Back in May, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen was brutally honest about his future with the organization, knowing that if any changes were going to be made, he was probably one of the first players to be on the move. It's a spot that Ristolainen has been in before, given the lack of success the team has had since he was drafted by the Sabres in the 2013 NHL Draft.
However, it was another offseason that came and went with Ristolainen remaining part of the picture heading into a new season in Buffalo.
"What I've learned from this business the last seven year, there's always going to be uncertainties and you never know where you're going to be tomorrow," Ristolainen said following Sunday's training camp practice at KeyBank Center. "I enjoy it here right now, the team looks good and ready to go, and it's going to be an exciting year."
While the 26-year-old was not part of any transactions this offseason, he saw what the team did do in the offseason and seems excited to get back to business after an abnormally long offseason.
"It was way too long of an offseason, so it's really great to be back," Ristolainen said. "I saw the moves we made during the offseason, and it got me really excited. I'm ready to go and happy to be here. Can't wait to start playing again."
So far in the first few days at training camp, the pace of practice has been a bit higher than normal given the limited time the team has to prepare for the upcoming season. Ristolainen has noticed just how physical the play has been in the first few days, which is something he says should be expected if the team is to have success going into the new year.
"You have to play the way you practice. That's how we should play if you want to win," Ristolainen said. "You can play a different style of physicality, everyone doesn't need to run through the walls. Just need to take the time and space away, and work hard."
While the team has made a number of moves to upgrade the forward group this offseason, the defensive group is likely to remain relatively the same. Ristolainen is among the players to return to the Buffalo blue line this season, along with others like Jake McCabe, Henri Jokiharju, Colin Miller, Rasmus Dahlin and Brandon Montour.
Ristolainen believes that maintaining a good amount of the same group for Krueger's second season in Buffalo will only be a positive going into the upcoming season.
"It's the same with the forward group too. They have a lot of similarities with last year, and especially with the [defense]," Ristolainen said. "It's easy to build on from that, especially when we have a lot of young guys here. We can take huge strides during that nine-month offseason. We're going to be way better from last year, for sure."
As for Ristolainen's relationship with Krueger, the two gentlemen have spoken highly of one another in their year-and-a-half together in Buffalo. For Ristolainen, the praise for his head coach extends beyond just his capabilities as the bench boss of the Sabres.
"I like everything about Ralph," Ristolainen said. "I like the way he wants us to play, I like the way he talks to people, I like the meetings he's doing. It's been good, and like I've said before, he's probably the best coach I've had in my career. I'm happy to be working with him, and hopefully in the future too."
As for his head coach, Krueger believes that Ristolainen will be looked at, once again, as a core member of the leadership group in Buffalo.
"First and foremost, [it's] an immeasurable quality of competitiveness and passion for the game," Krueger said of his veteran defenseman. "He really does everything he can in preparation, he's very direct and honest in his communication. When he doesn't like things, he puts it on the table, and that's the culture we want here from our leaders. That also means making sure that he pushes his teammates and himself to do everything possible to win.
"We find him very coachable, and his physical presence and his battle hunger is important for our group. We have a lot of skill, but we need that grit, we need that bite and he gives it to us. Above all, he is a pro in everything he does, and I definitely find that his unique personality really adds an important dimension to our room."
Ristolainen has been working primarily with McCabe as his defensive partner to start training camp, and they've been working in rushes as mainly the top defensive pair.
At practice on Sunday, the Sabres did not have Victor Olofsson on the ice after suffering an upper-body injury at practice on Saturday. However, the positive news is that he is only considered day-to-day after crashing hard into the goal post and appearing to injure his left arm.
Also not practicing again on Sunday were captain Jack Eichel (upper-body injury) and goalie Linus Ullmark (immigration issues), but head coach Ralph Krueger said after practice that all three of Eichel, Ullmark and Olofsson could be back on the ice with the rest of the team on Wednesday.
Here was how the lines looked on Sunday:
Forwards:
Girgensons - Eakin - Okposo
Skinner - Staal - Reinhart
Hall - Ruotsalainen - Thompson
Mittelstadt - Lazar - Rieder
Asplund and Sheahan worked in with Mittelstadt.
McCabe-Ristolainen Dahlin-Montour Miller-Jokiharju Irwin-Davidson