Rasmus Ristolainen is making his fourth international appearance for his native Finland.
The 21 year old had previously represented Suomi at the 2012, 2013 and 2014 World Junior Championship tournament.
As a 19 year old, Ristolainen showed tremendous poise and fearlessness when he played an integral role in Finland's gold medal win at the 2014 World Juniors. Watching the 2014 WJCs closely, one got the distinct impression that Ristolainen was not content to be one of six D-men on the Finnish roster. He didn't want to be a follower. He wanted to be a leader. Ristolainen certainly made a name for himself and established himself to be Finland's alpha dog.
He was named best defenseman and selected to All-Star team at 2014 World Juniors. He logged heavy minutes in all key situations and scored three goals, including game-winning goal in the gold medal deciding game.
The 2014 World Juniors success served as a very important door-opener to Ristolainen's NHL career in Buffalo.
Ristolainen was never lacking for confidence in his own abilities. Like all great athletes, he knows that he is good at what he does. Risto is a humble man. An anti-star. He doesn't seek the glare of the spotlight. He prefers to let his actions and his on-ice exploits speak for him. In the three years that I have covered him, I have never known Ristolainen to brag or pump his own tires. He draws attention to himself by knocking Alex Ovechkin to the ice in head-on collisions or by spearing Sidney Crosby in the gut during goal-crease battles. Risto is not one to be a wallflower. He's always in the thick of the battle where all the danger is.
Rasmus Ristolainen is intent on showing his peers that he is one of the very best defensemen in the world.
On Thursday in Helsinki, Ristolainen once again established himself as Finland's number one D-man. He played 29 shifts against, mostly against Sweden's top line of the Sedins and Loui Eriksson. Ristolainen acquitted himself rather well. His only mistake of the exhibition game was failing to tie up Eriksson's stick during a crease battle. The lost rebound battle ended up on Eriksson's twig and it led to a Sweden goal. Watching the game live, I could tell that Risto wanted to smash his stick over the cross bar after giving up the Eriksson goal. However, in typical; Risto fashion, he immediately purged the goal scoring sequence from his brain and then went to and dominated the game. The Turku native skated a team-high 26:29 TOI in Finland's 3-2 OT win over Sweden. Risto's D partner Olli Maata scored the OTGWG after logging 21 minutes TOI.
Afterwards, Risto told Leijonat.fi that he can't wait to test himself against the best players in the on the planet when the World Cup Of Hockey commences in Toronto on September 17.
"The tournament will be a unique opportunity. It will be great to get a great team to play against with all the best players in the world. The goal is to have a lot of success".
The pesky Finns are going to surprise many teams at the World Cup of Hockey. The Finns are always ball busters to play against. They never quit working and they rarely make mistakes. Their goaltending is superb with Pekka Rinne in the cage. Their forward group is excellent with Sasha Barkov, Patrik Laine, Mikael Granlund, Joonas Donskoi, Mikko Koivu and others. Their D core is rock solid with Risto, Sami Vatanen, Olli Maata, Jyrki Jokipakka, and Ville Pokka.
"We have a really tight team spirit, since we all, in one way or another, are familiar with each other. We do not have any weaknesses", Ristolainen said.
What separates the Finns from many other elite hockey programs in the world is their grinding, annoying style and their spot-on attention to all details. Ristolainen
"Practicing for game is important so that we are all on the same page. We have to what coaching wants us to do to be successful. If something does not work we can improve on it during the game. Preliminary games are going to be some great shared experiences".
Tonight, Finland-Sweden square off in a rematch in Gothenberg.
Next week, the Finns will play another exhibition games against Team USA in Washington, D.C.
Finland's first World Cup game will be played on September versus the grotesquely talented Team North America band.
