild upset. That’s because Lithuania’s world ranking was slightly better at 25th.

Members of the Estonian side knew they would face stiff challenges from both Hungary and Poland, ranked 19th and 22nd, respectively, in the IIHF rankings.

“You don’t go into a game thinking that you’re going to lose and you don’t have a chance to win,” Auksi said. “But we knew we were in tough.”

While Estonia has a semi-pro league, both Hungary and Poland have circuits which are dubbed pro and are of a higher calibre.

“We didn’t have too many guys playing in leagues other than Estonia,” Auksi said.

Auksi has mixed emotions though about the fact his competitive hockey days are now behind him.

“It sucks,” he said. “But I’m excited to move on.”

In order to be eligible to participate in IIHF-sanctioned events, Auksi had to first spend some time playing in Estonia.

The IIHF rules stipulates those looking to represent a national team must spend at least two years competing in that country’s national league.

As a result, Auksi toiled with HC Panter/Purikad, a squad based in Tallinn, Estonia, during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. The team competes in Meistriliiga, the top men’s hockey league in Estonia.

Since he had his Estonian citizenship and had played in the country for a couple of years, Auksi was eligible to start playing for the country internationally.

His first event donning a national team jersey was at the 2015 IIHF Division 1 Group B tournament in the Netherlands. His squad posted a 1-4 record at this six-country event.

Should he have chosen to do so, Auksi could have also played for Estonia at its upcoming IIHF world tournament. That event will be staged April 17 to April 23 in Zagreb, Croatia.

“With no games for me in the next two months I decided not to go,” Auksi said.

Plus, Auksi, who works as a recreation co-ordinator for the Native Child and Family Services of Toronto, felt he should start focusing more on his work. He started his current job last August and did not want to ask for more time off to compete in another world tournament.

To prepare for Estonia’s most recent Olympic qualifying event, Auksi had joined the expansion Hamilton Steelhawks this season.

The Steelhawks are members of Allan Cup Hockey, the top senior men’s league in Ontario.

Hamilton had its 2015-16 season come to an end when it lost its
one and only playoff game, a preliminary round qualifier on Feb. 17.

If the Steelhawks had enjoyed a lengthier post-season, Auksi could have potentially considered sticking around to play in another world tournament.

“I’m ready just to play tennis, golf and volleyball and hang out with my buddies,” he said.

Since he is turning 35 in December, Auksi is not keen to play another season of Allan Cup Hockey, even though he thoroughly enjoyed his time with the Steelhawks.

“I don’t feel like going to Hamilton three times a week,” he said.