Player Discussion: Kristian Vesalainen [Update: Signed ELC]

[surixon]

Don't know if scoring 3.5x the points in 10x the games is a positive. All I know is Lemieux is better in his role the petan is at his. Scoring I think is petans role and he has proven he can't score yet in this league. Lemieux at over 100+ games will have more points. along with the everything else he does is an ideal 4th liner.

I think you mean 5x the games as Lemieux has played nearly 20.

In that time he has 1 point, 48 PIM and is a possession black hole at 44.6 CF%.

It seems that he doesn't score, gets outchanced by a wide margin when on the ice while not being able to stay out of the box.

Please enlighten me as to how he's even an NHL player let alone actually performing any role well.

The NHL is moving away from no talent grinders on the fourth lines. Petan has been quite effective the last half a dozen games on the fourth line. He and his linemates have given Maurice a good 8 plus minutes a night, most of which has been spent in the other teams end of the ice. I know which player I'll take moving forward on my fourth line if it means trapping theboppoaition in their end.

 

[Ducky10]

Perreault roslovic Lemieux will be a thing very soon again. hopefully tonight.

Keep hoping, not happening.

Thankfully.

 

[DowntownBooster]

No problem with KV trying to maximize his earnings by going back home.

Well, Chevy did say that he doesn't think it's a financial decision. And i think he knows more than we do.

Do you think he's soured on Winnipeg? I know it's early to question that but just wondering if he maybe expected that he'd make the Jets right away like Laine did. Playing with the Moose would have helped with his adjustment to the north american style of game. Instead he opted to return home to play.

 

[SCP Guy]

Contract slides a year so Im cool with that deal.....He wasn't going to help the Jets this year so a little step back in his development is worth the extra season of cap savings IMO

 

[member 297479]

Do you think he's soured on Winnipeg? I know it's early to question that but just wondering if he maybe expected that he'd make the Jets right away like Laine did. Playing with the Moose would have helped with his adjustment to the north american style of game. Instead he opted to return home to play.

Isn't it most likely that he made the decision based on what he thinks will be most beneficial for him in the grand scheme of things? If so, he likely thinks he develops better with Jokerit in the KHL. For Chevy and Maurice it probably would have been more convenient to have him play for the Moose and being a potential call-up. Being closer to family and friends might also matter more than money, but what do I know.

 

[Hunter368]

Isn't it most likely that he made the decision based on what he thinks will be most beneficial for him in the grand scheme of things? If so, he likely thinks he develops better with Jokerit in the KHL. For Chevy and Maurice it probably would have been more convenient to have him play for the Moose and being a potential call-up. Being closer to family and friends might also matter more than money, but what do I know.

Agreed

 

[Flair Hay]

Contract slides a year so Im cool with that deal.....He wasn't going to help the Jets this year so a little step back in his development is worth the extra season of cap savings IMO

Best way if looking at it I think. I dont have the inside scoop so I'll just assume it's all good and just what he wants to do.

 

[Bob E]

Kid has to play minutes. Playing 6-8 mins for the Jets doesn’t help him, imo.

He needs to play 15+ mins to continue his development. He would get that in the A, in all situations. Hopefully he gets that in the KHL.

 

[voyageur]

Do you think Calgary needs some points in the Standings? Are you hoping the can get into the Wildcard spot to play the Jets? Tossing points away is only reason I can think of to insert Lemieux into the lineup.

I think he would have been helpful tonight, dictate some energy. I still see a hole in our forward lineup. My playoff acquisition would be Michael Ferland, (Ferland-Scheif-Wheeler; Connor-Roslovic-Laine; Perreault-Little-Ehlers; Tanev-Lowry-Copp) assuming Carolina falls out near the end.

 

[JetsFan815]

Chevy's face when asked that many were speculating that the Jets were trying to "block" KV from going to the KHL is pretty funny

 

[Smelling Salt]

Who was that that asked the question? Props for asking it at the very least.

 

[Lempo]

Chevy's face when asked that many were speculating that the Jets were trying to "block" KV from going to the KHL is pretty funny

Do note "The window of option opened on November the 17th." It was a last minute chat, not a blocking maneuver.

 

[ps241]

They didn’t block him, he negotiated it into his contract for this reason, he is exercising his right, he will be playing in a good league, this is a non story to me.

 

[pucka lucka]

It is his right, but it's also odd behavior for someone of his age looking to crack an NHL lineup.

If he was 23 this would make sense. He doesn't seem super committed to an NHL career. He also left when playing in SHL and went home. Something different about this cat. It's his life, but he isn't doing himself any favours for his immediate NHL future if he leaves NA.

 

[Kaako Kappo]

It is his right, but it's also odd behavior for someone of his age looking to crack an NHL lineup.

If he was 23 this would make sense. He doesn't seem super committed to an NHL career. He also left when playing in SHL and went home. Something different about this cat. It's his life, but he isn't doing himself any favours for his immediate NHL future if he leaves NA.

I think he is committed, but he feels like it doesn't matter where he develops until then (so he might as well be playing home). Whether that's true or not remains to be seen.

