When Valtteri Puustinen is back home in Finland, there’s one thing he misses most about being in North America.
“Games!” he said without hesitation. “Because I like to play in the games so much.”
The young forward appeared in 52 with Pittsburgh last season, recording five total goals, including his first NHL tally on Dec. 27. He brought plenty of energy and enthusiasm to a veteran group, with that excitement manifesting each time Puustinen found the back of the net.
“My first score in the NHL… the feeling is so crazy,” Puustinen said with a laugh. “The guys (here) are asking me now in the summer, what are you feeling if you’re going to score. I say, I don't say nothing, because I don't know [laughs]. I say, that's crazy!”
The Penguins are looking for Puustinen to progress even further next season, with Head Coach Mike Sullivan saying they’re excited about the opportunity with the 25-year-old, who impressed with his offensive instincts and shot, particularly his one-timer.
For Puustinen’s part, he said he’s coming back to Pittsburgh early next month and wants “to stay ready when we start training camp. I want to play all games, and a little bit more on the power play. I want to play a little bit better in all games.”
While Puustinen is by no means satisfied with where he’s at, it’s amazing to think of how far he’s come as a 2019 seventh-round draft pick who initially thought he might have to stay home and play in the Finnish Liiga. That meant Valtteri ignored his father Jani’s advice about how it might be good to learn more English if he wanted to make a career out of playing hockey.
“I say, oh no, no, no, no. I don't need that. I don't need that,” Valtteri said. “After that, when Pittsburgh drafted me, I say, oh, s*, I need to learn English! [Laughs]. It’s so funny, because the last few years, my dad says, hey, what did I say? You need that little bit of English sometimes, maybe. I say yeah, no, I know that.”
Now, Valtteri’s approach to the language is similar to how he approaches his job. “I try to get a little bit better all the time,” he said. “I think the last year was really cool with the English, because we talked all the time after practice, and this is the easy talk with the guys in the locker room. This is not bad. It's fun, and it’s not scary talk.”
Valtteri joked that isn’t always the case for his phone conversations with Jani after games. “If I don’t play too good, maybe sometimes I don't pick up,” he said before imitating a busy signal. Valtteri estimated that Jani watches about “99 percent” of his games, as does the rest of his family, both immediate and extended.
“We start the games there at seven o’ clock; here it is 2 AM,” Valtteri said. “After a game, if I can score or something, so many people text me, congratulations. I say, thank you, but go to sleep! But yeah, I am so happy because my family is watching and supporting me.”
While Valtteri is itching to start playing again, he said his family has been enjoying the break, especially since his parents still work.
“My family is happy now because we do not play. This is four months my family will take it easy, just, ahhh,” Valtteri said with a grin. “Season starts next month. Long, long season.”
Though Valtteri, the oldest of three (he has a brother and a sister) grew up in Kuopio, he now spends his offseasons in Hämeenlinna, which is where HPK of Liiga is based. Puustinen played for the organization’s junior team before three seasons with the senior team, helping them win the Liiga Championship in 2019.
Puustinen and his girlfriend recently moved into new apartments there, and have been doing some work on the place this summer. While Valtteri said she’s in charge, he does have one room set aside as an “all-hockey room” for all his jerseys and medals. He doesn’t yet have an autographed Sidney Crosby jersey for it, but said, “maybe I will ask now when I’m coming back, because I need that!”
Valtteri said of course, he loved watching the Penguins captain growing up. He also liked Alex Ovechkin for his goal-scoring ability, and Finnish legends like Teemu Selanne. These days, he likes watching current Finnish NHL stars like Carolina’s Sebastian Aho, Dallas’ Roope Hintz, and Florida’s Aleksander Barkov.
When Valtteri is in the States, there’s certain aspects of home that he misses. Namely, the Finnish sauna, a key part of his country’s culture – “we go into the sauna maybe four or five times per week, we love being in the sauna so much” – and Finnish candy.
“Candy here is so good. But thank God my family and a couple of friends are coming to watch (a) game, maybe they will bring a little bit for me,” he grinned.
Valtteri’s other favorite food is burgers, which he and his girlfriend like to cook. “I’m a simple guy. I have onion, lettuce, cheese. Sometimes, maybe bacon or eggs,” he said.
They’ll take turns being the chef, even though Valtteri does have a year of cooking school on his resume. In Finland, students can choose between traditional or vocational secondary schools. So when Valtteri was 16, he decided to try working in a kitchen.
“I did one year, in Kuopio. After that year, I moved into Hämeenlinna, and I say, okay, now I stop at cooking school,” Valtteri laughed. “I say, okay, maybe this is not my job.”
Instead, he took a path that led him here to Pittsburgh, and the Penguins are looking forward to seeing how Valtteri continues to grow and develop.
