Juuso Valimaki: "I really enjoy hockey again"

[TheScorpion]

That's a great one. Gudbranson will forever go down as one of the strangest one-season wonders for this team.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

didn't say there aren't examples on the other side of the coin but we seem to have a little bit of an issue with some of our home grown talent just not taking off here and being at odds with how they have been handled . players should earn their looks for sure but we also shouldn't be squandering talents we used our first round picks to acquire . maybe need to find a way to deal better with different personalities and help them rather than beat down their confidence and expect them to figure it out on their own .. until they move on to greener pastures

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

didn't say there aren't examples on the other side of the coin but we seem to have a little bit of an issue with some of our home grown talent just not taking off here and being at odds with how they have been handled . players should earn their looks for sure but we also shouldn't be squandering talents we used our first round picks to acquire . maybe need to find a way to deal better with different personalities and help them rather than beat down their confidence and expect them to figure it out on their own .. until they move on to greener pastures

I think its a little...or a lot early to be saying Valimaki is one of these cases...also that is the nature of the game. Every single team has former players or picks flourishing elsewhere...especially good teams with depth.

Guys needing a "change of scenery" isn't something unique to the Flames...its a thing across all sports I follow with countless examples.

Some of you are acting like Valimaki is up for the norris...he was available for free and ONE team thought to be the worst team in the NHL claimed him to be their bottom pair dman. A team that spent the summer actively trying to weaken their team for the Bedard draft.

He scores a goal in a 7-2 loss and he is the one that got away lol

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

I think it boils down to the team needing to show a little more patience with rookies .. as in riding out some of the growing pains rather than revoking ice time or spots in the line up after a tough shift or game

we got lucky with kylington too because we easily could have lost him just before he broke out . he was getting pushed down the depth chart when there was obviously a lot of potential yet in him

[Mathgod]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Some of you are acting like Valimaki is up for the norris...he was available for free and ONE team thought to be the worst team in the NHL claimed him to be their bottom pair dman. A team that spent the summer actively trying to weaken their team for the Bedard draft.

He scores a goal in a 7-2 loss and he is the one that got away lol

Both 5 on 5 and on the powerplay he leads the entire Coyotes roster in CF%, FF%, GF%, and xGF%, and by a significant margin too. Granted, the sample size is small.

He's doing well with his new team so far. No point in denying it.

[GullFoss]

I'm just saying that from a risk-reward standpoint, it made more sense to keep Valimaki over Mackey. One guy is 24, with a potentially a high ceiling. The other player is 26 with a "meh" ceiling. To take the meh player because he's played a better "last 80 games" over the guy with substantially more upside (and at 24 y/o, more time to reach that upside) is really odd asset management to me, especially when you're talking about a #8 defensemen.

It's like if I gave you the choice of 50% chance of winning $100 or a 10% chance of winning $100,000. Assuming you're not in a rough financial position, the correct decision is typically to take the option with a higher expected value.

[Mindtravellee]

Originally Posted by GullFoss

I'm just saying that from a risk-reward standpoint, it made more sense to keep Valimaki over Mackey. One guy is 24, with a potentially a high ceiling. The other player is 26 with a "meh" ceiling. To take the meh player because he's played a better "last 80 games" over the guy with substantially more upside (and at 24 y/o, more time to reach that upside) is really odd asset management to me, especially when you're talking about a #8 defensemen.

It's like if I gave you the choice of 50% chance of winning $100 or a 10% chance of winning $100,000. Assuming you're not in a rough financial position, the correct decision is typically to take the option with a higher expected value.

Overthinking this. Valimaki was terrible during preseason and they had they had been shopping him around. He had the larger cap hit and it was hoped that protected him. Only 1 club put the claim on

[the-rasta-masta]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

He kinda is, though.

(Also, you thought he would never be more than a tweener before his injury? What were you watching? He looked great.)

https://twitter.com/user/status/1589386109150076928

Yep, before the injury. There were moments where he seemed to build some consistency but I didn’t see the top end skill and I feel a lot of people got super high on him just based on a small sample size during the Colorado series. I found his skating was overated by many as he was constantly getting himself turned around, and his defensive zone positioning along with that always felt chaotic. That’s just the eye test for me personally and I understand it’s a bit of a hot take.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Mathgod

Both 5 on 5 and on the powerplay he leads the entire Coyotes roster in CF%, FF%, GF%, and xGF%, and by a significant margin too. Granted, the sample size is small.

He's doing well with his new team so far. No point in denying it.

