Finnish hockey hero Miro Heiskanen has been making some new friends in his native Espoo this summer.

The 24-year-old defenseman was front and center for his hockey camp - Miro X Viima Camp - at Ilmatar Areena, and the Stars recently shared some cool footage of the experience on YouTube.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbtrErZA4Sc[/embed]

“For me, as a kid, seeing NHL players, Finnish League players, it was a huge thing. Always excited to see those guys and now I can do that with these kids,” said Heiskanen, who registered a career-high 62 assists and 73 points last season. “It’s a great thing, and it’s been a really, really fun two camps. Hopefully we can do this for a long time.”

Viima Hockey’s Christina Jaakkola is especially proud of Heiskanen’s efforts to encourage local youth to pursue their hockey goals.

“Miro loves this week. It’s fun for him. He’s able to play soccer with the kids, be on the ice with the kids, and kind of get to know them,” said Jaakkola. “It’s really important to him to be in touch with the kids that are going the same junior route that he has gone and he wants to give back to the hockey community in general in Finland.”

Parent Jannica Granbacka commented on the significance of Heiskanen spending quality time inspiring kids back home.

“The boys here at the camp feel that Miro is like a big brother to them, so it’s so big to have this connection and to be on the ice,” explained Granbacka. “These boys here have big dreams and just to have someone like Miro to show that everybody can do that, you can go all the way.”