Penguins prospect Valtteri Puustinen has been a success in any language

As a bottom-six winger, Penguins rookie forward Kasper Bjorkqvist’s job isn’t all that complicated.

Do some forechecking, throw some hits, block shots and contribute a few goals.

Whether it be with the Pittsburgh or Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Bjorkqvist has performed those tasks in a satisfactory fashion throughout the 2021-22 campaign.

He has inherited one additional duty this season, however.

Unofficially, Bjorkqvist has become Valtteri Puustinen’s spokesperson.

As a native of Finland, Puustinen, a forward prospect, is still working on his command of English and as a result, he isn’t entirely comfortable conducting interviews with media in this country.

That has led to Bjorkqvist, a fellow Finn, to become his part-time translator and, to a certain degree, hype man.

“He’s working hard on his English,” Bjorkqvist recently said in a video conference. “In terms of his game, the points speak for himself, he’s a very offensively skilled guy. In my mind, he’s playing a pretty good 200-foot game too as well. Learning that North American style of hockey in terms of the 200-foot game.

“For me personally, it’s awesome to have him. He’s probably one of the funniest teammates I’ve ever been with. Once his English gets a little bit better, the (North) American guys … are going to learn that as well, that he’s hilarious.”

Before addressing Puustinen’s convivial manner, let’s examine his on-ice attributes.

As seventh-round pick (No. 203 overall) in the 2019 draft, Puustinen carried minimal expectations given his low draft status. But after showing plenty of intrigue playing in the Liiga, Finland’s top league, the past two seasons, Puustinen joined the Penguins by signing a two-year entry-level contract last May.

In his first season in North America, he has emerged as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s leading scorer with 33 points (16 goals, 17 assists) in 49 games.

His most recent goal was vital in a 4-3 overtime home win against the Syracuse Crunch on Sunday. From the left circle of the offensive zone, Puustinen sniped a far-side wrister on a power-play opportunity to tie the game, 3-3, at 18:48 of the third period.

Beyond his obvious offensive talents, the 22-year-old Puustinen (5-foot-9, 183 pounds) has taken strides to become a more committed professional.

“A lot of the stuff that he’s been doing has been off the ice, just developing himself as an overall athlete,” Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins coach J.D. Forrest said. “Increasing his conditioning level, his speed, his strength and his overall fitness. (Strength and conditioning coach) Mike Joyce has done a lot of work with him and (Puustinen) has put in a lot of hard work and a lot of time to kind of dedicating himself to that area, just kind of learning how to be a pro. We have a lot of resources for him within the organization. He’s used them and has been real committed to that part of it. That has led to increased speed on the ice. His overall endurance is just better. He can play more minutes at a higher pace because of that.”

Another challenge has been adapting to the different details in the North American style of play.

“One of the adjustments that a lot of guys have to make coming from overseas — Finland, Sweden, those pro leagues — is that they play such a controlled game,” Forrest said. “There’s a lot of set forechecks, a lot of set breakouts. We’re looking to push the pace to get pressure fast. He can really close on guys faster than they’re anticipating. That’s one area among many that he’s really improved in. It’s helped kind of everything for him.”

Perhaps the biggest component to that adjustment is the difference in rink dimensions. North American rinks are typically 85 feet wide while most rinks in Finland are between 92 and 94 feet wide.

(The standard width for International Ice Hockey Federation competitions is 100 feet.)

“Things happen a little bit quicker (in North America),” Forrest said. “So you’ve got to process that and you’ve got to understand where you’re going to have a little bit time and space and where you’re going to have a confrontation before you can blink. He’s a smart player though and he sees things happening and developing before they’re right in front of his face. He’s been able to adjust to that. And his wall play has improved.

“He’s not on the bigger side of things but he knows how to get inside and use his smarts and use his body and a strong stick to win those battles. And also for him, as a shooter, I think it’s knowing that you’re in a dangerous area kind of quicker than you are over there. That’s a little bit of an adjustment too. As much as he does shoot, we’d like him shooting even more. He understands that he’s dangerous from different areas of the ice here. And sooner. His adjustment has been fun to watch.”

Puustinen, who enjoyed a brief recall with the NHL club in February, has also undergone adjustments away from the rink at a slower, but satisfactory, pace.

“(His English is) definitely better now when he first arrived over here,” Forrest said. “It is such a different language. I played over there for almost five years and you’re able to pick things up at the rink, especially ‘hockey talk.’ I know a little bit of Finnish that I remember from being over there. So I try to help him out. Then we have quite a few Finns on the team and they’re really helpful. If there’s something that we think might be getting lost in translation or that we just want to emphasize it, then I’ll grab one of the guys and go over it with him again. A lot of times, those guys make him say it back in English. Or they kind of force him to do those things. It’s a team effort.

“The guys really like just his demeanor even though half the locker room isn’t sure what he’s saying.”

Bjorkqvist, currently on the NHL roster after a recall last week, is part of the contingent that does understand Puustinen’s missives.

“He’s from Kuopio in Finland,” the 24-year-old Bjorkqvist said. “It’s kind of known for an area of people being pretty loose about their life. Enjoying life, always being positive. He has just an amazing way of looking at life and always sort of bringing that joy and excitement to the game of hockey with him. … He’ll say stuff that I say it, it’s not funny. But when he says it, it’s hilarious. He’s that kind of guy.”

By the sounds of things, he’s getting closer to saying it more often in a different language.

“Anyone who comes to a new country for the first time, they need help, whether they are fluent in the language or not,” said Bjorkqvist, himself a product of Providence College. “In the beginning, a lot of the stuff was just helping him get his sim card (for his cellular phone) and stuff like that.

“He’s becoming more comfortable speaking English. You learn it and then it’s about becoming comfortable speaking. Obviously, you’ve got to help him out like anyone. But the way he is as a person, it’s super easy because he doesn’t feel embarrassed about himself or anything like that.”

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