Aleksanteri Kaskimaki goes from excitement to disappointment, NHL debut for 2022 third-round pick was delayed on Monday, won't be on Thursday
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- The journey to St. Louis from Springfield, Mass. on Monday for Aleksanteri Kaskimaki was filled with, first, excitement, then anxiety, followed by disappointment.
When the St. Louis Blues were hit with a rash of injuries, announcing on Monday that Jimmy Snuggerud (left wrist) and Alexey Toropchenko (leg burns) would be out for an extended period of time, Kaskimaki got the call up to the NHL for the first time in his career.
The third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft was summoned to get on a plane and make his way to St. Louis, and if so, to make his NHL debut against the Anaheim Ducks.
But going from Hartford to Washington, D.C. and finally to St. Louis hit a number of hurdles, from weather delays due to the snowstorm in St. Louis, then having to anxiously wait on the tarmac and Lambert International Airport delayed his arrival long enough where he would not make it in time to make that rookie lap and make his Blues debut.
“It was pretty crazy,” Kaskimaki said. “A lot of delays in the airports. Has to spend time on the tarmac. Got close to playing. It happens.
“I was getting ready to play, but as soon as I had to stay on the tarmac and the delays kept going, I kind of knew that it might not happen (Monday).
“It’s pretty hard, just counting the minutes when I got off the plane. It happens. I got to the rink when the national anthem was playing. Got pretty close.”
There won’t be a wait on Thursday. Kaskimaki was on the Blues charter to Massachusetts again, and will make his NHL debut when the Blues (9-11-7) open a three-game trip against the Boston Bruins.
“It’s a dream-come-true,” Kaskimaki said of getting recalled. “It was a good call.”
The 21-year-old will make his debut on a third line with a familiar face: Thunderbirds teammate and linemate, Dalibor Dvorsky, and Pavel Buchnevich.
“I played with ‘Dali’ in ‘Springy’ and had some good times there and big plays, big games,” Kaskimaki said. “It’s exciting to play with him and also Buchnevich is also a top player. Exciting to play with those guys.”
Kaskimaki had four goals and three assists in 16 games with Springfield, which has turned it on of late going 3-0-2 and the Finnish-born forward having a big part in it.
Now, his attention turns to helping the Blues, who also lost Nathan Walker (upper body) for up to eight weeks or beyond.
“Excitement to be in the NHL is obvious,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. ‘That’s a good jolt for our team right now. Also a little deer in the headlights because we’ve changed some things from training camp. He’s just getting acclimated, very intelligent player. Won’t have an issue acclimating to that.
“Him and Dvorsky have played a lot together in the American League, so there’s familiarity there. And then ‘Buchy’ is just a solid veteran that can help those guys offensively and defensively with his 200-foot game.”
Kaskimaki has been described as a defensive-minded player that has a kick of offense that easily could be overlooked. But not to those that know him.
“He’s a great, responsible player,” said Dvorsky, who made his NHL debut last season. “Also a really good hockey IQ. I would say he’s a great 200-foot player, good D-zone, good offense. A really good hockey IQ. Also strong on pucks.
“I think we can be strong on pucks, good on offense, create chances and also a responsible line in the D-zone too. Kind of a two-way line. We can be good.
“He just knows the system I guess. Also can read plays really well in the D-zone.”
From his three years of playing for HIFK Helsinki of the SM-Liiga, Finland’s top professional league, being a defensive specialist seemed to be his calling card.
“I try to play the game the right way, the small details,” Kaskimaki said. “Me playing like I was in Finland when I was younger. I has to focus on those things.”
And those things are things that the coaches noticed immediately.
“Brains, defensive mind first, which our current roster doesn’t have a lot of players naturally that think defense first before offense, and that’s usually the case,” Montgomery said. “When you get drafted and you get selected and you get signed because of your offensive prowess in juniors and college and Europe, and then you usually learn the defensive side, but some guys just naturally … Patrice Bergeron naturally cheated the game; Kaskimaki never cheats the game. And when they’re really that responsible defensively, their sticks are always in the right place, they seem to always be in position to squash plays because of their defensive brain hockey-sense.”
It’ll be different taking that first solo lap in the away jersey in front of the opposition’s fans, which will be at TD Garden on Thursday, but nevertheless, Kaskimaki will get to savor that moment.
“It’s a one-in-a-lifetime experience for sure,” Dvorsky said. “It’s awesome (and) super-exciting. I feel like you don’t really feel tired in that game at all because you’re so excited. It’s an experience that I’m sure a bunch of the older guys on the team will talk to him about, try to help him. I’m not here too long, but I’ll try and help him. The older guys, they’re awesome.”
Kaskimaki said it’s too short of a span and too long of a trip for family to make it in fron Finland. That time will come for another day, but they will get to watch him on TV.
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