Back in Buffalo, you better believe that Sabres GM Tim Murray is tracking Ristolainen's usage and performances like a hawk. If Ristolainen continues to be a leader and take his Finns deep into the medal round and championship game at the World Cup, his reward will be a more lucrative multi-year contract than he ever could have imagined. Heading into the World Cup, the restricted free agent was looking at a six to seven year contract extension with an average annual value between $5.5 million and $6 million per season. Playing well for the Finns at the World Cup may influence his AAV up into the $6.5 to $6.75 million range.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Rasmus Ristolainen is every bit as dominant a defender as Florida's Aaron Ekblad and LA's Drew Doughty. The kid plays every aspect of the game of hockey at a very high level. His hockey intelligence is off the charts as are his skating, shooting, passing, vision, physicality and tenacity. Having access to Risto on a regular basis, I see his dogged determination, impeccable preparation and his attention to the minutiae of the game.
In my opinion, Ristolainen will be a Norris Trophy candidate in the very near future.
Suffice to say, Risto is going to get paid a king's ransom at the conclusion of the World Cup Of Hockey tourney.
Thanks, Leijonat TV
***
Team North America Head Coach Todd McLellan caused simultaneous heart palpitations worldwide on Friday when he acted on an impulse.
At practice, McLellan lined up Connor McDavid at center, with left wing Johnny Gaudreau and right wing Jack Eichel.
The trio is comprised of three of the most gifted young hockey players on the planet today.
What the Hell? Why not throw some spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks?
As the head coach of a U-23 That has zero pressure on it to win The World Cup of Hockey, McLellan can experiment and play "what if" scenarios with his forwards and D.
It's a luxury that doesn't really exist in the structure and under-competitive NHL.
They'll have to wait for Sunday for that, when Team North America plays Team Europe in a pre-tournament game in Montreal on Saturday night.
During the first three days of training camp and in Thursday's 4-0 win versus a decidedly older and slower Team Europe, McDavid skated between Jonathon Drouin and Mark Scheifele. Gaudreau and Jack Eichel were with Brandon Saad.
Then, McLellan became a fantasy hockey general a manger and the hockey world high fives in unison.
"Just the overall vision and hockey IQ of that line is very high," Team North America coach Todd McLellan said when asked why he had put it together. "That would lead us to believe they can create and make plays. I think we've got a couple real good quick skaters there, a play maker. The ability to win faceoffs, left and right-handed side. We should have the puck and have possession.
"I thought Jack shot the puck a lot [Thursday, in a 4-0 defeat of Team Europe], which was a positive sign. Connor used his speed well; he almost turned the corner on a number of defensemen and took it to the net. Johnny had the puck a lot and made some good plays. The three of them, we should be able to create a good combination."
McLellan and Team North America are trying to win the World Cup, which begins in Toronto next Saturday. Beating Team Canada on Canadian soil in an NHL barn will not be easy. However, McLellan is willing to push all of his chips to the middle of the table and go all-in on Icing his best high octane lineup.
This ain't your daddy's NHL.
This is the new school in your face!
is going to do his best to put together the lines that will get them where they want to go. So that meant changing lines at practice Friday after their win Thursday. He wanted better, and so he made changes.
Jack Eichel skates with Johnny Hockey back home in Boston during the summer. He said Friday that he doesn't mind sliding to the wing top lay with two fellow rock stars.
"[McDavid] and Johnny, it's just a good opportunity," Eichel said. "I haven't played wing in a while but I'm excited about it. It's a little something different. And obviously playing with two players like that, it's pretty enticing."
McDavid is all about giving the people what they want.
"This is probably what everyone wants," McDavid said. "Hopefully we can jell together. We certainly understand what everyone else would see and think about that. For us, it doesn't really matter. We're just trying to see who everyone can play with, who everyone can find chemistry with. If it's with Jack and Johnny, then, well, perfect. If it's not, then that's the way it is.
"We'll see how it goes. I'm excited about it. I THINK it could be special."
Gaudreau is geeked to play in a game with Eichel and McDavid.
"Yeah," Gaudreau said. "I think that would be fun."
"If it's us three, then perfect," McDavid said. "Who better than to play with than those two?!"
Hell, if McLellan wants to melt and destroy the internet, he should skate 2016 first overall pick Auston Matthews next to McDavid and Eichel.
McLellan is a coach with nothing to lose right now. Why not have some fun and continue to set the narrative for Generation Next in the NHL.
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