Ville Husso Feels “110%,” Looking to Bounce Back from Injury-Filled Season
After lower body injuries derailed Ville Husso last season, he enters this year with a drive to earn a prominent role in the Red Wings’ goalie room
For the first time in a long time, Ville Husso is healthy.
After facing two lower body injuries that limited him to one appearance after Christmas last season, Husso enters the new season ready to prove he can still be a starting goaltender for the Detroit Red Wings.
“I feel really good. It's been a good start for the camp, good speed on the ice,” Husso said Saturday, “Personally, I feel really good — 110% for sure.”
Husso might be healthy, but his path to playing in games includes more hurdles than just his health. Namely, Detroit has two other starting caliber goaltenders competing for the same starts that he is — Alex Lyon, the Red Wings’ eventual starter last season, and free agent pickup Cam Talbot, who appeared in the All-Star Game and led the L.A. Kings to the playoffs.
Regardless of the quality of competition, Husso faces a simple math problem to even show he has what it takes to claim the starting role. There’s only one starting net and just two nets available in practice. As competition ramps up, Husso wants to put his best foot forward to win the job.
“I think the number one thing is to be healthy — no injuries anymore,” Husso explained. “And then just battle. We have a good competition between all of us. And I think it's a good situation for all of us competing, pushing each other to be better every day.”
In order to prove he’s ready to take on a starting role again, he needs time in those nets. He also needs time to adjust to the level of play he will see from NHL competition. Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde noted the difference between merely being healthy and being ready enough to play against NHL competition. Even with extra work at the end of practice, it’s difficult to simulate the same intensity. This is something Lalonde is keenly aware of from juggling three goaltenders last season.
“He’s gonna need reps, and he’s gonna need live reps,” Lalonde explained Thursday. “... It’s something we’re conscious of as a group of not only getting him (reps), but with the amount of goalies we have and rotating through, getting some really good reps and some live reps. So it will be a priority for us.”
Husso is well aware of the challenges he faces, but his offseason work can help him overcome the challenge. He spent time this summer training in Finland before coming back to Detroit, where he skated with a group of star American NHLers at Plymouth’s USA Hockey Arena. The group included teammates Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat and Andrew Copp among other notables. All of them provided the kind of competition that’s hard to beat. Husso, according to the attendees, proved up to the task.
“He looks good, I think he’s back to (being) hard to score on in practice, always battling,” DeBrincat said Friday. “And I think those are the goalies that are maybe the most fun to play on in practice because they’re not let you just put it in the net, on a rebound or whatever. They’re always fighting for that rebound.”
Husso has to fight for more than rebounds right now. He has to fight for his starts, and that makes every single rep even more important. To handle the pressure and stay ready for the moment, Husso is employing some new concepts he introduced in the offseason. Some of them are breathing methods — a favorite lesson of Red Wings goaltending coach Alex Westlund — that help ground him in the moment. Husso said that even a simple task like reading a book can help a goaltender learn to be where their feet are. Anything that can help him stay sharp.
“That's kind of (a) goalie thing — if you think too much, it is never anything good that happens,” Husso said. “So just go out there, have fun and try to make as many saves as you can.”
With the freshness of a season still in training camp, Lalonde said the goalie room has a clean slate. All of Husso, Lyon and Talbot have proven they can start at various times the past two seasons. Now, it’s up to who proves they’re the top dog right now. The importance of this position battle is only raised by increased expectations in Detroit, where the team hopes to push for a playoff spot after missing by one point last season. A stolen win from a particularly good goaltending performance could have provided the extra push to make the playoffs. This season, the same remains true, and that puts pressure on Lalonde to find which goaltenders are most likely to deliver.
Finally healthy and getting better with every live rep he faces, Husso hopes to prove he can be a big contributor.
“I'm ready to go, I feel really good on the ice,” Husso said. And like I said, I'm really excited to play some preseason games and just to get out, put the jersey on and get some wins.”