𝙎𝙏𝙐𝘾𝙆 ᵒⁿ ʸᵒᵘ

ABOUT.

tldr; kal was born to barbadian artist and finnish hockey player, grew up bouncing between the US and finland. he played hockey growing up and thought he was going pro until injuries playing college hockey got the best of him. instead, he got his masters' in sports medicine after finishing undergrad. he spent one year serving as assistant athletic trainer at university of michigan, before getting an assistant athletic trainer position with the san jose barracuda where he has now worked for three years.

— kalle lehto was globe trotting long before he was even born : conceived in bridgetown, barbados, spending much of the nine months in his mother's belly in the united states, before finally being born in rauma, finland. as for his parents : it'd been love at first sight between a talented barbadian mural artist adanna and a finnish hockey player arvo lehto, and the rest as they say, is history. they had kal rather young, but the young couple were more than up for the challenge.

— much of his childhood years where in finland, summers in barbados visiting family on his mother's side, looking for some stability in their lives as his father entered the nhl. somewhere around age 11, they moved more permanently to the united states, following his father whose career had stabilized at this point with the panthers.

— they spent a good few years in the outskirts of miami, before they moved north to boston when kal was 15, again following the trajectory of his father's path.

— kal took all this moving in stride, and maybe it was a little cool to grow up in and out of nhl dressing rooms. through this semi-tumultuous period of growing up, sports were the one thing that kept kal grounded outside of family. they helped him make friends, establish a place for him, and growing up playing pond hockey in finland, it brought many fond memories. and kal was good at it.

— he was recruited to play at the university of michigan, where he played, studied movement science at the school of kinesiology, and flirted with the idea of going pro one day just like his father. it wasn't so much of a pipe dream as a potential reality : drafted in the second round of his draft year, and recruited to UM. however, pro dreams ground to a halt in his junior and senior year, when injuries plagued and sidelined him, even despite the efforts of trainers and his own education. some things aren't meant to be and that's okay.

— the door was far from closed. kal ended up applying to the graduate sports med program at UM his senior year, keeping his options open and ultimately going that route. he knew if he were to go a trainer's route, that he wanted it to be in the hockey sphere and this afforded him the ability to do so. he received his nata certification not long after graduation.

— the summer after his graduate program, he was lucky enough to be given an assistant position with team finland at the ii.hf world championships ( maybe a little bit of nepotism was involved but we don't talk about it ). that summer, while he applied to a few positions, none were willing to hire and he ended up back in UM, filling a trainer role for the men's hockey team there.

— part way through the season, he heard through connections about a potential opening with the ahl san jose barrac.uda, and was always in conversations with management there before the opening was even posted. his initiative paid off, and by the time the next summer hit, he was given an assistant athletic trainer position with the san jose barrac.uda, as much a stepping stone to the nhl as it is for players.

PRESENT DAY.

— kal just wrapped up his third season with the san jose barrac.uda ( ahl affiliate to the san jose sh.arks ), serving as their assistant athletic trainer. however, he has only been living at mit heights and golden view for two years. however, he definitely visited mit heights frequently in his first year !! while summers are usually spent completely in finland, he's decided to stay in the states this time to attend some sports medicine conferences and seminars to continue his learning and network as well.

— living in mit heights may seem a little obtuse for someone working in san jose most of the time, but it's not a bad drive. 45 minutes to an hour and it has lovely coastal views — and ofc he drives a hybrid. he likes that peace ( and affordability ) of mit heights, and being a little removed from everything is nice too. he lived in san jose his first year with the barracuda and it was fine. but when quinn told him about mit heights and they made some haphazard plans to move in together, well kal never really looked back. this will be his first full summer in mit heights but he's really looking forward to it !!

— without the responsibility of the season to keep him busy this summer, kal has queued up a whole slew of things to do ( besides his conferences and seminars ), primarily : part time deck-handing on ferries and tour boats, and volunteering with youth hockey camps and summer hockey leagues.

— in the rest of his free time, he'll be dedicating a little more time to his usual hobbies : sketching, karaoke, rock climbing, hiking in the mit mountains, keeping his workout schedule, and trying every pastry at frangipane and pretty much every sweet in mit heights.

— always always always starts his day with a specific workout at the gym or a run ( he has a schedule based on the days ). it gets him in a good mood for the day and he likes to stay in good shape.

— kal likes to be out a lot. while he's come to enjoy time at home more now that he lives with quinn, he still gets restless and likes to be outside as much as possible. in finland during the long summer days, it's not uncommon for him to not step foot inside unless the sun is down.

— while kal likes routine, he's not afforded much of it during the season, or rather, he cycles through several different ones depending on what his responsibilities for the day are : a routine for game days, a routine for practices, a routine for player's days off but he still has to go in to prepare and organize things, a routine for off days... it's a good thing he's so organized. organized chaos for sure.

MISC.

