Tortorella on how Ristolainen ‘regained some of his confidence’

Tortorella on how Ristolainen ‘regained some of his confidence’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

VOORHEES, N.J. — Rasmus Ristolainen played for six head coaches over eight playoff-less seasons in Buffalo.

He was 18 years old when he made his NHL debut for the Sabres and took on big minutes at an early age.

Then, in Year 1 with the Flyers, Ristolainen saw head coach Alain Vigneault get fired 22 games into the season. The Flyers played the rest of the 2021-22 campaign under interim head coach Mike Yeo.

So the Finnish defenseman heard from eight head coaches over his first nine NHL seasons.

With John Tortorella, his ninth head coach, Ristolainen has appreciated the honest feedback, the persistent work that has turned into notable improvement for a 29-year-old in his 11th NHL season.

After his best game of the season Saturday, Ristolainen said he wished he had Tortorella as a coach when he was “18 and coming into the league.”

Are you sure, Risto?

“Oh, s—,” Tortorella joked Monday, “be careful what you wish for.”

Ristolainen was speaking genuinely. He has listened to Tortorella and worked closely with assistant coach Brad Shaw to refine his defensive game.

Suffice it to say, Tortorella was not impressed at his first glimpse of Ristolainen last season. But the Flyers wanted to work with him and Ristolainen had no problem with being coached.

“You watch Risto at the beginning of my first year, he was awful,” Tortorella said. “That’s when I thought Brad was really good with him in tape, just talking about his legs, just the little things to get his game going. I think Risto has regained some of his confidence.”

Ristolainen has often been a whipping boy for some Flyers fans. Perhaps it was the cost and timing of his arrival, as well as his numbers in Buffalo. The Flyers paid a big price to acquire him in July 2021. Their trade package to the Sabres included a first- and second-round pick. Ristolainen signed a five-year, $25.5 million contract…