Ottavainen Proves Stand-Up Guy

Kraken prospect Ville Ottavainen doesn’t remember much about his first time on skates, logical because he was “two or three” years old. But what is confirmed: Starting with that first skate at a nearby outdoor rink in Oulu, Finland, whenever young Ville fell to the ice, he would refuse help from mom, dad, neighbors, and friends.

“My mom told me every time I fell down, nobody could help me,” said Ottavainen laughing at the memory during a phone conversation this week. “I got mad at them if they even tried to help me. I just fell in love with skating and hockey right away and now I’m here.”

“Here” would be playing defense for American Hockey League affiliate Coachella Valley, currently pairing with veteran Gustav Olofsson and becoming a shutdown pair for the defending Western Conference champion Firebirds, per head coach Dan Bylsma.

“They're a hard pair to play against, good defensively and big and physical,” said Bylsma this week. “They seem to be developing some chemistry, comfortable with each other and it's helping [Ottavainen] in his defensive game.”

The 6-foot-5, 218-pound Ottavainen says he feels his skating ability and offensive skills are a good fit for the smaller rinks in the AHL and NHL. He agrees with Bylsma’s assessment that the AHL is quicker, faster, and requires a much higher work rate than European leagues because the 10 skaters are vying for the puck in a shorter, narrower space. European regulations are 13 feet wider than the standard North American ice sheet.

“I think I've been able to produce quite a lot of offense,” said Ottavainen. “I like to get in the offense and join the rush. It’s all easier here because, back in Europe, it's very defensive. You don't really get a lot of odd-man rushes [2-1 on one, 3-on-2]. But here, if I beat my forward up the ice, I'm usually the second layer [of the attack]. Of course, the first job is always defending.”

Ottavainen has two goals and 11 assists, including three of the latter last weekend when the Firebirds swept the division rival and AHL stalwart Calgary Wranglers. In less the two seasons, the CVF-CGY rivalry is rock-solid serious. Ottavainen and Olofsson were key components of Coachella Valley holding Calgary to two goals in the pair of games last weekend. The young D-man’s assist totals are fifth-best on the Firebirds leaderboard featuring lots of veterans and another promising AHL rookie, Logan Morrison.

“For a big man, [Ottavainen] can skate and get up ice and be a part of the offense,” said Bylsma. “Defensively and away from the puck, the smaller sheet means you have to work a little bit harder to support your teammates and to be in the right spot to play against the [opposing] rush. That’s where both the team and [Ottavainen] have improved lately [boosting the season record to 17-10-2 and squarely in playoff contention and just five points behind division leader Calgary with two games in hand].”

Ottavainen says his skating “gets me going fast north and south” but acknowledges he can improve his edge work or the use of the skate-blade edge to bite into the ice, increasing power and speed plus quicker, more agile turning ability. The path to better edges involves a deep knee bend, strong curves paths skating across the ice, and the skater leaning into the curve.

For Ottavainen, it additionally means working closely with Firebirds assistant coach Jessica Campbell, a prominent former player who made a name for herself as a skating coach to NHLers and NHL hopefuls.

“We've done a lot of extra work with coach Campbell,” said Ottavainen. “She’s helped me quite a bit, especially on my small pivots.”

Ottavainen’s skating prowess is unusual for a bigger man, but the root of his speed that “really helps me get away from the forecheck,” can be traced to a group of seven classmates at Ottavainen’s middle school in Oulu. He and the six others – “pretty much all of us are playing in the Finnish league or here [in North America]” – held morning skates every school day as part of the curriculum, similar to phys ed classes here in the States. Ottavainen said playing and thriving with that group of elite young teens was when he first thought about going pro someday.

A couple of those buddies and Ottavainen lived within a kilometer of each other. When they weren’t skating drills during morning skates, practicing/playing with the youth, they could be typically found on an outdoor rink in close proximity.

“We were there pretty much every day during the winter, after games, just for fun,” said Ottavainen.

The Kraken’s 2021 fourth-round pick said he is having fun on and off the ice this season. He misses home, he admits but is living with fellow Finn and 23-year-old CVF defenseman Peetro Seppala and Seppala’s girlfriend. Ottavainen said “It’s nice to speak some Finnish” at the apartment, which is comforting to the 21-year-old. The teammates make a point to enjoy some local outings. This past week, Ottavainen joined the couple at the zoo in Palm Desert. Breaking news: the D-man’s favorite animals were the giraffes.

Like all of his Coachella Valley teammates, Ottavainen enjoys the southern California area but has eyes on playing and living in Seattle someday. He embraces learning from the defensemen video sessions with assistant coach Stu Bickel, plus keeping up with the formidable defensive corps that suits up for the Firebirds.

“We’ve got some pretty good D-men down here,” said Ottavainen. “You have to compete every day to stay on the roster here.”

Ottavainen said he’s OK with that. He’s been intent on holding his own since his first time on the ice.