Henrik Haukeland: “I like pressure. It’s good when people expect something from me”

Traktor goalie Henrik Haukeland told KHL.ru what attracted him to playing in the KHL, talked about his first few weeks in Chelyabinsk and shared his emotions about winning a bronze medal at the World Championship.

The Norwegian goalie joined Traktor in June. Previously, he has played in the Swedish, Finnish and German championships. At the recently concluded World Championship, he was named the best goaltender, while Norway got home with a bronze medal.

He’s at his first few weeks with Traktor. “Everything has been really good,” the goalie says. “The team helped me with all the organizational issues related to my arrival. Everyone welcomed me very warmly. You can see that Traktor is a professional organization with excellent infrastructure and strong specialists. The players have also made a very good impression; we have a lot of great hockey players. My family and I are living in a comfortable residential complex not far from the city center. There are a lot of good restaurants and places to go in Chelyabinsk.”

Many say that Chelyabinsk is a true hockey city. “Yes,” the goalie confirms. “People stop me on the street, ask to take a photo with me or for an autograph; it’s very nice. Everyone in Chelyabinsk loves hockey. You could also see from the recent open practice that the fans are passionate about hockey and Traktor as well.

Heukeland knew where he was going prior to sign his contract in the KHL. “I knew it was a very strong league, and I was interested in testing myself here and finding out just how high the level is,” he explains. “There are a lot of great players here, including goaltenders, and Russian goaltenders are the best in the world right now. For me, this is a great opportunity to play my best hockey.”

He was impressed since his first practice. “Every practice is played at a high tempo, with a lot of intensity,” the goalie goes on. “The level is really good. So, these three weeks of practice have been very useful and high-quality. We haven’t interacted very much with Scott Gordon away from the rink yet, but he seems like a very pleasant person. He has worked at the highest level and knows what is required to succeed.”

As an international player, Heukeland has to rely on having English-speaking specialists on the coaching staff. Not only do the Chelyabinsk team play again under a North American coach in Scott Gordon, but they also have American assistant coach Brandon Dennis and Peter Skrabelj from Slovenia as their goalies’ specialist. “Of course, it’s a little easier with them,” he admits. “But we have a translator, so there are no problems. All the Russian players also speak English quite well, so it’s very comfortable to work. Peter Skrabelj is a very good goaltending coach; he pays a lot of attention to details and has already achieved success in the KHL.

He will now compete with Sergei Mylnikov and Dmitry Nikolayev for the starting goalie position. “We have three good goaltenders,” the Norwegian firmly says. “We compete every day and push each other forward. And, of course, with Peter Skrabelj’s help, we try to get better. This kind of competition benefits everyone, and the team will be able to achieve good results.”

With Traktor having a lot of expectations, he feels the pressure. “Of course, there is always pressure,” Haukeland admits. “But I put the most pressure on myself. I like it. It’s good when people expect something from me. It means that people believe in me.”

Goalies are also known for post-game shows after a win. Like most famously did Julius Hudacek – he stopped pucks for Severstal, Spartak, Dinamo Riga, and Barys. “We’ll do some tricks for the fans,” Haukeland anticipates. “They love that. We’ll see what the atmosphere is like in Chelyabinsk, and perhaps we’ll put on some kind of show here. In Norway, after a victory, the goaltender has to do some kind of trick, dance or something similar. I didn’t want to dance, so the goaltending coach taught me a trick with my nose. And I performed it in the next game we won. That’s essentially how it all started.”

The goalie named former Salavat Yulaev goalie, Stanley Cup champion Andrei Vasilevskiy as his favorite goalie. “When I was younger, it actually was Miikka Kiprusoff, but he hasn’t played for a long time now,” he explains. “It’s interesting to watch Vasilevskiy. His career path and the success he has achieved are very impressive. We were born in the same year and played against each other at the junior level, so I’ve been following his career for a very long time.”

Heukeland could have joined Traktor as early as last year. “There were talks, yes, but I don’t know the details. In Germany, it’s not easy to terminate an existing contract. There wasn’t a suitable opportunity to leave at the time, and I was happy with my situation anyway. But after the end of the season and the World Championship, it was time to take the next step, and I decided to continue my career with Traktor and in the KHL.”

KHL teams showed interest in him even before. “There was some interest, but nothing concrete,” Haukeland says. “And I always had existing contracts with European teams, so it was difficult to leave. Everything had to come together — the right place, the right team — and now it has.”

Just as other players do, the Norwegian netminder consult with hockey players who had played in the KHL. “Yes, of course I did,” he admits. “When you’re about to sign a contract, you always write to or call guys who have already played in that place. I got in touch with several players, and they had only positive things to say about Traktor and Chelyabinsk. They said it was a top-level organization that always sets big goals for itself. That’s exactly the kind of atmosphere I want to be in, and I’m really looking forward to the start of the season.”

Heukeland won’t be the first Norwegian player in the league. Patrick Thoresen lifted two Gagarin Cups. Jonas Holos spent two years in Yaroslavl. Even forward Jacob Berglund had three seasons in the KHL – and played for Traktor back in 2020 – when he was still representing Sweden before moving to Norway. Goalie Lars Haugen spent four seasons in Minsk. “I know all of them; they’re my friends. Of course, I also wrote to and called them and asked what they could tell me. They really enjoyed the KHL and felt they had gained a great experience. Patrick Thoresen is now the general manager of the Norwegian national team, and I spoke with him as well. We had a good conversation; he really enjoyed his time in the KHL.”

At the recent World Championship, Norway won the bronze medal and Haukeland was named the tournament’s top goalie. It was perhaps the peak of his career so far. “We had a tremendous amount of fun and played a great tournament. We’d like to be able to regularly reach the quarterfinals and become a more competitive team, even if we can’t win bronze medals.”

Then, on May 31, Norway shocked the hockey world defeating Team Canada in OT to grab its first-ever bronze medal at the World Championship. “It was incredible,” Haukeland says. “There were so much joy and happiness; it will remain a wonderful memory. We were very happy with our result.”

Norwegian hockey and the national team developed significantly in recent years. “I think we’re moving in the right direction. We’ve gone through a generational change: many players who had represented the national team for a long time have ended their careers. For a while, we didn’t have enough players in the middle age group. Now the national team has a lot of hockey players aged 20 to 25, and they’re getting better every year. I hope they can take the next step and move to stronger leagues, as well as help the national team for a long time.”

As most of other athletes, he also enjoys other sports. “I like watching football. But my favorite sport is tennis,” Heukeland admits, calling Roger Federer as his favorite player. Football is the most popular sport in Norway, and Erling Haaland is a national hero. I think he’s one of the most popular people on the entire planet. I’ve never met him, but of course it would be great to do so.”

He has good goals for himself in his first KHL season. “We want to play as well as we possibly can and win every game. And, of course, we want to become one of the best teams, while personally I want to become one of the best goalies.” And if he keeps the tide, he can definitely become one, and help Traktor growing further.