The start to Arttu Ruotsalainen's 2020-21 season has been a bit different from most of the other players taking part in Buffalo Sabres training camp.
The 23-year-old was able to get his season kick-started in Finland, where he was loaned to his team, Ilves, in the SM-Liiga. The native of Oulu, Finland was able to get in 19 games with Ilves before making the trip to Buffalo, where he dominated the league with 16 goals and 11 assists for an astonishing 27 points. At the time his loan had ended, Ruotsalainen was leading the league in both goals and points.
Now that he's a full week into his second training camp with the Sabres, Ruotsalainen felt that the head start in Finland was a positive for him as he prepares for his first season playing in North America.
"I have that game pace and that game speed. I have used it," Ruotsalainen said following Thursday practice at KeyBank Center. "I have been playing pretty tough games, and we had a great start to the season back in Finland. I feel pretty confident right now. I think that was a good thing for me."
Standing at just 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds, Ruotsalainen certainly does not look like the most imposing player on the ice. However, on top of his offensive skill set, he certainly possesses the strength and physicality to compete at the highest levels of hockey.
Ruotsalainen said that during the time off in the elongated offseason, he used every opportunity to work on getting stronger to best be prepared for what is to come on his journey to the NHL. And when it was time for hockey to begin, he was thankful to be able to get to play some more time in Finland.
"I think I had a great summer with the practice. It was a bit longer than usual, but I think it was a big thing for me to put on some strength, speed and [work out at the] gym," Ruotsalainen said. "It was a good thing when I went to Ilves and they let me play there. It was a big thing for me to do what I love to do, and it's so much nicer to play than just to practice."
Now that Ruotsalainen is in North America and getting acclimated to his new surroundings, he is also working to get more used the settings of a different game he played for several years in Finland.
"There's not so much space here, and everything else is a little bit quicker than back in Europe," Ruotsalainen said. "But when we [work] harder and I get used to it, then I will get better and better [every day]. The big for me is to get [to play] some tough games and get used to this game speed. That's pretty much it."
"I'm just focused on day-to-day, and every day I [try to do] the best I can do and earn my spot on the roster. I just try to work hard and improve myself every day."
Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger has seen the work that Ruotsalainen has put in to getting ready for his transition to the North American game. Krueger saw what the young forward was capable of being while playing with Ilves, and he is confident that his style of play will transition in due time.
"His play was outstanding. He was leading the Finnish league in scoring, at times, and really was somebody who was playing a complete role there. He was playing both power play and penalty kill, he defended very well, had a strong defensive game, but also scored some [shorthanded] and power play goals. You can see he's very versatile, and we feel that right away in training camp.
"He's a strong skater, and that is what you need to be when you don't maybe have the stature. You need to have speed and you need to be solid on your feet. He's got very strong legs, and puck skills to go with that. We're pleased with what we're seeing here, and he's certainly and exciting depth player for us. Somebody who's versatile is important in a season of this type, where in any point in time, you could need some help. ... He's been picking up the drills well, the coaches have enjoyed having around, very coachable, positive personality. He's an excellent addition to our group this year."
Thursday's practice at KeyBank Center was a high-tempo practice from start-to-finish that saw plenty of good compete from the top of the lineup to the bottom. However, Krueger was able to get in some power play work for one of the first times at training camp. He finished up Thursday's session with some 3-on-3 action, with the players going at close to gameplay tempo.
The lines remained the same on Thursday from Wednesday's session. Here is how they looked:
Forwards:
Hall - Eichel - Olofsson
Skinner - Staal - Reinhart
Rieder - Eakin - Okposo
Sheahan - Lazar - Thompson
Mittelstadt - Ruotsalainen - Asplund
Defense:
McCabe - Ristolainen
Dahlin - Montour
Miller - Jokiharju
Irwin - Davidson
Borgen
Power Play 1:
Reinhart
Eichel - Hall - Olofsson
Dahlin
Power Play 2:
Skinner
Thompson - Okposo - Staal
Ristolainen
It is possible on Friday that both forwards Dylan Cozens and Jack Quinn will be present at practice. Cozens and Quinn are just back from Edmonton after winning a silver medal with Canada at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship. While both are currently in quarantine, Krueger is confident that both players can be back on the ice with the team, as long as everything checks out.
"I hope they're enjoying their hotel room. I haven't seen them live, because of the respect that we have for the quarantine isolation," Krueger joked. "I'm pretty confident you're going to see them tomorrow. They're going to be around. We have to begin with the testing, and we're hoping that they clear all the testing and medicals to join the 'Blue' group tomorrow. [That] would be the plan."
The "Blue" group is the collection of players that practice every afternoon following the main "Gold" group in the mornings. The players in the secondary group are likely bound to play with the Rochester Americans next season, or possibly earn a spot on the six-man taxi squad.
The main group will return to the ice on Friday morning at 10 a.m. EST.