- Rasmus Ristolainen is a Finnish Ice hockey player who, though is passionate about his career, has been described as an overrated player.
- The 27 year old player has contracted the Coronavirus twice and both times were in the year 2021.
- His 98kg weight makes him a ‘beast’ while defending as he was once punished for a tackle.
Rasmus Ristolainen is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who plays as a defenseman for the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL. He has been playing hockey from his childhood days in his home town. Hailing from Turku, Finland, Ristolainen grew up being interested in sports and eventually picking up Ice hockey as his passion.
Initially playing with boys in his locality who were older and bigger than him, he had to devise a means to beat them. This means has helped the ice hockey player with his style of play over the years.
After having an impressive junior career in Ice hockey, Rasmus went on to begin his senior career with the Buffalo Sabres by 2013. He had a whopping 8 seasons with the Buffalo Sabres but has been traded to another team.
What Happened To The Finnish Ice Hockey Player Rasmus Ristolainen?
The Turku native hockey player was, in 2021, traded to the Philadelphia Flyers after a sad and unfortunate 8 seasons with the Buffalo Sabres. Ristolainen’s time at the Sabres ended with neither him nor the team finishing top at the end of the 8-year season.
Although his time with the Buffalo Sabres was not as fulfilling as expected, it is important to note that the young Finnish lad had 18 points with 4 goals and 14 assists in 49 games.
Ristolainen was drafted in the second round of the 2013 NHL draft by the Flyers and moved to join them by July 2021 with a base salary of $5.4 million.
Ristolainen Rasmus’s Height And Weight
Philadelphia Flyer’s new player Rasmus Ristolainen stands at a height of 6 feet 4 inches. He also has a bodyweight of about 98kg (215 lb). Rasmus can be described as one of the ‘big bodies’ in the game.
His build comes from intense workouts and routines. However, inherited genes cannot be ignored as a possible factor for the athlete’s build.
How Old Is Rasmus Ristolainen?
The Turku, Finnish athlete was born on the 27th day of October 1994. This given, he is presently 27 years old.
Here Are A Few More Facts About Rasmus Ristolainen You Should Know
1. How Ice Hockey Started For The Finnish Player
As earlier stated, Rasmus began playing hockey from his childhood days. He was first introduced to the game when he would join friends and neighbours to play street hockey. From then, the young passionate player began to nurse a desire for the game.
From playing on the streets of Karjalankatu, Turku in Finland, the native then moved on to playing for the Turun Palloseura also known as TPS. The TPS is a 1975-founded Ice Hockey team in Turku. They have, over the years, won SM-liiga Championship 10 times and is one of the most successful teams in the League. From here, Ristolainen moved to Buffalo Sabres and then to Philadelphia Flyers.
2. He Does Not Like Small Players
The 6 feet tall ice hockey player does not hide his dislike for smaller counterparts in the game. Growing up, he was always beaten by his much older and bigger competitors and learnt the use of physical hits.
Although being much younger and smaller then, he was always at the receiving end and had to devise a means to deal his opponents an almost equal blow. Nonetheless, he learnt how to use his physical build in his defensive style.
That being said, the about 220kg player says that smaller players always prove difficult to defend against. He lamented that players who are smaller in body build are quite difficult to hit while playing and so, they easily get away from reach.
3. Ristolainen Faced A Three-game Suspension
In 2017, the Buffalo Sabres defenseman delivered a check to Jake Guentzel during a game. Jake is a forward for the NHL team, Pittsburgh Penguins and after the hit from Rasmus, he suffered a concussion. As a result of this, the defenseman was punished with a three-game suspension by the NHL for interference.
4. He Was Ranked Number 4 Among Defensemen
Averaging at least 22:17 of ‘ice time’ in six seasons, Finland’s Ice hockey player Ristolainen was ranked No. 4 among defensemen on The Athletic NHL Trade Big Board. This feat is despite the losses the young player encountered during his stay with the Sabres.
5. Ristolainen’s Move To The Flyers Is An Opportunity For Him To Start Afresh
The new Flyers defenseman has admitted that his move from the Sabres to the Philadelphia Flyers would afford him the opportunity to start afresh. He believes that despite an unimpressive time with the Coach Ralph Krueger-led team that he would enjoy a change and new energy & environment.
Joining Chuck Fletcher’s side is most likely the best place to get this new energy and environment. Although he made some on-ice enemies from the team while at his former club, he believes working with them would be interesting.
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6. Rasmus Ristolainen’s Battle With Covid-19 Was Intense
Towards the end of February 2021, Finnish athlete, Ristolainen Rasmus contracted the Covid-19 virus. Unlike other athletes who possibly had it easy with their recoveries and had minimal symptoms, Ristolainen had it hard.
The then-Sabres player missed his team’s first road trip since the outbreak of the virus. However, that wasn’t the worst thing that could’ve happened to him. He admitted in an interview that he went to bed several times during his recovery period thinking he would not wake up.
Ristolainen’s symptoms involved intense chest pains that made him feel his heart was cracking. In addition to this, he experienced several bouts of oxygen-level drops, fatigue, and a loss in body form. The Finnish player struggled to recover from the virus.
The Ice Hockey player yet again contracted the virus and missed one of his team’s games while in recovery. He was out in December of 2021 and although as of early January 2022 he had been cleared, he still wasn’t back to play. Rasmus’ symptoms were mild this time but he still needed enough time to get better.
7. He Was Described As An Overrated Defenseman
On the 6th of June 2021, an NHL analyst known as C.J Turtoro wrote an article describing the hockey defenseman as a terrible player. Turtoro wrote the article in response to the news that made rounds about New Jersey Devils wanting to sign Rasmus.
The analyst gave statistics about how poorly the Turku-born-athlete has performed throughout his career. He went ahead to call Ristolainen an overrated defenseman whose big build is his main attraction.
