[News] Flames loan Valimaki to Tampereen Ilves (Liiga)

[Canada 02]

Jusso's goals: 1. make it back in the lineup; 2. win the Calder

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article...r-aspirations/

“It’s not something I’m focused on but, big picture, I know it’s a possibility,” said the 22-year-old defenceman in his first interview since returning to Calgary on the weekend.

“It’s something we’ve talked about through the rehab process, that, ‘we’ll get through this and then go win that.’ Call it a goal for this season. The first thing is just to be in the lineup and that’s the only thing I can ask for. After that, it’s up to me to play and perform and help the team and start to be more of an impact player -- a top-four defenceman like I was in Finland and junior and Stockton. Nobody else is going to put bigger expectations on me than myself. I feel good and know what I’m capable of.”

[Unknown]

Just read a great article on Finnish magazine Urheilulehti about Juuso, upcoming season and his darkest moment of his career, August 13th -19 and the knee injury. The headline was "Peto on irti!" that is Finnish and means "The Beast Is Unleashed!"

His expectations of the season 19/20 were pretty high after playing his two best games of the season 18/19 against the Avs in playoffs. He had decided to play for the C of Red every single game without giving any doubts of sending him to Stockton. And that injury... it collapsed his world. He used a word "catastrophe" in the article. It really hit him hard, and he said, that at first he couldn't even go to the Dome to watch games (if he did, he burst out crying). He told that he felt sadness, anger and confusing moments during that season. The biggest moment of relief was, when he was able to come back to ice first time. After that, the rehabbing process wasn't as bad as it was befofe.

In fact, he had hope of playing in the playoffs against the Jets and the Stars, so it was disappointing for him not to get the roster spot. The situation of Välimäki's contract and the expansion draft of course played a big part here, and Juuso was a bit sad because of that bureaucracy. Välimäki told, that nobody said that to him straightforward, and he also thought that maybe it would have been risky to put him in the roster after that horrendous injury, but Välimäki himself thought that he was ready, and that's why, was a little disappointed.

Välimäki was at last able to play again, when he came to Ilves in Liiga. And The Beast was unleashed. The rest is history, and Juuso was the best defender during his stint in Liiga. He told, that the Flames management just told him to go there, play and enjoy, and that he did. Välimäki says that it was a good guideline, because he himself maybe thought that now he has to show the rage and be an absolute beast, especially defensively. So he got more relaxed and happier, and that must have helped also.

The article believes that the breakthrough is incoming, and that also us Finns now understand, how great defender our national team has in Juuso. Välimäki sees, that he got tons of confidence of his short trip in Liiga, because it meant him to get going and playing well before coming back to brighter lights. He also thinks that because he already has 19 games under his belt this season, he has an advantage towards those, who haven't played yet. His expectations for the upcoming season are, that he gets to play every day, and sees that he should be in the first D-pairing after two seasons.

A Physics Coach Jouni Viitanen told Juuso during the knee injury rehabbing process, that, in a way, the injury is maybe the best thing that happened to Juuso. Then, Juuso didn't think the same, but now he understands what Viitanen meant (the mental growth). And I can agree with that myself (I'm not a-NHL-player, but breaking my shinbone in 2018, the rehabbing process and getting back to playing after 2 years was a process that taught some things I didn't think about before).

Can't wait for the next week.

Urheilulehti ranked the Flames #2 after Toronto in the Northern Division.

[Since1984]

Originally Posted by unknown

just read a great article on finnish magazine urheilulehti about juuso, upcoming season and his darkest moment of his career, august 13th -19 and the knee injury. The headline was "peto on irti!" that is finnish and means "the beast is unleashed!"

.......

ftfy

[bdubbs]

I'm so excited to see Juuso grow this season.

[EVERLAST]

Wow. Thanks so much for posting that. It's amazing what happens when an injury derails your confidence and you learn to benefit from it and doing the physical rehabilitation.

Always having someone tell you you have the physical attributes to play the game and then having the balls as Tortz would say to turn it around and show it.

