“Every season I go into, I try to play better than the season before... That's my goal, for sure... I try to get better every single year. It's a fresh start. Everything's kind of new, but I felt like it's a good thing. I just want to win games... That's the only thing that matters. I hoped I could bring some help offensively and defensively. But the main thing I was really looking forward to is winning games. I'm just trying to work hard every day on the ice and give my best... I can't do more than give everything I've got. I really hope it's going to take me to the next level...”
“Just getting to know the guys. If I had a bad game, I learned how to kind of forget about it quicker and not think about it. Usually I'm too hard on myself. If I make a mistake, I think about it too much. I learned in the past how to forget about it and move on tho...”
“I've been working in the past a lot more on my skating and speed. I think really working on my skating technique. It's been fun to try something different now. I think it's really going to help me. I was looking for something so I could take the next step as a hockey player. I thought it would be good to try something new. I thought that's going to help me more and more on the ice. The game is getting faster every year. So skating and speed have been the main focus. I trained in the past with a couple of guys in Pori who play pro in Finland. I've also been working in Helsinki with Teuvo Teravainen and Esa Lindell and a couple of young guys who've been drafted too. In Helsinki, they've some good skating coaches. That's where I go every other week to work... I'll spend about three days there at a time. I also get my off-ice workout programs there and train in Pori.”
“Before I came to North America, I used to score a lot of goals... I was kind of shooting all the time. That's what I want to get back to... I want to start shooting more and being quicker on the ice, quicker in my decisions. I think that's going to make me a better player. I'm going to work as hard as I can every day to remember to shoot more. That's been my message to myself...”
“I was really excited and happy to get a fresh start. I was just excited to meet my new teammates. Since Day 1, I've been really comfortable with all of the guys... I've had a lot of fun every single day I come to the rink and I enjoy being here... It's a great city. The fans are great. The place I live is great. There are great restaurants. I like everything about it...”
“Sometimes, I think that I might be talking too much Finnish to these guys. I wonder, should I just go talk to someone else? It've been good to have four Finns here. The other guys have never come to me and told me that I talk too much Finnish or anything. I think I get along with everyone. We worked together. You can saw from our games, we really tried to help each other out there. The way we played, we're skating a lot and working and battling hard. It's similar with every guy here. Every guy wanted to put in the work and helping the team win games.”
