Tue 29 May 2007
UPDATE: The New Jersey Devils have indeed signed Viuhkola to a one-year two-way contract.
Apparently the Devils are about to sign Finnish star Jari Viuhkola.
Yeah, no clue how to pronounce that name…
But, he seems to be a viable checking line center, which is always nice I reckon as we may kinda need one with Jimmy Dowd likely not being retained. Sorry Dowd.
Mr. Viuhkola, 27, is an original draft choice of Chicago (boo), but his career never really broke any NHL sound waves (double boo.) Sounds lovely so far, eh?
Oh Jari, I’m not hatin’ on you. You do have your upside, right?
Well, uh, he’s certainly not a goal scorer (aka not a Gomez replacement), but he seems to be a John Madden type in heart, a Sergei Brylin type in work ethic, and a Cam Janssen type in scoring. Mix them all together and you might just get a halfway decent player.
I certainly hope so…I certainly hope so.
May 29th, 2007 at 9:51 pm
Is it just me or does he look like a very unkempt Justin Timberlake in that last picture…?
Maybe he’s bringing sexy back to New Jersey?
Have we been missing our sexy…?
May 29th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
A Cam Janssen type in scoring? You had me up until then.
May 30th, 2007 at 10:25 am
A Cam Janssen type in scoring??? 1 goal??? but wow Josh is right, he totally looks like JT….
May 30th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
Maybe Justin Timberlake has a hockey playing twin brother, who changed his name so no one would know they were related that no one knows about..?
I’m not excited at all about this signing.
May 30th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
pronunciation: VIEW-KO-LA
Sounds like another move similar to the one that brought Oduya on board. Go overseas, find someone who was already drafted but went nowhere, and sign him!
Hey, Oduya turned out alright, I’m sure this kid could make some noise in training camp.
…hope Lou knows we DO have bigger problems to worry about though.
May 30th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
Sorry I had a silly moment, when I first saw His last name I thought “RICCOLA” and wanted a cough drop. My bad, I really hope that He does not score like Janssen. and sure why not bring a little sexy back to NJ, but if Gomer leaves We will have bigger problems. The Dev’s will need alot more then a little 4th line sexy.
May 30th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
Okay, okay, I was exaggerating a bit, he does have more of a scoring ability than Janssen, but I fear that the change in scenery and league itself might cut any ability he actually has — seems to happen all too often in the fast-paced NHL. We’ll see.
May 30th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
Well, it’s my understanding that stats from European leagues should be taken with a grain of salt since the game is much different over there (levels of talent, number of games, larger rinks, etc., etc., ad infinitum).
That said, I agree with you that he is a decent player if only for the fourth line. Players are players. Hopefully he has a good camp.
May 30th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
Here’s to hoping he’s not another Andreas Solomonsson. That guy sucked.
May 30th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
Don’t be dissin’ the Salomonster!
…yeah.
June 3rd, 2007 at 7:23 am
is there any real source to this? (didnt see any article about it on NJ Devs official site)