Hello Europe - Jarmo Ruutu

[jRuutu 2,314]

 

 

I will be playing in Vasteras. This will be an interesting season as last year in Ottawa and in VHLM, I was able to improve steadily, I am hoping the same continues in Vasteras. And, of course, I would not mind having the opportunity to fight for the championship in the playoffs, which was a great experience in VHLM as every game was sold out, and all the players fought hard in every single shift. The difference was almost like night and day in comparison to regular season hockey where some games were almost like filler games. For that reason, I am looking forward to experiencing the playoff atmosphere in VHLE as well. I have heard a lot of great things about the fan culture in Europe and I think the arenas are bigger than in VHLM, so it should translate to amazing games.

 

What comes to regular season and hockey in general in VHLE, I know there will be a lot more traveling. We get to visit cities that I have never been in, such as Cologne and Rome. I am also interested to see how different the style of hockey will be between different teams. In VHLM the differences were not that massive in terms of tactics and philosophy towards the game of hockey, but is the same true in VHLE of today? The emphasis on defense in VHLM is non-stop, we worked on defense in practice every single day, we watched tape every single day. Based on the videos I have seen on Youtube, VHLE could have slightly more emphasis on offense, which is a great thing as I am here to learn and develop as a player. I want to add more tools to my toolbox, what better way than to be forced to tackle different problems and challenges?

 

Vasteras, as a team, looks really solid. We got quite a few top-level S90 prospects here fighting for the same spots as me. Competition for ice time will be fierce, but that just shows the level of potential we have in the roster. I was not on the team last year, but some of the guys were here last year, and they really want to have a stronger regular season as the team finished second last in the standings. If and when everybody manages to stay healthy, and we develop at a steady pace, I don't see any reasons why we could not have a strong run in the playoffs.

 

I don't have any personal goals in terms of points and goals, I just want to play as much as possible and learn as much as possible, so I will one day have what it takes to play in VHL.
 

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