Adam Ružička participated in his first practice as a member of the Coyotes where he opened up about his journey to Arizona and how he may fit in with this group.
Prior to the All-Star break, the Arizona Coyotes claimed center Adam Ružička off of waivers from the Calgary Flames.
Now a couple of weeks later, Ružička skated with the Coyotes at the Ice Den for the first time on Thursday.
“Finally, it’s been a long time,” Ružička said on being able to practice in Arizona. “Was waiting for the visa. I’m happy to be here and can’t wait to play a game.”
Through 39 games with the Flames this season, the 24-year-old has three goals, six assists and nine points while playing 10:09 minutes pergame.
Some may wonder how Ružička fits in with this Coyotes group?
“It’s a great, young, fast group,” Ružička said. “I think I’m going to fit very well with them. It’s just a matter of time until I get into a game and feel how it is to play for the Coyotes.”
For fans that are still unaware of Ružička’s game, here is how he described himself as a player and what he can bring to the table.
“As you can see I’m a pretty big body and I can protect the puck, so I go around the net a lot…” Ružička said. “Obviously I do whatever it is to help the team win, so whatever my role is going to be I’m going to do it.”
It’s been a couple weeks since Ružička has actually skated, so it may be some time before we actually see him in the lineup.
The Coyotes are also beginning to get healthy again and with the addition of Ružička, they now have a surplus of centers which coach André Tourigny is certainly not complaining about.
“Here, I’ve begged for years to have flexibility down the middle,” Tourigny said. “I like a team where there are six, seven centers where you can move things around and ok those are your four centers. Now Kerfoot can play the wing, McBain can play on the wing, Cooley can play on the wing, Ružička can play on the wing, Bjugstad can play on the wing.
“Now you can create better chemistry I think. If you look at our lineup, you have different styles of players, so you must be able to move them around to create lines that fit… I love the addition.”
Ružička was very visible during Thursday’s practice due to his 6’4’’ frame, something that will help him stand out once he does ultimately make his way into the lineup.