A giddy Pekka Rinne took to the podium after he was announced an inductee to the 2024 Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame on Wednesday morning. He grinned with excitement as he began to speak his sentiments to the Predators and TSHF.
Rinne retired three years ago from the Nashville Predators, meeting the required amount of time to be inducted as Executive Director of the TSHF Brad Willis stated as a surprise to Rinne.
“Thanks for the heads up, I had no clue. Every time I come to the city it’s something special,” Rinne said. “I’m so privileged to be standing here receiving this honor.”
As one of Nashville’s European scouts, Rinne has absorbed and learned a lot in his first year evaluating talent and what makes individuals a potential fit for the Predators.
Now he understands how much work goes into meeting the talent and going to games taking in more hockey during retirement.
“I still feel pretty fresh off of my playing days so the transition is smooth and I’ve been given enough time to enjoy retirement,” Rinne said. “Now, it’s awesome to be back and involved, go to rinks, and get to know these younger players.”
Rinne is aware of how difficult it is to evaluate young goalies, but being the coveted player he was it helps to watch for the things he already knows.
“Finding those little things that separate them can be hard,” Rinne said. “It takes a lot of time to watch them. For [Tom Nolan and Jeff Kealty] the second part of identifying the talent is trying to learn a little bit of the character and doing background work.”
Juha Jatkola is one goalie Rinne has paid a lot of attention to since Nashville selected him in the fourth round last summer. Rinne said it was an up-and-down year for the 21-year-old, but there’s more to him than what he displayed this season.
Rinne said he comes back to Nashville about four times a season but the majority of his days are spent at the rink watching games.
“Mostly in Europe or Finland at different tournaments. I always enjoy getting to come back here though,” Rinne said.
As it relates to a close friend of Rinne’s, goalie Juuse Saros is still in town and is eligible for a contract extension as soon as July 1. Rinne played a critical role in being a mentor to Saros and now all he hopes is for Saros to be happy, but most importantly in a gold sweater for a long time.
“He’s in a good place. It’s a big summer for him,” Rinne said. “I want to see him be a Predator for a long time but those things are ahead this summer. Hope everything goes smooth, but he’s in a good place.”
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On the flip side, Rinne addressed what he’s seen from prospect Yaroslav Askarov. While the Russian wasn’t someone Rinne watched before he was drafted by Nashville he’s spent time with him at training camp and seeing him some this season.
“The number one thing that stands out about him is his talent and his athleticism,” Rinne said of Askarov. “Maturity wise this was his second-year pro, they’re still playing and hopefully he goes deep, but he’s taken strides and is on the right track as well.”
While Rinne is impressed by Askarov he’ll go back out to scout later on. The biggest thing he looks for aside from talent is passion. The drive is something that Rinne wants to see as he gets to know upcoming goalies.
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
Photos courtesy of Nashville Predators
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