Penguins forward prospect Valtteri Puustinen keeps shooting for an NHL job
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Valtteri Puustinen has a hiccup-quick one-timer.
And one-liners.
During an interview after a morning skate Wednesday at PPG Paints Arena, a Pittsburgh reporter complimented the Pittsburgh Penguins forward prospect, a native of Finland, on his improved command of English.
It was relayed to Puustinen that his English was much better than the reporter’s Finnish (which is to say the reporter has no earthly idea how to communicate fluently in Suomi).
Puustinen guffawed a bit, then shot back, “Yeah, but Finnish is so hard!”
Such exchanges were rare for Puustinen during his first two seasons in North America. In 2021-22, he would rarely grant interviews and even had Finnish teammates speak on his behalf out of fear that his limited ability to speak English would be embarrassing.
Last season he opened up a bit with North American media, but the conversations had to remain fairly basic.
Today, Puustinen is much more comfortable conversing in his second tongue.
“After two years, I (speak) more English,” the 24-year-old winger said. “It’s a little bit better but not good. I understand OK. But not easy (to) talk. But a little bit easier.”
What isn’t hard to conclude is Puustinen’s ambitions. He wants to be a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“I think this is my best training camp,” said Puustinen, a seventh-round draft pick (No. 203 overall) in 2019. “Because I know I had a good summer in Finland, with practice. My body is (at its) best ever for me. I like what I am doing here. I am trying my best.”
Puustinen has been the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ best scorer the past two seasons, leading the American Hockey League affiliate in points on both occasions. Last season, he set a career high with 59 points (24 goals, 35 assists) while appearing in all 72 of that team’s games.
This preseason, Puustinen has appeared in three games and has three points (one goal, two assists) with eight shots.
“I have good two seasons (with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton),” said the right-hander. “Now, I try doing the same here, in training camp. Coaches are watching.”
Despite that success, he has all of one career game (and one assist) at the NHL level, which came midway through the 2021-22 campaign.
What hasn’t translated to more of an opportunity at the NHL level?
As management sees it, his defense could use some sprucing up.
“He’s got a great shot, he’s got real good offensive instincts, he sees it and thinks it pretty well offensively,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “Then just rounding out his overall game. Just being more reliable and trustworthy away from the puck, being conscientious defensively in his own end. Those are the things that I think afford you the opportunity to play in the NHL and then build from there. Most forwards, when you look at it, they enter this league through the bottom six. There aren’t too many that enter the league in the top six.
“When players are playing in the bottom six, one of the prerequisites of that is to be reliable and trustworthy defensively. We have to have a certain trust that we can put players over the boards in certain situations and know that they’re going to be able to get the job done. I think (Puustinen) has work to do there. He’s gotten better and grown in that regard. I think he can continue to work and get better in that capacity.”
Puustinen entered this past offseason as a restricted free agent and re-signed to a one-year, two-way contract with a salary cap hit of $775,000.
Unlike other European prospects who flew the Penguins’ nest and returned to Europe after seeing limited NHL opportunities in recent years — such as forwards Kasper Bjorkqvist or Filip Hallander — Puustinen wasn’t tempted to go back to Finland.
When asked if he ever considered a return to his homeland, Puustinen made his thoughts crystal clear regardless of any language barriers.
“No, no, no,” Puustinen implored. “This is my first (preferred) place. I wanted to come back. I want to play for (the) Pittsburgh Penguins.”
Note: Defenseman P.O. Joseph practiced Wednesday, one day after missing Tuesday’s practice session because of an undisclosed injury. He has been labeled as “day-to-day” by Sullivan.