ST. LOUIS – Juuso Valimaki will never forget the plate of ribs that welcomed him to the NHL, or the day he decided he was never going to play hockey again.
Both came to mind on the Calgary Flames‘ current road trip where the first round pick is demonstrating poise rarely seen in a 20-year-old defenceman.
Speaking articulately, in a measured pace that mirrors his game, Valimaki reflected on a life-changing day in his native Finland where the man known for his calmness was anything but.
"I honestly don’t remember much at all when I was younger, but when I was 13 there was the first tryout camp for the national team and I didn’t make that team and I actually told my parents that I’m going to quit hockey and that I didn’t want to play anymore," said Valimaki, who grew up in Nokia, Finland.
"‘I’m done here.’ I was going to buy new skates that day but I said, ‘I don’t need skates. I’m not going to play anymore.’
"I cried for five hours. They tried to tell me it’s not the end of the world, but I was shocked I didn’t make it."
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Those who’ve watched him play might be surprised to hear of his knee-jerk reaction that fateful day.
However, the big lesson he learned then seemed to revolve around bouncing back and doing so with the type of steely resolve that soon thereafter landed him on Team Finland.
"We went to buy the skates and then we actually had a game that night too, so I said, ‘whatever – let’s show everybody they made a mistake and I can be a player,’" said Valimaki, who captained Finland at the world junior tourney last Christmas.
"My mom says she saw it in my eyes that game that I was going to the NHL. That’s how it changed. Everything happened quick and after that it has always been on my mind I’ll play in the NHL."
Pausing as he looked around the cushy confines of the visitors’ dressing room of the Enterprise Center, he completed his thought.
"I guess I’m doing pretty well," he smiled.
Indeed, he is.
Although the big league promotion from Tri-City hasn’t been without the obvious growing pains that peppered his performance Thursday night, Valimaki has proven conclusively he belongs.
So much so, coach Bill Peters is not only comfortable giving Valimaki progressively more ice time (he played almost 18 minutes in Nashville Tuesday), but doing so as part of an all-rookie pairing that includes Rasmus Andersson.
The duo had their roughest outing Thursday, both finishing minus-2 in a 5-3 loss to St. Louis the coach saw as a tremendous learning experience.
"I think they’ll have some good video tomorrow and just the quickness St. Louis got in on us on the forecheck and the lack of time that you have," said Peters, who suggested Friday he may start pairing the youngsters up with veterans.
"We want them to move the puck quicker and make decisions quicker and tonight there’s some good examples of that."
Fair enough.
As Mia and Tommi Valimaki learned that emotional day seven years ago, they didn’t raise a quitter.
Despite making the Flames lineup after just his second camp, Valimaki is well-versed in handling bumps along the way.
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Last year he battled injury to play in just 43 games with the WHL’s Americans, with whom he maintained a point-per-game pace the last two seasons, including the playoffs.
He’s learning to adjust to not playing the first five minutes of a game and sitting out power plays.
However, he is being used regularly as a penalty killer, which shows confidence in him.
"Special teams are a huge part of the game and obviously I think I’m capable of playing both, but I understand as a young guy I won’t be out there 25 minutes a night," said Valimaki who said his patience on and off the ice comes from his father, who was a defender playing second-division soccer.
"I think it’s always been part of my game to just play and be calm and not rush with the puck. I don’t feel too much pressure even when there’s a hard forecheck to get out of. It doesn’t make it easier if you just shoot it somewhere."
Having not traveled with the team to China, Valimaki sees the Flames’ current three-game roadie as being a great way to know his new teammates and add to his increasing comfort level in the show.
"I think being on the road helps, and going to a nice hotel and nice dinners – that’s kind of when it feels the most real," said Valimaki, who was then asked about one of his a-ha NHL moments.
"I had ribs on the plane after the game in Nashville. I was like, ‘okay, I’ll have ribs after a game – that’s awesome.’"
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Yet, in his typical fashion, he played it cool.
"I’ve got to admit I didn’t really even think about that part when your enter the league," he said.
"When you step on the plane or even when you just walk through the airport and you’re not in a line.
"Obviously I’ve traveled a ton in my career and long flights and everything. Three hours before the flight you go to the airport and go through lines and lines and lines and then you get on the plane and don’t have any room. And now you just walk right up to the plane and you’re there and then you have food. Then you sit down and have a nap and then there’s just more food and more food and everything is just… cool."
Just like him.
