Prospect Info: Arttu Ruotsalainen

[member 311261]

I'd love to know where you pulled that projection from.

He has far less ppg in the Finnish league than Matt Moulson has in the AHL. The Finnish league is by all accounts inferior to the AHL. 22+ year old players in the A with similar ppg as R2 almost never make it in the bigs.

Guys like Oloffson and Pilut were at the top of the far superior Swedish League when coming over here. Both look promising, but neither one are turning the NHL on its head.

If he was still a developing youngster, then there would still be a lot of upside. He's 1997 born and small.

If the ultimate hope is for him to be a meaningful contributor in Rochester, then fine... He can probably do that. If the dream is he's going to be a key piece to turn around the team with the longest playoff drought on the league, think again.

 

[Dingo44]

R2

 

[TehDoak]

I'd be more impressed if this was some sort of long con.

#1. Sign Ruotsalainen
#2. Get a team to agree to a trade for Ristolainen
#3. Get a person at the NHL office who regularly butchers names to do the trade call.
#4. Switch Ristolainen to Ruotsalainen on the official trade paperwork

 

[old kummelweck]

He has far less ppg in the Finnish league than Matt Moulson has in the AHL. The Finnish league is by all accounts inferior to the AHL. 22+ year old players in the A with similar ppg as R2 almost never make it in the bigs.

Guys like Oloffson and Pilut were at the top of the far superior Swedish League when coming over here. Both look promising, but neither one are turning the NHL on its head.

If he was still a developing youngster, then there would still be a lot of upside. He's 1997 born and small.

If the ultimate hope is for him to be a meaningful contributor in Rochester, then fine... He can probably do that. If the dream is he's going to be a key piece to turn around the team with the longest playoff drought on the league, think again.

Free asset. When you trade away your picks, you need to fill the development pipeline somehow. At least 3 forwards will move up to the big club next season, so they need to continue to bring in talent and develop depth. That's hard to do when you have holes to fill from bad drafting.

 

[Goathead]

It’s great to hear that we are in on guys like this. Even if it’s only to support Roch. They will probably be loosing a lot of talent soon.

 

[Chainshot]

He has far less ppg in the Finnish league than Matt Moulson has in the AHL. The Finnish league is by all accounts inferior to the AHL. 22+ year old players in the A with similar ppg as R2 almost never make it in the bigs.

Guys like Oloffson and Pilut were at the top of the far superior Swedish League when coming over here. Both look promising, but neither one are turning the NHL on its head.

If he was still a developing youngster, then there would still be a lot of upside. He's 1997 born and small.

If the ultimate hope is for him to be a meaningful contributor in Rochester, then fine... He can probably do that. If the dream is he's going to be a key piece to turn around the team with the longest playoff drought on the league, think again.

Not that Ruotsolainen will be a productive NHL, but to compare him to players who had success at the SHL level who were a few years older is odd. And as to your last point, no one is saying anything of the sort. It's simply good to turn up UDFA talent for the pipeline. If one day he works his way up to being some variety of NHL player, awesome. In the meantime, finding players for the farm is important.

He might be a good roommate for UPL for next year - nothing wrong with working a couple of players into the Amerks who can support one another. And it's not like the pro scouting folks haven't found useful players for the Amerks who are smaller, gritty skill guys -- Criscuolo, Blackwell -- who fill roles and are productive.

 

[SundherDome]

He has far less ppg in the Finnish league than Matt Moulson has in the AHL. The Finnish league is by all accounts inferior to the AHL. 22+ year old players in the A with similar ppg as R2 almost never make it in the bigs.

Guys like Oloffson and Pilut were at the top of the far superior Swedish League when coming over here. Both look promising, but neither one are turning the NHL on its head.

If he was still a developing youngster, then there would still be a lot of upside. He's 1997 born and small.

If the ultimate hope is for him to be a meaningful contributor in Rochester, then fine... He can probably do that. If the dream is he's going to be a key piece to turn around the team with the longest playoff drought on the league, think again.

He is f***ing 21 years old. Seriously. If he put those numbers up in say.. College, where 21 year olds play, he would be one of the most sought after guys.

Also, HE IS f***ING 21....

 

[dotcommunism]

When Donskoi was Ruotsalainen's age he had 37 points in 60 games in the Finnish league. That seems far more relevant as a comparable than a 35 year old playing in the AHL.

 

[Chainshot]

He is ****ing 21 years old. Seriously. If he put those numbers up in say.. College, where 21 year olds play, he would be one of the most sought after guys.

Also, HE IS ****ING 21....

I'm thinking the same thing. Pilut's 21-year old season he had 12 points, Olofsson... 27 points and only 9 goals. There is certainly room to grow.

 

[Husko]

He has far less ppg in the Finnish league than Matt Moulson has in the AHL. The Finnish league is by all accounts inferior to the AHL. 22+ year old players in the A with similar ppg as R2 almost never make it in the bigs.

