Growing up in Sweden and Finland, respectively, Jesper Bratt and Erik Haula's national teams were the teams.
The earliest memories of hockey rivalries, the ones that embed deep in your bones and become core memories, are from the triumphs of the Sverige and Suomi hockey teams.
Those teams are what dreams are made of.
"When you grow up in Finland, you grow up dreaming about wearing that jersey," Haula said. "You grow up dreaming of playing for your country. It's a far fetch for everyone to think about the NHL. It's so far away; it's a whole different world. It's a goal, sure, but it seems more realistic to think about playing for Finland, for your country."
Pulling the national team jersey over their heads fills them with pride. It runs deep.
But then, things turn up a notch, the blood pumping through their veins when, at an international tournament like the 4 Nations Face-Off, they see each others greatest rival on the other side of the ice.
Finland versus Sweden. (That’s in alphabetical order; there’s no taking sides here!).
It doesn't get bigger than that.
"It’s such a big rivalry, from deep down, from so many years,” Bratt said. "In U.S., when you think about the biggest rivalry in sports (with Canada), that’s what we have in Sweden (with Finland). All of the major, big tournaments for us has always been the national team. It’s always been against Finland. It’s definitely an exciting rivalry to play.”
"It's a rivalry that goes back to medieval times, pretty much," Swedish forward Filip Forsberg, who plays for the Nashville Predators, said.
"Overall, I would say it's kind of a brotherly love and hate, where 'hate' is a strong word, so take it the right way," Sweden coach Sam Hallam said on Thursday. "But you want to beat your brother, that's the way it is."
The two countries share a border that runs through the Gulf of Bothnia and the Tornio River. Sweden has a larger population, over 10.5 million, while Finland has half that, just over 5.5 million. However, the rivalry is felt equally on both sides.
"It's what you grow up with," Haula said. "You grow up knowing you don't like Sweden. It's kind of religious; on both sides, they don't like us, we don't like them. It's for bragging rights. It’s just like the US-Canada."
It doesn’t matter if it’s a 4 Nations game, a World Championship game, an Olympic game, or even an inconsequential exhibition matchup. The rivalry is fierce, the games are hard-fought. The animosity is palpable.
As Hallam explained to NHL.com: “There are rivalries in the NHL too. Rangers-Devils, games like that, it's kind of the same thing. It doesn't matter how things have been going for your team or what happened the previous night, all that matters is that particular game. But that's on the ice. Off the ice, we respect the crap out of each other."
Ask any Swede or Finn; they know exactly what's expected of them when they pull their national team jerseys.
“T team mentality and I think that’s just the Swedish way, we just accept our role the best way we can possible do," Bratt shared. "I think we have that great chemistry together that all of us are in this together, no one in the room believes they’re better than anyone else. We’re all in this together."
Sweden is considered the favorite to win on Saturday afternoon. But you can never discount the Finns. The smaller of the two countries, they dig deep into their hard work and blue-collar attitude.
Something about their work ethic and attitude will prevent you from ever ruling them out.
Haula, who was born in Pori, Finland, knows exactly why.
"It’s an identity that’s been formed long before I was here," he avowed. "It’s been carried along, and it’s a pride thing. Just fortunate to be here and be a part of this. We’re a country with a lot of pride. We’re going to work hard, be tough to play against. We know we have a good team. It’s best-on-best. I know everyone expects somebody (else) to win, but we’re out to compete and do it with a lot of pride."