 

[Whileee]

I think KV was ambivalent about coming to NA this season because he preferred to play in the KHL (or Liiga) over the AHL as a 19-year old. It would also give him the opportunity to play for Finland in the WJHC and perhaps the World Championship, which probably matters more to a 19-year old European player than many of us anticipate. Having negotiated a Euro "out clause" it's really not much of a surprise that he is headed back to Europe as a 19-year old. Conversely, it's logical that the Jets gauged his level of play and whether he could be a fixture on the Jets this season and when they decided he needed more development they assigned him to the AHL so his ELC would slide a year. I don't think the result is very surprising, and not really worth much angst.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

Contract slides a year so Im cool with that deal.....He wasn't going to help the Jets this year so a little step back in his development is worth the extra season of cap savings IMO

His contract would slide with the Moose too. No difference there.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

I think he is committed, but he feels like it doesn't matter where he develops until then (so he might as well be playing home). Whether that's true or not remains to be seen.

Agree - but we will never be able to say what would have happened if he had done it the other way. Whether he develops better in the KHL or in the AHL will remain a matter of opinion.

 

[Afterburner]

KVes back to Europe

 

[JetsFan815]

Who was that that asked the question? Props for asking it at the very least.

It sounded like Brian Munz?

 

[jetsforever]

Interesting, hopefully he develops well over there
Does this need to be for the whole year?

 

[surixon]

Interesting, hopefully he develops well over there
Does this need to be for the whole year?

He isn't eligible to be back until after his KHL teams season ends. So there is a possibility that he is back near the end of the year.

 

[NotCommitted]

I don't think the AHL per se means anything to the players, at least Europeans. Maybe someone in NA cares. For anyone ending up there it's probably a mandatory step on the road to NHL. And the shorter that step, the better... staying in NA might have been the wiser career move for him - or not. We'll just never know. But I totally understand the decision, essentially he'll be playing in a real league with a real salary with something real to win, as opposed to playing farm league with a farm salary with some potato trophy to win - and if he plays well in the KHL, no way that's gonna be a bad career move.

 

[voyageur]

I don't think the AHL per se means anything to the players, at least Europeans. Maybe someone in NA cares. For anyone ending up there it's probably a mandatory step on the road to NHL. And the shorter that step, the better... staying in NA might have been the wiser career move for him - or not. We'll just never know. But I totally understand the decision, essentially he'll be playing in a real league with a real salary with something real to win, as opposed to playing farm league with a farm salary with some potato trophy to win - and if he plays well in the KHL, no way that's gonna be a bad career move.

Chevy seems to think the A is important from his interview. It's the best way to grow from a junior/college player to a pro. Of the guys we drafted only Scheif, Trouba, Ehlers and Laine didn't go that route. And I think it shows in the latter two's play, whereas Rantanen profitted from his year in the A.

The interesting thing will be to see how it affects Veselainen's development. He's no longer coached by our organization. If he comes into camp in a battle with Appleton for one spot, next year, and loses that battle, because Appleton has grown through the system, what happens?

 

[Lempo]

Chevy seems to think the A is important from his interview. It's the best way to grow from a junior/college player to a pro. Of the guys we drafted only Scheif, Trouba, Ehlers and Laine didn't go that route. And I think it shows in the latter two's play, whereas Rantanen profitted from his year in the A.

The interesting thing will be to see how it affects Veselainen's development. He's no longer coached by our organization. If he comes into camp in a battle with Appleton for one spot, next year, and loses that battle, because Appleton has grown through the system, what happens?

There is also the thing that NHL is a business venture and KHL is the closest thing to them as a legit competitor (in ice-hockey that is; obviously the other major American sports leagues are that too). AHL is more of an associate and even the IIHF-associated leagues in Europe have a contractual co-existence with NHL through the transfer agreements. With KHL they merely "respect" the contracts that each other have with a player. Chevy as a NHL GM can't be caught praising KHL, not that I wouldn't think it's legit what he says of AHL. The Jets will obviously continue to keep an eye on KVes and send video material and whatnot of things in his game he needs to concentrate on.

In AHL KVes is an NHL asset that on some level gets "sheltered" for his development and asset value and he's utilized with the NHL in mind. In KHL he maybe has to legitly earn all the ice time (it's Jokerit though). It may not be a bad thing in the end.

So technically and by the CBA he's now Loaned to Jokerit from and by the Jets. I gather the paperwork is done between Jets and Jokerit (and maybe between the federations too if Chevy's interview gave anything away), and Kves has not "signed" to Jokerit in any way.

I also seem to have been very wrong in my assessment of his ELC structure because I didn't expect this Loan to happen. His ELC Slides (unless he plays with Jets in the spring to surpass 10 NHL games) and his next year will be his first year under the ELC with only the regular salary but not any Performance Bonuses agreed on. Cap hit of $1.49M AAV obviously for the duration of the ELC. Having signed the ELC at 19 he's not eligible for another Slide, and he only has the European Assignment clause for this season. It's NHL or AHL in 2019-20. (It was AHL for Tolvanen even with his supreme previous KHL season and his $3.775M AAV.)