Valimaki remains in contention to land full-time gig with Flames
Young defenceman has been among biggest surprises in training camp
SAN JOSE Calgary Flames hopeful Juuso Valimaki was seated in a seldom-used corner-stall in the visiting quarters at SAP Center, a diagonal piece of property that didn’t leave a whole lot of legroom between two other bubble boys as they all geared up for Thursday’s morning skate.
It was a bit cramped, a bit crowded.
But as the 19-year-old rearguard was quick to point out, these were TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choicetype accommodations compared to the folding chair assigned to fellow rookie Dillon Dube across the room.
And besides, as long as he’s hanging around with Johnny Gaudreau and Mark Giordano and the rest of the big-league regulars, you won’t hear even a peep of complaining.
“I’ll sit wherever they want,” Valimaki said.
“I’ll sit in the garbage can, if that’s the case.”
Training camp is the NHL’s fall equivalent of musical chairs, and the Flames have only a few more days to decide who will be plunking down in the posh surroundings at the Saddledome and who will be instead hoping for an aisle or window as they head south to join the American Hockey League’s Stockton Heat.
Dube has undoubtedly — and deservedly — been the pre-season darling in Calgary, but the buzz-saw forward isn’t the only youngster with a serious shot at an opening-night gig.
For proof, look no further than the Flames’ lock-stocked lineup for Thursday’s late date against the Sharks in San Jose.
The 20-year-old Dube was skating with free-agent additions Derek Ryan and James Neal, both sure things.
Valimaki, meanwhile, was working alongside Michael Stone on the third defence pairing, the other candidates for that job all watching from the press box as healthy scratches.
With precious little time before Wednesday’s regular season lid-lifter against the Vancouver Canucks, the Flames are past the point of experimenting.
Their deployments in San Jose are evidence that Dube and Valimaki are not only building a case to stick around but could actually be front-runners in their respective positional battles.
“That’s what I worked hard for the whole summer. I’ve been looking for this opportunity — to still be here and to play with the big guys,” Valimaki said after Thursday ’s morning skate at SAP Center.
“I think I’ve played some good hockey over this pre-season, so it’s definitely exciting to still be here.
“I just try to focus on the things I can control. Just try to do my work every day, do my best out there and just try to enjoy the moment at the same time. This is a big opportunity and for a young guy, it’s something new for me and it’s exciting. So I’m trying to enjoy it, too.”
The Flames, who will cap their exhibition slate with a matinee Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers, are currently carrying 28 healthy hopefuls, needing to demote five prior to Tuesday ’s roster deadline.
It’s likely the final cuts will include two forwards, a couple of defencemen and one netminder.
If the Flames are set on partnering a left-hander with Stone on their third pair, the short-list has been whittled to Valimaki, Brett Kulak and Dalton Prout.
Kulak is the incumbent, but the 24-year-old was dangled on the waiver-wire in the lead-up to his salary arbitration hearing this summer, a first hint that his status was far from cemented.
Prout, 28, has logged 242 appearances at the NHL level and is signed to a one-way contract, but he was mostly a minor-leaguer last winter. He is certainly the toughest of this trio, and also the least mobile.
(Rasmus Andersson, it should be noted, has been the best of the bubble blue-liners this fall. What’s working against him is he shoots from the right side.)
A first-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, Valimaki figures prominently in the long-term plans at the Saddledome.
But is his ETA right now? Based on Thursday’s lineup in San Jose, it’s a definite possibility.
The young man in the cornerstall is confident he is ready for prime time.
“I think it’s an attitude thing, too. It’s a mindset thing,” Valimaki said. “You just have to do your best every day and try to take the spot, because nothing is going to be just handed to you. You have to earn it. That’s been my mindset, and I think that’s helped me a lot.”
I’ll sit wherever they want. I’ll sit in the garbage can, if that’s the case.