Penguins A to Z: Valtteri Puustinen finally takes his shot
With the Penguins in the midst of their offseason, the Tribune-Review is looking at all 48 players currently under NHL contracts to the organization in alphabetical order, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to top-six winger Jason Zucker.
Valtteri Puustinen
Position: Right winger
Shoots: Right
Age: 22
Height: 5-foot-9
Weight: 183 pounds
2020-21 Liiga statistics: 51 games, 41 points (21 goals, 20 assists)
Contract: Entering the first year of a two-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $842,500. Pending restricted free agent in 2023.
(Note: According to Cap Friendly, Puustinen is still exempt from waivers in the event he is sent to the American Hockey League.)
Acquired: Seventh-round draft pick (No. 203 overall), June 22, 2019
2020-21 season: The Penguins have a history of finding some value in the late rounds of the draft.
Forwards Maxime Talbot (eighth round — 2002) and Scott Wilson (seventh round — 2011) as well as defensemen Paul Stanton (eighth round — 1985) and Jim Paek (ninth round — 1985) each contributed to Stanley Cup championships for the franchise.
Others such as forwards Dave Hannan (10th round — 1981), Tom Kostopoulos (seventh round — 1999) and defenseman Andrew Ference (eighth round — 1997) all enjoyed NHL careers that lasted more than a decade.
Puustinen could wind up being the Penguins’ best late-round pick ever. At the very least, he has the talent to claim that designation.
Dubbed “the Finnish Phil Kessel,” Puustinen was a dominant offensive force in the Liiga, the top-tier league in his home country this past season.
Despite missing three weeks in October for covid-19 related concerns, Puustinen finished as the Liiga’s eighth-leading goal-scorer while playing for a non-playoff team in HPK. The high point of his season came during a 3-0 home win against Tappara when he accounted for all of his team’s offense with two goals and an assist.
One of that leagues’ most prolific shooters with 222 shots, Puustinen did much of his damage via the power play with eight goals on the man advantage.
After the Penguins signed Puustinen to his entry-level contract on May 6 (before his signing rights expired), he was selected for Finland’s roster in the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) World Championship Tournament but only appeared in two games and failed to score.
The future: Before Puustinen is anointed a top-six winger who can ride shotgun with the Penguins’ bevy of franchise centers, please keep in mind he has never played a minute of North American hockey. He’ll need to adjust to a different game, a different ice surface and a different culture next season, presumably in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.
While undersized, Puustinen is a stronger skater who is intelligent enough to locate soft scoring areas in the offensive zone and can flat-out shoot. He’s not the Penguins’ most talented prospect, but he’s definitely their most intriguing given how much his game has developed in the two seasons since he was selected late in the 2019 draft.
Starting next season, he’ll finally take his shot at reaching the NHL.
(Note: As a pending first-year professional — in North America — Puustinen is ineligible to be selected in next week’s expansion draft.)
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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