ALBANY -- Ari Ahonen skated off the ice Wednesday at Pepsi Arena after his first practice with the Albany River Rats, a little frustrated with himself as he bit into an orange at his stall in the locker room.
"He's got a lot to learn; he'll be the first to admit that,'' said coach Bobby Carpenter, who was presiding over his first Rats practice as head coach. "He's got a lot of habits that he's got to change, but there's no hurry. The thing I tried to get across to him is ... he doesn't need the frustration.''
But that's not always easy to understand for a hungry 20-year-old goaltender, especially a first-round draft choice spending his first hockey season away from his native Finland.
"That's good that he cares about (improving) himself and that he gets upset when he makes mistakes,'' Carpenter said. "But that can also be detrimental if you do it too much. We don't want to put any pressure on him whatsoever.''
Those words indicate how much the Devils' organization values Ahonen, who went to camp in New Jersey last year, then returned to juniors in his homeland, where he was 18-13-4 with a 2.77 goals-against average for Helsinki. He was virtually untouchable for the Finns in the Junior World Championships (5-1, 1.34).
Ahonen is among four goalies in Rats camp. No one is saying which if any, will go back to New Jersey, which currently is without a backup to Martin Brodeur, but for now, Ahonen is trying to adjust to his new life in America and the American style of hockey.
"It's not so much different than what I thought before I came here,'' said Ahonen, a 6-foot-1, 185-pounder who was the 27th player taken in the 1999 entry draft. "Of course, it's a little bit faster than in Europe, but it's not so much different.''
Ahonen arrives in Albany at the right time -- the Devils decided to have their first full-time goaltending coach here in Chris Terreri.
"There's so many things that we could have done last year with the other two (Frederic Henry and J.F. Damphousse),'' Carpenter said. "They needed somebody here every day, day in and day out. I think it's invaluable to have that right now.''
Ahonen is one of two rookie goalies currently with the Rats, joining Boston College graduate Scott Clemmensen. It's unclear if either or both will be here when the season begins a week from Friday at Providence.
It's clear that Ahonen knows he can handle himself in the net, but the chance to spend so much time around Brodeur this summer showed him there's plenty more for him to learn.
"I have to improve my stick-handling,'' he said. "I have to play the puck, and maybe stand up more. That's one small thing I have to improve, but the stick-handling is the biggest thing I have to work on.''
Still, the word on Ahonen around camp the past two summers is that he's a good NHL prospect. For now, he's trying to land a job in Albany.
"It just takes time,'' Carpenter said. "But as long as he's willing to work at it, that makes it easier.'' : The Rats will play their final preseason game Friday at Providence. They dropped a rookie game to Bridgeport 4-2 on Monday and have lost twice to the Philadelphia Phantoms. ... It appears that rookie Brian Gionta will begin his pro career in Albany, which will need his production if Pierre Dagenais stays in Jersey. Gionta led the NCAA in goals last year.