[Geeoff]

Originally Posted by EVERLAST

Wow. Thanks so much for posting that. It's amazing what happens when an injury derails your confidence and you learn to benefit from it and doing the physical rehabilitation.

Always having someone tell you you have the physical attributes to play the game and then having the balls as Tortz would say to turn it around and show it.

it's safe to say his confidence is back after ripping Liiga a new one

[bubbsy]

Great to read. Thanks for sharing!

Hope he takes that "play and enjoy" approach with him into this NHL season, rather than taking on any additional pressure on.

Seeing the strides he makes in his first full season with the big clubs, is definitely one of the most intriguing things for me, as a fan, this year.

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by bdubbs

I'm so excited to see Juuso grow this season.

6'4 230lbs please.

[troutman]

Show The Rage!

[djsFlames]

Hoglander and Broberg have nothing on Juuso.

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

Hoglander and Broberg have nothing on Juuso.

Broberg is one awesome European name though!

[Beatle17]

Originally Posted by Johnny Makarov

6'4 230lbs please.

Hopefully he gets as big as his dad (not smart enough to link picture from NHL.com, sorry)

[Vinny01]

Article on the Athletic by Scott Wheeler who ranks the top 20 caldar candidates with some mention of other dark horses and surprisingly not a mention of Valimaki.

This Hoglander kid in Van and Bouchard in Edmonton make the top 20.

[Beatle17]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

Article on the Athletic by Scott Wheeler who ranks the top 20 caldar candidates with some mention of other dark horses and surprisingly not a mention of Valimaki.

This Hoglander kid in Van and Bouchard in Edmonton make the top 20.

When are people going to stop quoting the Athletic. It is failing for a reason, the writers are all guys/gals who think they could run a team because they play fantasy sports.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

Article on the Athletic by Scott Wheeler who ranks the top 20 caldar candidates with some mention of other dark horses and surprisingly not a mention of Valimaki.

This Hoglander kid in Van and Bouchard in Edmonton make the top 20.

He commented on it in the comments

Valimaki was final cut. Just hard to see him playing over any of Gio, Tanev, Andersson and Hanifin, which may make it hard to remain an active part of the offence (which he'll need to be to enter the Calder conversation). He's a better prospect/player than some on this list, though.

That doesn't seem too far off. If he is playing 3rd pairing minutes he won't be in the calder conversation.

Side note: on sports interaction this morning Valimaki was 39-1 odds to win the calder. Threw a few bucks on that.

[Fire]

Originally Posted by Weitz

He commented on it in the comments



That doesn't seem too far off. If he is playing 3rd pairing minutes he won't be in the calder conversation.

Side note: on sports interaction this morning Valimaki was 39-1 odds to win the calder. Threw a few bucks on that.

With those odds it's a no brainer to put some money on Valimaki.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

Article on the Athletic by Scott Wheeler who ranks the top 20 caldar candidates with some mention of other dark horses and surprisingly not a mention of Valimaki.

This Hoglander kid in Van and Bouchard in Edmonton make the top 20.

Well if it's any consolation Pronman just released his Best under-23 stars list today on The Athletic and he has Valimaki ranked ahead of Bouchard, Hoglander, and Broberg. None of this really matters as it's all about what happens when the pucks drop so I would never get overly excited about pundit predictions.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Weitz

He commented on it in the comments



That doesn't seem too far off. If he is playing 3rd pairing minutes he won't be in the calder conversation.

Side note: on sports interaction this morning Valimaki was 39-1 odds to win the calder. Threw a few bucks on that.

I think it's exactly right. Calder consideration is as much a function of opportunity as it is talent. There are several great players each year, but a few will get the perfect opportunity to excel, often because they are on a bad team.

Valimaki is going to be on the 3rd pairing, and probably won't get much PP opportunity. If so, there is no way he can put up the points to get into the Calder conversation.

[tvp2003]

Can we rename this the “Juuso ‘fricking’ Valimaki” thread?

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

Can we rename this the “Juuso ‘fricking’ Valimaki” thread?

We should be conservative with our "frickin" threads. At least wait until 30 seconds into his first shift.