'This Is A Moment For Him'

It was a tale of two seasons.

The world-beating kind, where he tallied 20 points over a splendid, 24-game stretch in the front half – and the other, where it all tailed off, leaving the coach and evaluators across the organization wondering which of the two segments to believe.

“This is a moment for him where he's got to grab hold of it,” Head Coach Ryan Huska said of Adam Ruzicka. “He's going to get an opportunity. We've had a lot of conversations over the summer with him about having that opportunity, but he has to really take it on himself. He needs to decide where he wants to fit and where he wants to be. And that's now what it's going to come down to. When you look at him, you're like, 'If this guy can figure it out and be consistent with the way he plays the game ...'

“He's a big man that would be hard to take the puck off. We were talking about him this morning in our coaches' office and Trent Cull - when he was in Abbotsford coaching for (Vancouver's) minor-league team – he was like, 'Can this guy get called up?' He was too good for the American League. So, now he needs to decide, 'Do I want to be that here?' He has the ability. So now it's up to how he makes it happen for himself.”

The preseason is all about opportunity – and both Huska and GM Craig Conroy have not been shy about their objectives. Young players will be given a chance to showcase their skills in roles tailored for their individual skill-sets.

Enter Ruzicka, whose top-six pedigree makes him the ideal fit on a line with Nazem Kadri and Dillon Dube for tonight’s exhibition lid-lifter. He’ll also serve as the right-flank triggerman as part of the second powerplay unit with Matt Coronato, Connor Zary, Dube and Noah Hanifin.

“I had a good summer and I'm ready to make that next step,” Ruzicka said of the opportunity tonight. “It's a good chance for me to show that I'm capable of playing in the top six. I played there last year for a handful of games and I think I showed that I'm capable of playing there.

“But I have to be consistent with it and show that I can keep the position.

“I want to keep that spot all season.”

Ruzicka was a healthy scratch in nine of the first 10 games last year, before getting a shot on the top line with Elias Lindholm and the now-departed Tyler Toffoli, thanks – initially – to an injury to Jonathan Huberdeau. It was then that he went on a tear, scoring six times and adding 14 helpers over the next month-and-a-half. But over the next 19 games after the Christmas break, he didn’t record a single point. 

It begs the question: Which version of the 6-foot-4, 215-lb. winger is the real Adam Ruzicka?

Even Huska would like to know.

“Like with most young guys,” he began, “it’s about consistency. “You saw last year, at times, you're like, 'Whoa.' ... He was feeling it. Then it disappears a little bit. 

“It can't. 

“You may not have your 'A' Game every night – it's not realistic for 82 – but it can't be a C or a D. 

“It's got to be like a B+.”

Ruzicka can be absolute menace to play against. His towering frame, mobility and delicate puck skills make him difficult to contain – let alone, knock off the puck – as he bowls his way to the paint.

Simply put: It’s what Huska and staff wants to see more of beginning tonight against the Vancouver Canucks. 

“There's a confidence in him when he's playing that way,” Huska said. “I think he has the ability to hold onto the puck a lot and he uses his size to his advantage. When you talk about building an identity for a player. His identity – and you want him to be hard – but his hard means holding onto the puck and keeping defencemen off him. His hard means taking someone right to the net and putting someone right on his back. He has the ability to do that. 

“He could be a power guy. 

“It's up to him if he really accepts that challenge that we've put on him here.”