LATEST | Raty makes bold statement: Intends on being an NHLer this year
When the Vancouver Canucks acquired Finnish forward prospect Aatu Raty from the New York Islanders in the Bo Horvat trade, it felt like they struck a home run, especially when you consider what he could potentially become.
Raty was expected to be a top-ten pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, but due to a few different factors, including his play in Finland, he dropped to the second round, where the Islanders selected him 52nd overall.
At 20-years-old, Raty says that he's ready for the bright lights that come with playing in a Canadian market like Vancouver, but understands it won't be easy to make the team out of training camp and is ready for any adversity thrown his way.
He went on to say that he feels like a whole new person after a tough season mentally and physically in 2022-23. He also mentioned that during the off-season, he trained hard and was working on his skating, which he believes is a lot better.
Raty added, "I'm feeling like a whole new person. I had some injuries at the end of the year and got through them. The body's feeling a lot better. I'm feeling a lot better mentally."
"Just getting straight-line speed is something that you've just got to get stronger, just be more efficient. But I found a lot of things, like turning backwards, turning forwards, doing cutbacks, that doesn't really show in the straight-line speed. But I found a lot of flaws. I was always thinking straight-line speed and how could I get better at skating forward. But there's a lot of other skating in the game, too.
My overall skating, for sure, is a lot better. Straight-line speed will be there. I'm still young."
It's exciting to hear these things from Aatu Raty as it shows he's serious about trying to earn a roster spot with the Canucks come opening night and trained very hard this summer to do so. There's no doubt Rick Tocchet will give him ample opportunity during preseason games to prove he deserves a spot in the NHL and it's going to be interesting to watch and see what he does throughout training camp.
Do you think Aatu Raty will earn a roster spot out of training camp with the Canucks? Let us know what you think in the poll below.
Source: Sportsnet
| POLL | ||
Will Aatu Raty make the Canucks' roster out of training camp? | ||
| Yes | 114 | 26.8 % |
| No, needs more time to develop with Abbotsford | 267 | 62.8 % |
| See Results | 44 | 10.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
