Ossi Vaananen is having the best season of his career statistically. The Avalanche defenseman is a team-leading and career-high plus-10 for a team that has won eight of 10 games.
It was a bit of a surprise Monday, therefore, when Vaananen looked like he had just bit into a lemon when asked if this has been his best season. There is one statistic he is not happy about: his playing time.
“Ice time’s not there,” Vaananen said. “I want more.”
Vaananen looks at his big plus-minus number and wonders why the number of minutes he averages per game – 13:50 – is so low.
“That’s why I’m not particularly that happy with the year, but, I mean, we’ve had some good runs here as a team and that’s the most important thing,” he said. “Obviously, I want more from myself and for myself, so I can help the team more.”
Vaananen’s average ice time ranks a distant last among the Avalanche’s six regular defensemen; the next lowest is Brett Clark, at 18:13. Vaananen averaged 18:36 in his 12 games with Colorado in 2003-04, and never averaged lower than 19:09 in his three seasons with the Phoenix Coyotes.
“If I didn’t want to play more, there would be something wrong with me,” Vaananen said.
Next to Rob Blake, the 25-year-old native of Vantaa, Finland, is probably the Avs’ biggest and most physical defenseman. He is 6-feet-4, 227 pounds and isn’t afraid to hit people.
“I played with him for three years in Phoenix,” Avs left wing Brad May said. “Ossi isn’t afraid to get in guys’ faces in front of the net. He’s a great guy, a great teammate.”
So why isn’t Vaananen playing more?
“Ossi’s been OK,” Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville said. “I think he’s one of those steady defensemen. He uses his size in the right way. I think he goes into the puck-carrier firmly, and a lot of times he comes up with a lot of loose pucks. Overall, he’s been fine.”
To get more ice time, Quenneville hinted, Vaananen must improve his special-teams play. He is the only Avalanche regular without a goal this season, in 48 games, which eliminates him from power-play consideration, and so far he has not been a part of the penalty-killing unit.
“If he can get some of those minutes, he’d be playing more,” Quenne- ville said. “Because, he plays regularly; it’s just that he doesn’t get those minutes.”
When he isn’t at the Pepsi Center in an Avalanche uniform, Vaananen is likely to be at the arena watching the Nuggets.
It’s a sport he grew to love in Phoenix, where the practice court of the NBA’s Suns was down the hall from the Coyotes’ dressing room. Many days, he would play pickup games with former Coyotes teammates Shane Doan and Daymond Langkow.
“It’s a great game, and I also love soccer. Football and baseball – not so much,” said Vaananen, whose brother, Jarkko, plays in the Finnish League.
“I’ve been to a lot of Nuggets games, and I love to watch Carmelo Anthony. He’s a great player. I hope we’re both in the playoffs at the same time in a few months. I think we will be.”
Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-820-5454 or adater@denverpost.com.