Like the Stone pairing is in Calgary...small sample size and sheltered minutes

[boogerz]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Like the Stone pairing is in Calgary...small sample size and sheltered minutes

The top players/lines by ice-time against that Valimaki has been facing this season:

Tkachuk/Barkov
Connor/Appleton
Ovechkin/Kuznetsov
Trochek/Panarin
Laine/Gaudreau
Dach/Anderson


Lining up against this type of competition is definitely not being sheltered.

Yes, it's a limited sample size, but Valimaki has been solid in his time with the Yotes so far. Hopefully he keeps this up so that Treliving and fans can continue to be bitter about not extending enough patience towards the kid.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by boogerz

The top players/lines by ice-time against that Valimaki has been facing this season:

Tkachuk/Barkov
Connor/Appleton
Ovechkin/Kuznetsov
Trochek/Panarin
Laine/Gaudreau
Dach/Anderson


Lining up against this type of competition is definitely not being sheltered.

Yes, it's a limited sample size, but Valimaki has been solid in his time with the Yotes so far. Hopefully he keeps this up so that Treliving and fans can continue to be bitter about not extending enough patience towards the kid.

Getting beat by 8 other guys in camp is on Valimaki.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by boogerz

The top players/lines by ice-time against that Valimaki has been facing this season:

Tkachuk/Barkov
Connor/Appleton
Ovechkin/Kuznetsov
Trochek/Panarin
Laine/Gaudreau
Dach/Anderson


Lining up against this type of competition is definitely not being sheltered.

Yes, it's a limited sample size, but Valimaki has been solid in his time with the Yotes so far. Hopefully he keeps this up so that Treliving and fans can continue to be bitter about not extending enough patience towards the kid.

Lol you just listed the top lines of the teams they have played...the guy wasn't even one of the best dman on the Heat last season.

[Hack&Lube]

Valimaki had huge potential and was considered at top-4 defenseman prospect before his injuries. He might be the type of player that needs NHL minutes to elevate his game.

I just hope he doesn't turn into another Anton Strahlman for us.

[boogerz]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Lol you just listed the top lines of the teams they have played...the guy wasn't even one of the best dman on the Heat last season.

Because that's the actual competition he's lining up against.

He played 12 minutes against Tkachuk/Barkov/Verhaeghe when the Yotes played Florida, 8 minutes against Kuznetsov/Sheary/Ovechkin when the Yotes played WSH, 9 minutes against Connor/Appleton/PLB when the Yotes played the Jets, and 7 mins against the other players/lines on that list.

Most of his ES ice-time/deployment is against opposing teams' top lines. He's also seeing 60% defensive zone starts this season.

As hard as it is to believe, Valimaki has been good. If this continues, he'll have taken the same leap that Kylington took last year

[Jiri Hrdina]

I spent some time looking back at some of the original scouting reports on Juuso during his draft year. Generally it was the combination of size, skating and skill that was attractive. Though it was also mentioned he didn't do anything at an elite level.
I think the injury was a big hit as it took away one of the things that was a strength.
But I also found some comparisons tio Olli Juolevi, another guy who did a bit of everything to an above average level but nothing fantastic. In retrospect, I wonder if there are some commonalities.

It seems like the modern NHL dman is a guy who can really push the pace and has the necessary attributes to do that. Those are the guys really excelling.

Shame as its one of those drafts where there were quality players around Juuso: Robert Thomas, Timothy Liljegren, Josh Norris, etc.

[Geeoff]

I get that people don't want the Flames to "lose" a transaction but I'm personally rooting for Valimaki to establish himself as an effective NHLer

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Geeoff

I get that people don't want the Flames to "lose" a transaction but I'm personally rooting for Valimaki to establish himself as an effective NHLer

Yeah, I just don't get the angst. They made a decision, they moved on. I don't disagree with the decision, as it wasn't working here and wasn't going to. And if Valimaki becomes a great defenseman elsewhere, then good for him!

Who cares if he becomes the next Anton Stralman? Every team is limited to a 23 man roster, and every team has players that have moved on to different opportunities. It doesn't hurt the Flames in anyway if he figures it out, the only thing that matters to the Flames is how good the Flames are.

[kipperiggy]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Yeah, I just don't get the angst. They made a decision, they moved on. I don't disagree with the decision, as it wasn't working here and wasn't going to. And if Valimaki becomes a great defenseman elsewhere, then good for him!

The angst is probably exacerbated by the fact that 3 of our top 7 D are out.

[Erick Estrada]

There was a disconnect between the player and Darryl Sutter. I don't think it was ever going to work out here.

[Saqe]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

There was a disconnect between the player and Darryl Sutter. I don't think it was ever going to work out here.

That's what I thought too. And it also showed in his play in the pre-season, he didn't do himself any favors. He was done in Calgary.