Aatu Räty, 20, was the steak of the big player trade seen in the NHL on Tuesday from the perspective of the Vancouver Canucks. Star center By Bo Horvat The club management of Vancouver, who traded to the New York Islanders, had previously stated that they were after young, practically NHL-ready players, and built a player trade with the Islanders on this basis.
A 25-year-old winger went to Vancouver with Rädy Anthony Beauvillier as well as the first round of bookings for summer 2023 or 2024.
Like Horvat, Räty is also profiled – and, according to the club’s belief, will develop – as a high-quality two-way central attacker who is also capable of producing results.
Reached by Urheilu from his home in New York, Räty was excited about the new opportunity.
– It’s a great thing and a great honor that the club sees me like this. I’m really taken by it. Of course, I want to play well and live up to expectations, but you can’t think too much about such things either. In the end, there’s really nothing else you can do but wake up every day and go to work in the hall with a good mood. That’s how development comes, says Räty.
Especially for the first time, the player trade is a big shock and even a disappointment for the player, but Rädy’s voice is full of enthusiasm for the new opportunity and, on the other hand, gratitude towards the previous club.
Of course, Räty won’t change clubs in the middle of the season for the first time. A little over a year ago, the kärpägvatti moved from Kärpi to Jukurei in the middle of the season, where he made a spectacular breakthrough into the SM league elite.
– I am in a positive mood. I thank the Islanders for the NHL reservation and how they have developed me. I was able to make my NHL debut here this season and more. This is a business and the club may change at any time, I’m looking forward to going there, Räty continues.
– I’ve been in this situation once before and then I just focused on hockey and everything went well. I know what it’s like to go to a new team in the middle of the season, how to find good friends and become part of the team. It went well in Mikkeli and it certainly does now.
In Vancouver, Räty joins a completely different team than on the island. While the Islanders are still making every effort to succeed, Vancouver is in the midst of a clearance sale. All players are known to be in the deal if necessary Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson except for.
Vancouver’s rebuilding project has yet to break ground.
For Rädy, this probably means a much bigger role than in the Isles jersey. In the Islanders, the Finnish center played small minutes in the middle of the four chain, mostly with the roughs.
– There is a very different structure in these teams and of course you hope that it also means a bigger role for yourself at some point. Of course, game shows have to look like they can be put in one. I believe that I have good opportunities to develop there and, if the pieces fall into place, to get a good role.
Farm to go
However, Rädy’s NHL sky doesn’t start yet – at least not when it comes to playing. Swedish GM of the Canucks by Patrick Allvin Räty first goes to AHL team Abbotsford. Abbotsford is located about an hour away from Vancouver. However, before signing up for the iron league, Räty stops by California, where he meets his new team.
– Here we are packing in the old home and I will fly from here to California for the weekend, where I will meet the Canucks team and then fly to Vancouver from there.
– It’s great to get to Abbotsford to play. I saw there that there are really good young players as well, Nils Höglander, Vasili Podkolzin and so on. I would love to go there to play with them, Räty states.
And of course Räty is not going to Vancouver for the first time. One of the two NHL goals was scored in an Islanders shirt just as a guest of Vancouver.
– When you keep that goal per game in Vancouver, it will definitely go well, Räty laughs.
It is difficult to predict what kind of player Räty will develop into for Vancouver, but the starting points are good. The striker from Oulu excelled in the Islanders’ farm team and was also able to fill his box at the NHL level – and most importantly: Rädy’s every talk comes through at the same time with strong determination and composure.
Räty, who drips with mature and thoughtful speech, knows where he’s going, but he doesn’t care, and farm gigs are not a disappointment for him, but an opportunity.
– There are so many things that you cannot influence yourself. Those things, like where I play and with whom, others get intrigued. I bring my own work ethic to the table. I start each day with the attitude that this is a good day to improve. Considering that, the conditions in Vancouver are top class, Räty concludes.