— citizenship : united states & finland

— skills / hobbies : sketching, singing, playing the guitar, rock climbing, hiking, sailing, multi-lingual, cooking, hockey, soccer, chasing after dogs

— languages : fluent in finnish (first language), english (second language), and spanish (product of living in miami) ; able to muscle his way through bajan ; understands enough german and swedish to not be totally lost — languages are by far one of the things he entertains himself with on the long bus trips to games, by which he means he watches tv shows and movies in said target languages.

— for someone so easy-going, it comes as a surprise to some that kal is so organized. his trainer's kit and room is always impeccably neat and well-stocked. he was quickly put in charge of placing supply orders because he always had a good grasp of what was needed and when. his apartment is also clean and organized. he can't stand coming home to a messy apartment after roadtrips. his positive trait is he never leaves dishes in the sink.

— good at cooking and often does so for himself ( & quinn ). he makes a whole range of healthy and well-balanced meals with caribbean, asian, latino, and scandinavian influences. while he's not a dietician, he knows his way around nutrition well enough. protein heavy dishes tend to dominate his dinners for quinn and himself. when he has the time, he likes to make his own bread. spring rolls are his go-to snack. pickled herring is his second.

— kal doesn't do any formal dancing, but he is coordinated. he likes club dance floors and is never one to stay on the sidelines sipping a drink unless the company is good.

— can, will, and does slay at karaoke. he also has a tendency to sing in the shower and doesn't sound half bad. while he doesn't ever think he has interest in becoming a musician, he does play guitar as well. it's good for campfire nights.

— he does indeed like kale chips

PERSONALITY.

+ active, adventurous, athletic, calm, capable, easy-going, resourceful - boyish, indulgent, obsessive, escapist, avoidant, nosey, a worrier

— kal comes across incredibly boyish when people first meet him : from his easy-going demeanor to his smile to his unruly curls, it's probably the first word that comes to mind. it's true that kal tries to take life not so seriously : he likes to have fun and he's not shy in admitting that. indulgent in that if he wants something, he will have it : his college years were mixed with plenty of hookups and parties and nights out.

— active, adventures, athletic : they all go hand in hand. kal's not one to remain still for very long, loving his job as a trainer and not always knowing what the next day or week might bring. he likes being challenged, and that shows in his hobby of rock climbing too : loving figuring out the best run to take in a physical setting. he loves to try new things, and he'll do anything at least once even if it doesn't sound like a great time.

— but other times, he leans too much into being active and physical. another thing about kal is he's a worrier. he has a tendency to fawn though he does an admirable job at keeping this buried and professional when on the job. when it comes to those he cares for though, he can't help but be concerned, always ones to text and call and reach out first.

— but he's never been one just to assume that things would just be handed to him in the hockey world just because his father played and now works in it. he's always put everything into whatever he does, to the point of being obsessive over it. it surprises some how serious kal takes things underneath that infectious smiles and relaxed posture.

— he's good under pressure too : calm & capable even when things start going south. it's one of the things that made him a good defenseman when he played, and one of the things that will make him a fantastic athletic trainer in his career ahead. though he's been fortunate to not have faced any extremely serious injured players that have involved a stretcher or trips to the hospital, his skills remaining sharp when faced with the unexpected have come in clutch again and again.

— kal is resourceful too, never one to back away from something because he didn't have the right tools to do it. this means he's often one to try to fix broken things himself : with a mixed bag of results. he probably should leave the plumbing issues for an actual plumber. but they say a lack of tools breeds ingenuity and some of his college dorm experiences definitely reflect that. on the job, though he always tries to be well stocked, it means he's able to quickly read situations and figure out a solution with what he has. perhaps in another world, he would have made a fantastic paramedic.

— kal can't help but be curious about other people's business, maybe defining him as a bit nosey. he's not one to want to start drama, but boy does he love to hear about other people's drama and gossip. he's not overly aggressive in this, not one to pry forcefully, but he's always going to listen and ask some very well-placed questions.

— a problem solver what it comes to everything else, it all balances out when you take into account kal's escapist & avoidant tendencies. he doesn't like conflict, to the point where he's been taken advantage of because of it. he's not always the best at seeing when he's being used and it's lead to some less than ideal situations. as he's gotten older, he's definitely gotten better at being an advocate for himself, but it doesn't change that fact that he likes everyone to like him and able to rely on him — even if maybe he should take a step back and take care of himself first.

APPEARANCE.

— 5'11" ; tall by average metrics, short by hockey player metrics

— 192 lbs, a strong build — he likes to stay in very good shape.

— black, loosely curly hair, long enough for the curls to have definition and look unruly ; medium tone skin ; dark brown, friendly eyes ( reference )

— demeanor : good & strong but relaxed posture, quick to smile, welcoming, someone who would hold the door for you or pick up something you dropped, tries to make people feel comfortable in his presence, non-threatening despite his muscled stature

— modifications : pierced ears, though he doesn't wear earrings on the job ; no tattoos ; varies miscellaneous scars

— style : practical but fun, mostly whites and neutrals but doesn't shy away from colors or patterns when the opportunity arises. probably wears too many tank tops / muscle tees. loves a good sneaker, admittedly partial to converse in every color but white is classic. not much into fancier dress but cleans up very nice. has a few bespoke suits.

OOC.