Guys like Oloffson and Pilut were at the top of the far superior Swedish League when coming over here. Both look promising, but neither one are turning the NHL on its head.

If he was still a developing youngster, then there would still be a lot of upside. He's 1997 born and small.

If the ultimate hope is for him to be a meaningful contributor in Rochester, then fine... He can probably do that. If the dream is he's going to be a key piece to turn around the team with the longest playoff drought on the league, think again.

And in this one bolded sentence we arrive at the foundation of your misunderstanding.

 

[SnuggaRUDE]

And in this one bolded sentence we arrive at the foundation of your misunderstanding.

The poster your quoted has some suspect thinking, but the NHLe of the AHL is typically higher (~10%). SHL is a solid 20% higher than AHL's.

There are some translations that attempt to correct for sampling bias, and those tell a different story. Conclusion: comparing leagues is hard.

 

[Digable5]

He has far less ppg in the Finnish league than Matt Moulson has in the AHL. The Finnish league is by all accounts inferior to the AHL. 22+ year old players in the A with similar ppg as R2 almost never make it in the bigs.

Guys like Oloffson and Pilut were at the top of the far superior Swedish League when coming over here. Both look promising, but neither one are turning the NHL on its head.

If he was still a developing youngster, then there would still be a lot of upside. He's 1997 born and small.

If the ultimate hope is for him to be a meaningful contributor in Rochester, then fine... He can probably do that. If the dream is he's going to be a key piece to turn around the team with the longest playoff drought on the league, think again.

IMO, there is a sizable gap between Rochester and "key piece" in the NHL. I have no expectations of him even playing a top 6 role, but if he is a legit 3rd or 4th liner/depth scorer, its a great signing. If he only plays a role in Rochester, what have we lost? A contract slot? If you can tell me a better player that Buffalo decided not to sign instead, I'm willing to compare and debate those players.

 

[member 311261]

IMO, there is a sizable gap between Rochester and "key piece" in the NHL. I have no expectations of him even playing a top 6 role, but if he is a legit 3rd or 4th liner/depth scorer, its a great signing. If he only plays a role in Rochester, what have we lost? A contract slot? If you can tell me a better player that Buffalo decided not to sign instead, I'm willing to compare and debate those players.

All I'm saying is check your expectations. His trajectory is no better than to be a contributor in Rochester and nothing more. If he fills the gap for Goalof or nylons be happy. There's nothing about him that says he can help the Sabres.

 

[member 311261]

I'm thinking the same thing. Pilut's 21-year old season he had 12 points, Olofsson... 27 points and only 9 goals. There is certainly room to grow.

Pilut and Oloffson were the exception not the norm. We need more true diamond's in the rough like them.

 

[Paxon]

All I'm saying is check your expectations. His trajectory is no better than to be a contributor in Rochester and nothing more. If he fills the gap for Goalof or nylons be happy. There's nothing about him that says he can help the Sabres.

Have you... watched him play hockey?

 

[member 311261]

Have you... watched him play hockey?

That was Tim Murray's reason for trading Pysyk for Kulikov. He saw him play and wanted him. How'd that work out?

 

[Paxon]

That was Tim Murray's reason for trading Pysyk for Kulikov. He saw him play and wanted him. How'd that work out?

So I take that as a 'no'. Maybe you should temper your own expectations rather than telling other people to when your expectations aren't based on having seen the player play. As to the nonsense you just said I'll just nod and say 'ok'.

 

[TheMistyStranger]

That was Tim Murray's reason for trading Pysyk for Kulikov. He saw him play and wanted him. How'd that work out?

So wait, GMs shouldn’t watch players? What about scouts? If you say no, then my dream of signing as an UDFA is still alive!

 

[Sabreality]

its a free asset, whats the problem?

 

[DolanPlsGoSabres]

That was Tim Murray's reason for trading Pysyk for Kulikov. He saw him play and wanted him. How'd that work out?

The KBC guy in charge of the bench door goofed. Not Tim Murray's fault.

 

[Digable5]

its a free asset, whats the problem?

Apparently, some people feel that if he’s not Teemu Selanne, what’s the point?

I don’t know why people have to come in this thread and rain on the parade that hasn’t even been thought of let alone planned. I don’t remember reading anyone boasting about him like he was the savior.

We’re just excited to have a new member of the organization that is young and had some success in a pro league.

 

[SundherDome]

That was Tim Murray's reason for trading Pysyk for Kulikov. He saw him play and wanted him. How'd that work out?

Guess that's an exception and not the norm....

 

[old kummelweck]

hey - maybe we get a look at him if he plays in the world championships?

 

[member 311261]

To add to my point, wouldn't there be a certain expectation for the player to eventually be on the NHL roster before coming over? Wouldn't he just as soon stay in Finland otherwise.

You guys can go ahead and like him. I'll pass.

 

[member 311261]

Guess that's an exception and not the norm....

The point is the metrics showed Pysyk was the better player. Murray apparently knew better.