“He’s our most improved player,” John Tortorella said of Rasmus Ristolainen last season before his injury
That was then, and this is now. Ristolainen has played very well for the orange and black this season. He has refined his game, as he doesn’t look to crush his opponents in the boards on every play. Ristolainen has gotten rid of that first hit mentality, rather he suffocates his opponents with excellent gap.control and by taking the body.
“I wish I had him when I was 18 coming in the league,” Ristolainen said of John Tortorella at training camp. “I feel like I’ve taken big steps under him.” Tortorella is the first coach of eight to untap his potential, and really show he is a serviceable three or four Defensemen in the NHL. Everyone has wondered what a playoff Ristolainen would look like, and it would be great if that happens at some point.
“I wish I had him when I was 18 coming in the league. I feel like I’ve taken big steps under him.” –Rasmus Ristolainen says of John Tortorella
Unfortunately, Ristolainen will have to miss the four Nations Faceoff Tournament due to an upper body injury. He’s obviously devastated by this, as he wanted to represent his country of Finland. In the same token, he just wants to get healthy, to which it was a tough call to cancel his plans for the upcoming tournament.
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