Juuso Valimaki: "I really enjoy hockey again" - Page 2 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

TheoFleury · 10-28-2022, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dino7c

Highly doubt it, he has been very complimentary of how they handled his injury situation

Guy was an absolute disaster in the preseason and the couple games last year for Calgary...he wasn't even a top guy in the AHL. It's not about being perfect it's about having a goal to win it all and not being okay with okay.

The injuries from a couple years ago are one thing, since then was relatively healthy but played poorly, and Sutter buried him

I'm positive he took some passive aggressive shots on social media. Someone help me out here

1Nite · 10-28-2022, 09:41 AM

Think since his draft, he had always been a good interview, saying the right things.

TrentCrimmIndependent · 10-28-2022, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

Sounds like one of the guy's Sutter was talking about that felt entitled to being gifted minutes regardless of his performance. Even after games his comments struck me as odd especially after the debacle against Edmonton in preseason when he said he was great.

Hope he does well in Arizona it's easy to be gifted free minutes on a borderline farm team.

some guys are eager to learn and refine their game to be the very best it can be with the goal of helping the team win , and some guys are too proud to take the criticisms as constructive and would rather be pat on the back whether they played well or not .. with Sutter you can't take it personally . I think juuso did and thought his worth here as an nhler was just inherent rather than approaching it as this coach can teach me to be better and I should implement those things to improve my game and earn it because I'm ahead of no one by default . I think he thought he was being slighted when he was just being shown the way

Bingo · 10-28-2022, 09:49 AM

Teams that want and expect to win now can't let former number one picks figure it out at the NHL level when they aren't waiver eligible and can't go down.

You have to go with Stone over Valimaki.

If Kylington was in camp he would literally have had zero chance.

I think too much is made of tough love from Sutter. I think it's about details and if you can bring those details you play. He was hard on Dube last year, very pro Dube this year ... difference? Dube went to school on the defensive side of the game and got better (not a finished product)

Valimaki got in his head after all his development time missed. Wasn't poised anymore. It was always a tire fire when he handled the puck.

Hopefully playing in a less pressure situation gets him back on track. He was so good in the the last two games of that Avalanche series.

Max Cow Disease · 10-28-2022, 09:59 AM

Nvm.

FlamesAddiction · 10-28-2022, 10:13 AM

Was he not getting an opportunity in the AHL either?

Bingo · 10-28-2022, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Was he not getting an opportunity in the AHL either?

That was the head scratcher for me last year.

I thought he would go down, and then start becoming their number one defenseman. Others watch that team closer than me, but he seemed to get stuck as the 5-6 guy and never gained any traction.

But nothing I've heard from Mitch Love would suggest he was pigeon holed ... just didn't earn it.

Enoch Root · 10-28-2022, 10:21 AM

I watched some Heat games. And kept waiting for him to dominate. But he never did. In fact, other guys - including Mackey - were better.

TheSquatch · 10-28-2022, 10:21 AM

Yeah reading that solidifies why he's gone. Dude talking like he's a Norris candidate who just needed to be loved.

dustygoon · 10-28-2022, 10:50 AM

Why didn't Valimaki do better in the AHL? Did he not get a chance there? The heat were basically the same calibre team as the Coyotes against easier competition.

dissentowner · 10-28-2022, 10:59 AM

I think in the end he needed a change to rebuild his confidence in himself. Still has plenty of tools, best wishes for him.

Hot_Flatus · 10-28-2022, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boogerz

“What I also like is, he doesn’t expect us to be perfect, because nobody is.”

Sounds like a subtle shot at Sutter

Well you do need to be damn close to perfect if you want to take players that are better than you out of the lineup. In phoenix there isn't too many players he will have to springboard to play 15-20 min a night.

Sucks he was derailed by injuries, but he really never had the attitude required to make it on a team with any real depth or culture to live up to.

Bingo · 10-28-2022, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

Well you do need to be damn close to perfect if you want to take players that are better than you out of the lineup. In phoenix there isn't too many players he will have to springboard to play 15-20 min a night.

Sucks he was derailed by injuries, but he really never had the attitude required to make it on a team with any real depth or culture to live up to.

And I think perfect varies by the situation.

Do you need to make a perfect outlet pass and will a healthy scratch if you miss the target and ice the puck? No

Do you need to make a perfect shot from the point through traffic and will be demoted if you hit some shin pads? No

But do you consistently get the puck in your own zone, find a teammate and actively participate in a relatively smooth break out? If the answer to that is sometimes ... you probably don't make the top six.

I like the guy, I'm sad he's gone, but more sad that he didn't turn into what I thought he was going to turn into, but he was a tire fire in his own zone in the last 18 months.

Hot_Flatus · 10-28-2022, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bingo

And I think perfect varies by the situation.

Do you need to make a perfect outlet pass and will a healthy scratch if you miss the target and ice the puck? No

Do you need to make a perfect shot from the point through traffic and will be demoted if you hit some shin pads? No

But do you consistently get the puck in your own zone, find a teammate and actively participate in a relatively smooth break out? If the answer to that is sometimes ... you probably don't make the top six.

I like the guy, I'm sad he's gone, but more sad that he didn't turn into what I thought he was going to turn into, but he was a tire fire in his own zone in the last 18 months.

Yes, pretty much. And the fact that he views what the coaching staff was likely asking of him as "perfect" pretty much tells the story of why it didn't work out.

I hope he can figure things out, but he's got a ways to go.

Enoch Root · 10-28-2022, 12:05 PM

Yeah, when I hear here comments like that from a player (they expect "perfection"), I usually interpret it as them having an external lotus of control, not being very coachable, and not willing to do whatever it takes.

Those types of players typically end up on crappy teams, where they can be 'good enough'

Murph · 10-28-2022, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bingo

Teams that want and expect to win now can't let former number one picks figure it out at the NHL level when they aren't waiver eligible and can't go down.

You have to go with Stone over Valimaki.

If Kylington was in camp he would literally have had zero chance.

I think too much is made of tough love from Sutter. I think it's about details and if you can bring those details you play. He was hard on Dube last year, very pro Dube this year ... difference? Dube went to school on the defensive side of the game and got better (not a finished product)

Valimaki got in his head after all his development time missed. Wasn't poised anymore. It was always a tire fire when he handled the puck.

Hopefully playing in a less pressure situation gets him back on track. He was so good in the the last two games of that Avalanche series.

Speaking of Kylington… what’s his story? I haven’t heard any updates lately. Are we allowed to ask?

Vinny01 · 10-28-2022, 12:14 PM

Valimaki needs time to play and find his game again and on a team with cup aspirations and one of if not the deepest bluelines in the league he wasn’t going to be given that leash here. Really sucks to lose a first round pick for nothing but it just happens to be how it works out.

OldSam · 10-28-2022, 12:29 PM

I recall an interview last year where he said he had never played for a coach like Darryl. I thought it funny at the time because surely he had a tough coach before. I guess in hindsight he struggled with the demands of a Sutter coached team.

Jiri Hrdina · 10-28-2022, 12:36 PM

I don't think Darryl Sutter is the right coach for everyone.
But if you are going to have a coach like him, then you are well served to deliver him a roster that will excel under his style. Otherwise don't bother having him.
This seems to have been the right thing for everyone involved.

sa226 · 10-28-2022, 12:43 PM

Its dissappointing that such a highly touted prospect didn't pan out here.

He was and is a classic case of needing a fresh start.

But if there is any ill will toward the coaching staff here, he has nobody to blame but himself. Exhibit A is Kylington. A very raw prospect and perhaps someone you could have pegged as a "non Sutter" player, played his way on to the team last year. Kylington was far from perfect.