When we drafted him, people said he was probably the most ready for the NHL. But that to me was a bonus. It wasn't something we factored into when we decided to pick him. But he obviously played against men last year and played in the World Championships for the Czech team, and the thing that impressed me when he came in this summer is that he tested like a man in his physical testing. It transfers over to his game on the ice. He's a very mature player.

When we drafted him, people said he was probably the most ready for the NHL, ... But that to me was a bonus. It wasn't something we factored into when we decided to pick him. But he obviously played against men last year and played in the World Championships for the Czech team, and the thing that impressed me when he came in this summer is that he tested like a man in his physical testing. It transfers over to his game on the ice. He's a very mature player.

Ville is an energy player who is gritty and hard to play against. He has provided a spark on every team he's played on and plays big in important games...he's a player you hate to play against but love to have on your team.

The bottom line is we're here to win hockey games. I'll put our goaltending up against any team in the league. This gives us a lot of strength moving towards the end of the season where we have a lot of games to play.