Imagine a career that takes you around the world entertaining audiences while enjoying your favorite endeavour. Sounds nice, right?
Troy Milam thinks so, too.
In March, he signed a contract with the Ilves (‘lynx? in Finnish) in Tampere, Finland. This marks his sixth year in professional hockey.
Milam, primarily a defenseman, began playing hockey as a Mite – the level reserved for four- to six-year-olds.
Now 28, Milam moves around the world playing for highly-skilled and fast-paced teams.
He was scouted by an agent from the Ilves while playing for the Manchester Monarchs, the farm team for the Los Angeles Kings.
Milam says Finland is not terribly different than the US.
‘Most people over there can speak English,? he said.
The weather is similar, too, though when Milam was home for the holidays he was not expecting all the snow.
‘There’s definitely more snow in Lake Orion than in Finland right now,? he said.
Three years ago Troy’s younger brother, Jamie, also began playing professional hockey. In 2008 he signed a contract with a team in Copenhagen, Denmark.
‘My mom is hockey deprived this year,? Milam said, now that both he and his brother are playing overseas. His mom, Linda, has been able to visit once and plans to do so again soon.
In the coming seasons Milam plans to continue with hockey but doesn’t know where yet. He enjoys traveling from team to team and meeting a new group of people each year but noted ‘it’s tough to get settled down without knowing what I’ll be doing next season.?
‘For now I’m just excited to be in Finland,? he said.
Milam also recommends fans visit his team’s websitem, www.ilves.com, but warns that much of it is in Finnish. At www.ilves.com/english.php visitors can browse a small section of the site in English.