“We are having a lot of discussions about what is the right transition for him to be in the NHL, so we can put him in a position to succeed, and not just throw him into a situation because we need some help,” Keefe continued. “Let us do right by him to make sure we have got a player who is going to have a long NHL career.
“Certainly, he has had our attention for weeks now, quite frankly,” Keefe continued.
“We have talked about bringing him up, even just to practice with us, so he is comfortable here,” Fitzgerald shared. “So, one, it is a meritocracy. He is playing well, and we want to give him an opportunity, but we want to make sure he feels very comfortable in a situation that we can get the best out of him at that time.”
While it was a slower start, the first 33 games of Hämeenaho’s rookie season can be summed by one word: Maturity.