Sean Bergenheim didn’t take much of an interest in politics when he was in school back in Finland. In fact, it wasn’t really until he was living overseas, playing in the NHL that he became more engaged, not just in his own country’s politics but in the international landscape as well.



His curiosity coincided with his burgeoning NHL career, piqued by his travel throughout the U.S. and Canada. On these frequent road trips, Bergenheim would often find himself snatching up the national newspapers under his hotel door and, over breakfast, it was usually the political or financial sections of the paper that stoked his interest.



Bergenheim, a first-round draft choice of the Islanders (22nd overall, 2002), went on to play 506 games in the NHL, putting together a solid career that included stops with the Islanders, Lightning, Panthers and Wild. But as his career began to wind down, earlier than he would have anticipated (his last season was in 2014-15), he...