In the most recent Ika änäri episode, we talked about Florida’s giant surprise and Seattle’s top season, among other things. You can find all episodes of Ika änäri on Areena at this link.
In Vegas Erik Haula, 32, first showed the general public his ability to adapt quickly. In the summer of 2017, Minnesota had decided to give up excellent two-way hockey by Jason Pominville and By Nino Niederreiter from a Pori player who played next to him in his breakthrough season.
From Ässäkasvati, who had already left Finland at a young age to develop in the well-known Shattuck St. Marys hockey program in the United States. In addition to Haula, the school’s alumni includes, among other things Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews and Zach Parise.
Haula, who ended up in university in Minnesota through the USHL league, fell in love and settled in Minneapolis, but the club did not see a joint future with the player.
The Wild actually promised Vegas that if it chose Haula specifically in the expansion draft, it would still get a young power forward as a deal maker Alex Tuchin.
The store did not age well.
Haula broke through in the casino city by scoring in his first season by David Perron and by James Neal no fewer than 29 hits in between, while the team marched sensationally to the Stanley Cup finals. Tuch grew into a power forward of the star category in Vegas.
A knee injury changed the direction
At the beginning of the second Vegas season, the direction of Haula’s career changed. The center forward broke his knee in the match against Toronto and had to be operated on. The season went down the drain and in the summer the trade came to Carolina, where after a good fall the knee started to eat playing again.
At this point in his career, Haula became a journeyman.
Carolina, Florida, Nashville, Boston and last summer a trade to New Jersey.
However, it is important to pay attention to the fact that Haula is not profiled as any kind of outcast player, rather as an excellent overall two-way attacker who fulfills his role when needed both on the wing and in the middle lane.
For example, if you look at Haula’s five-on-five playing, he has won his games in the NHL in nine out of eleven seasons in terms of goals. The goalscoring ratios of the first sector of the four previous seasons are recorded as: 61% – 51% – 48% – 62%.
Porilainen’s start percentage from the previous nine years is 53.1 and ranks 51st in the entire NHL, when the limit is set at 400 starts. Sidney Crosby and Alexander Barkov. Finns can only be found in front Mikko Koivu.
– We’re talking about a guy who pulls one change at a time so that everything is left on ice. He can never be caught out of the game, whether it’s playing with or without the puck. Haula is a tenacious and durable player who does not hesitate to face everything and accept a challenge from anyone. And if you’re in a hurry, he always comes there hard, ‘s ice hockey expert Ismo Lehkonen anneal.
It’s all about reliability.
Something about Haula also says that he has missed the playoffs only once in his NHL career, after being traded to Florida in the spring of 2019. The work, both individually and as a team, has often been done with quality, at least for the regular season.
Finland’s oldest
From New Jersey, Haula has found a new home for herself and a new boost for her career. The center forward has perfectly suited the Devils’ young team and its active way of playing. Haula, who stealthily grew into Finland’s oldest NHL player, is also at the point in his career where this is the most experienced section of the young team.
Adaptation to the leading role seems to have gone smoothly.
For example, Haula has done well in the playoffs, being the team’s most efficient player even before Sunday’s third Carolina game, but at the same time, when necessary, he also showed his emotions and will.
– Haula has jumped here and there in her career and I believe that she now wants to make New Jersey her home. I think he thought that if he can’t help this team now, where will we go next, Lehkonen estimates.
Haula has really helped.
In the first two games of the second round of the playoffs, Carolina physically subdued New Jersey at will without any resistance. It was Juuri Haula who showed his part on Sunday in this respect as well. The Devils narrowed the series with an 8–4 crushing victory.
– They were shamefully soft in the first two games. It was a shame to watch Carolina walk over them. The Devils were timid and fearful and I think that went to the head coach For Lindy Ruff emotions, Lehkonen begins.
– Sunday’s victory was a big screen spot for them, that either this team will squat on it or they will come through the end boards. From Haula, these big Tackles and fights were great performances. He wanted to show that we are definitely not squatting yet, Lehkonen praises.
There is enough work
The Devils and Haula still have plenty of work to do. It handled the forced win situation well on Sunday, but it will face the same situation early Wednesday. Drifting into a 1-3 deficit against Carolina’s level combination would be fatal.
If we are talking about Haula, this also still has work to do. In the Carolina series, the points balance has not been opened and the power statistic stands at -5. While Haula was on the ice, New Jersey did create a lot of scoring opportunities in the first sector (60 percent distribution), but the goals are recorded 3–9.
– After watching his game, that reading is a bit of a shame even for myself. The readings are worse than they seemed, Lehkonen is amazed.
According to Lehkonen, it will be a character test in the future.
– It has interesting centres: Pori (Haula) against Oulu (Sebastian Aho). This is a test of character for Haula and the Devils, how will Carolina handle it. Haula herself knows that now is a unique opportunity. Now you have to be able to help. If the command is to give effort exchange, you have to be able to give it. If a result is required, it must be done, Lehkonen insists.
Haula responds to this challenge as well as to all in his career: adapting to different situations has always been natural for the center forward. The ability to react quickly and learn in the midst of difficulties has also been shown this spring by the Devils as a collective.
The traveler has hope.