Rookie Has Come Quite a Way, but Still Has Ways to Go

Mighty Duck defenseman Ruslan Salei has been in Niclas Havelid’s skates. Coming to America--North America, that is--from Europe to play hockey requires a huge adjustment, or so it is said.

“The biggest adjustment I had to make was answering that question,” Salei said, smiling. “People asked me that 100 times. I still don’t know how to adjust to it.”

So it goes with European players, who have had to prove their worth in the NHL. Havelid, a 26-year-old defenseman from Sweden, skates in the path of others.

Smaller ice surface?

“I’ve been here for a month, so I’m used to it,” Havelid said.

The physical play?

“Yeah, it’s important to win those one-on-ones,” Havelid said.

The language barrier?

“It helps having [defenseman] Freddy Olausson around,” Havelid said of his fellow Swede. “He has been here a while and can tell me things, especially outside the arena, like where I should live.”

So Havelid is all set? Well, sort of.

This will continue to be a work in progress. Havelid still has to adjust to the smaller ice surface, the physical play and the language.

“Sure, there is an adjustment, but there is not a big one,” Havelid said. “There are a lot of new things. Every day I am learning.”

The Ducks, though, believe he has advantages. His speed and stick skills will be assets to a team that spent a lot of time in its own end last season. His size, a solid 6 feet, 190 pounds, means he can give as good as he takes. His age will make the culture change less of a shock--especially with Olausson, who came from Sweden 14 years ago, nearby.

Havelid was a late bloomer in Sweden, but his play last season--10 goals and 22 points for Malmo in the Swedish League--convinced the Ducks he was ready and they drafted him in the third round.

“He has mobility and moves the puck, that’s why we drafted him,” Coach Craig Hartsburg said. “It gives us depth and another solid player.”

So Havelid is all set?

“He’s learning,” Hartsburg said. “You may not always see it, but I think he’s a smart guy and he’s getting better.

“The more he plays, the more he sees. He hasn’t seen the pressure of the game here. It’s a lot tougher on defensemen here because of the smaller ice.”

Havelid spent portions of his first exhibition game on his backside, as the San Jose Sharks gave him a crash course in the NHL.

The smaller ice surface, and the NHL players’ passion for forechecks, mean less time for a defender to handle the puck. A point force-fed to Havelid by the Sharks.

“You have to play the puck quick,” Havelid said. “You play it on the boards more. The first practice, you can feel the smaller ice. You feel like you have no room. You learn to be more physical. It’s important that you be good in the battles, especially on defense in the corners.”

While there are disadvantages to having played the bigger rinks in Europe, there are advantages too.

“He is a very strong skater,” forward Jim McKenzie said. “Most Europeans who come over here are strong skaters because they play on those big surfaces.”

Havelid has seemingly conquered the biggest hurdle, the language. He isn’t fluent in English--who in hockey is?--but he isn’t lost either.

“It took me about a week to get used to the smaller ice and physical play,” Salei said. “But English? It took me three or four months just to start saying something.

“When you can’t communicate, it makes it tough on the ice and getting to know your teammates.”

For that, Havelid has Olausson. The two have even been paired as a defensive unit.

“I think I told him how to get a telephone,” Olausson said. “It is just the small things. As for hockey, he’s had no problems. Players coming from Europe are more, how should I put this, more globalized.”

Translated: More physical.

“I think the game has changed over there since I played,” Olausson said. “I hope it has. I’ve been gone 14 years. If it hasn’t changed, then something is wrong.”

The Ducks are hoping, and expecting, Havelid will make quick adjustments. He is part of the speed-up-the-defense efforts that General Manager Pierre Gauthier embarked on this summer.

Havelid has already demonstrated that ability. The other things, he is working on.