CRANBERRY, Pa. -- The Valtteri Puustinen who stepped onto the ice for Day 1 of the Penguins' rookie camp on Thursday and the Valtteri Puustinen who showed up for last summer's prospect camp couldn't be more different.
A lot of the steps that the Penguins' forward prospect has taken over the last year have happened off the ice.
When Puustinen was in camp last year, he spoke very little English. He hung around the other Finnish players on and off the ice, since they were the only teammates with whom he could easily communicate. Mike Sullivan said that they would try to make sure that Puustinen was always near defenseman Niclas Almari, so Almari could serve as translator and help Puustinen understand what the coaches were saying.
"For sure, it's a challenge," Sullivan said of working around Puustinen's limited English. "That's never an easy thing. I couldn't imagine being a player and going to Finland and not being able to speak the language and trying to figure out what the coach is saying every day. I think Puusty does a real good job at that."
Puustinen made great strides with his English over the course of the season, and you can tell just by watching him on the ice how much that comfort level makes a difference.
Before rookie camp began on Thursday, a group of prospects who arrived in town early gathered in Cranberry for a number of informal skates. I caught a few of those, and Puustinen was chatty with everyone between drills. He'd approach skills coach Ty Hennes, or non-Finnish players like Nathan Legare, Sam Poulin and Filip Hallander, and say something that would have the other person cracking up with laughter. I don't think I've ever seen anyone have as much fun practicing as Puustinen does on a regular basis. It's not that he's goofing off, but rather he makes it seem like there's nothing more enjoyable in the world than running through simple skills drills. His attitude is infectious, it rubs off on his teammates.
"I know he worked on (his English) over the summer," Wilkes-Barre head coach J.D. Forrest said Thursday of Puustinen. "He's funny, he's a personable guy. He's always smiling, and you see him on the ice, he probably has a smile on his face more so than anybody else. And the guys love him. ... He did a great job of adjusting away from the ice. He just wants to keep getting better. And he knows that (the language) is an important part of that. So it's been fun to talk to him more, his English is much better."
Throughout last season -- even during Puustinen's one-game stint in the NHL -- he didn't do any media interviews. His grasp of English just wasn't strong enough yet. He spoke with reporters in English for the first time on Day 1 of rookie camp at the Lemieux Complex on Thursday, and he genuinely seemed to have fun doing it. He had to pause at times to think of the word he wanted to say, and he talks expressively with his hands to make up for his lack of vocabulary, but he fared well.
"I try my English," he said with a smile. "But it's not good. But I understand OK."
I asked Puustinen what he did throughout the year to try to improve his English, and he gave some credit to his former roommate on the road in Wilkes-Barre.
"Last season, my roommate on trips Juuso Riikola, we were watching movies, but no Finnish text," he explained. "I watch, 'Hey Juuso? What's happening now?' No text, I don't understand all of it."
Between Riikola, Almari, Kasper Bjorkqvist, and Filip Lindberg, Wilkes-Barre had a lot of other Finnish players on the roster, and Puustinen could have just gotten by speaking Finnish with them throughout the year. Those other Finns, though, often made Puustinen speak with them in English instead, which forced him to pick up the language quicker.
"Last season was really good help to me because here, lots of of Finnish guys," Puustinen said. "I would ask, 'What happen now? What did he say? I don't understand.' Last season was good for me, now I'm good here."
When Puustinen made his move to North America last season, there were some questions at the start of the year when it came to how he would adjust to the North American style of play. At 5-foot-9, 183 pounds, Puustinen is on the smaller side, and he was coming from the Finnish league, where the bigger ice surfaces make physical contact less frequent. Puustinen's speed and scoring ability are some of his strengths, but there were questions about how he would fare defensively in the AHL, and how he would adjust to the decision-making differences. Mistakes are more costly at the AHL level because of the smaller ice surface and increased speed of the game.
None of those questions ever turned out to be real concerns. Not from Day 1. Puustinen's adjustment to the North American style of play went smoothly, and his coaches trusted him on the ice.
"He reads the game extremely well, and that helps us with positioning in the D zone," Forrest told me last season. "I'm not afraid to put him out there in any situation. He's a tough little player. As far as his D zone, he definitely understands what we're trying to do in there."
Puustinen felt confident in his ability to adjust to the style, tool.
"I played good last year," Puustinen said. "I started good. This is easy, goal, next game, next game, next game."
Puustinen finished the year as Wilkes-Barre's leading scorer, accumulating 20 goals and 22 assists over 73 games. He made his NHL debut in March 11 against the Golden Knights, earning the call when Kasperi Kapanen was a healthy scratch.
Puustinen played 10:14 on the Penguins' third line alongside Brock McGinn and Jeff Carter that night. It was early in the second period when that trio teamed up for a goal, earning Puustinen his first NHL point. Puustinen sprung McGinn on a breakaway with a pass to center ice. Vegas goaltender Laurent Brossoit stopped McGinn on the breakaway, but lost track of the puck underneath his pads. Carter followed through and knocked in the loose puck in the crease:
Puustinen broke into a big smile Thursday when he was asked to reflect on that night.
"This is awesome," he remembered. "I watched as a little boy games here, and I think maybe I'd play here. Last season, one game. This season? Maybe two, three, four games."
Puustinen spent the summer back in his hometown of Kuopio, with his "friend, family, girlfriend, dog, playing golf and hard practice." He said he focused the most on his "speed and power," but that he really worked on his "all," gesturing to his body.
When asked for his goals for the coming season, his answer was simple, followed by his usual big smile.
"I hope for some more (games) than last season."
That's a goal I'd anticipate being achieved. And this time, he'll be able to follow those games up with some postgame interviews.
