There have been plenty of twists and turns in the five years he's been a member of the Devils organization, some geographic, others wider life experiences. Talvitie first showed promise of one day becoming an NHL player when he won the Teemu Selanne Award as Finland's top U20 player while a member of his hometown Espoo Blues junior team the season immediately after the Devils selected him.
The next season he led his country to World Junior gold, serving as captain for a team that beat Jack Hughes and the U.S. in the championship game in Vancouver. Talvitie was one of Finland's best players - four goals and three assists in seven games - in that tournament but injured his knee in the gold medal final. In fact, his hoisting of the championship trophy was the last bit of hockey he saw that year as the knee injury ended his season.
"It took awhile to (get going) again," he remembers.
Sadly, not long after Talvitie returned to full strength with Penn State in 2019-2020, his mother, Tuija, passed away after a long battle with cancer. A few months later, COVID hit and cancelled the rest of the NCAA season. He signed with the Devils at the end of last year's college season, playing on an AHL contract until his two-year NHL deal kicked last fall.
Talvitie's contributions, a goal and two assists in 18 games, for Binghamton last year were modest, but he earned praise from former head coach Mark Dennehy for his play on the defensive side of the puck. His offensive contributions this season have increased with eight goals and eight assists so far. Last year, he spent significant time with Nate Schnarr and Fabian Zetterlund but he's played with virtually every other Comets forward this season.
"Yeah, I think it has been pretty much everyone," he said, when asked to compare.
To be frank, until a sense of normality returned when the Devils affiliate moved to Utica this year, it was tough to get a read where the Finn fit into the overall depth of the organization's prospect structure. But he had his moments in Devils training camp in the fall and has shown flashes of impressive skill to go along with his always-solid defensive play and energy. One goal in particular - against fellow Finn Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen of the Rochester Americans - had NHL touch written all over it.
It's been quite a ride, from sheer excitement of winning a World Junior gold, to the tragic loss of his Mom, and now adjusting to the rigors of professional hockey. Talvitie had dealt with all that has been thrown his way.
"Of course, you always work hard," he said, "but you must adjust, mentally and physically, and be smart about it."
Speaking purely in hockey development terms, there are other Devils prospects in Utica in a similar situation as Talvitie. Through bad timing or bad luck, a few Comets had long-term injuries during the 2019-2020 or 2020-21 seasons while playing junior and/or college. When the time lost to injury and pandemic cancellations/modifications are added up, this group of players have lost at least a season's worth of games since about the time the Devils drafted or acquired them.
Everyone is in the same boat and there's nothing that can be done about the wider situation to date. But taking advantage of the relatively normal situation now is especially important as the Comets and the rest of the AHL gear up for a frantic run of games and then the playoffs.
"Things are going to be hectic here the last couple months," he said. "But that's what also makes it fun to play too…it's all good."
