"I'm happy right now": Former Flames prospect Valimaki refreshed in Arizona
The sunny skies of Arizona have former Calgary Flames rearguard Juuso Valimaki feeling fine.
Valimaki, who was claimed off waivers from the Flames by the Arizona Coyotes prior to the start of the season, returned to play his former mates for the first time on Monday, with a fresh new perspective in a better environment for the budding 24-year-old.
“I think it’s helped a lot,” Valimaki, who logged 82 games over parts of three seasons in Calgary, said Monday morning.
“I just think things were not working the way they were in Calgary [at the time] and for a little while there, so just had to start fresh. I think it helped me and I can see it in a big way, just playing these games, I think I’ve found my game again in a way that I didn’t really play at that level in a while here in Calgary, so yeah, I just think it’s helped me and I’m happy right now.”
A view from the other side!
Juuso Valimaki speaks with the media ahead of tonight's game at the 'Dome. pic.twitter.com/UNmdaitJtR
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) December 5, 2022
Valimaki, the No. 16 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, was lost for free on waivers when he was quickly gobbled up by the rebuilding Coyotes after he lost a training camp battle for a depth position on the blue line to Michael Stone, Connor Mackey, and Nicolas Meloche.
It put an end to a tumultuous time in Calgary that saw him go from stud prospect to frequent healthy scratch.
It might’ve been the best thing for Valimaki in the long run.
“It’s not easy when you don’t play much,” Valimaki said. “As a player, you want an opportunity to play and when you don’t get it, it’s pretty hard to enjoy sometimes. So again, I don’t really like looking back at it too much. I think what really matters is this moment and each and every day with this organization and like I said, I’ve enjoyed it so far and I’m in a great place now.”
Valimaki has logged 19 skates with his new club, nabbing six points (one goal, five assists) while playing nearly 17 minutes a night.
What he may have lost under Calgary coach Darryl Sutter he’s found under a Coyotes crew featuring AndrĂ© Tourigny.
“He’s a young, talented defenceman and one of the things I like about Vali is he’s courageous,” said Tourigny, in his third season as coach in Arizona. “He’s not afraid to take the hit. He wants to make plays. He’s got a lot of swagger in his play with the puck. And he competes really hard defensively.
“There’s many types of personalities. Some guys need a kick in the butt. Some guys need a (pat) on the butt. It’s a little bit different. Every personality is different. Some guys like to be pushed. Some guys like to be loved. They’re all different. Juuso, so far, he did not give us any reason to kick him in the butt so that’s why he’s thinking it’s really positive, I guess.”
Congratulations on skating in your 100th career @NHL game, VĂ€li! đ pic.twitter.com/F7His22yWC
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) December 4, 2022
Valimaki certainly has.
It’s been a positive venture into the desert for the oft-injured defenceman to this point.
And it’s given his career some new life.
“I don’t really like comparing them too much, but like I’ve been saying, just the positive start, talking to people and them encouraging me, trying to pump my tires in a sense that ‘you’re a good player, we want to help you, we see a lot of potential in you,’ that helped a lot,” Valimaki said.
“I think that part of it kind of wasn’t present as much here [in Calgary], especially towards the end when you don’t play much or you don’t play necessarily the way you want or someone else wants out of you, then you don’t talk about the positives as much.
“And I’m a guy who feeds off the positive energy instead of the negative one, so that start here and then obviously playing, so everything’s more positive in my mind.”