Quenneville pleased with Teravainen's start
Teuvo Teravainen will admit it: Hitting the ice Sunday night in his season debut with the Blackhawks got to him a little bit.
"I brought a little energy, but I was a little nervous," said the 20-year-old from Finland. "My first game here with new teammates since I was came up from Rockford …
"It was good to get the first one out of the way."
Teravainen, the Hawks' top pick in the 2012 draft, had 3 shots in 10:50 of ice time, skating on both the third and fourth lines and getting some time on the power play as well.
"It was mostly center, and I think that's the mindset he's got to have," coach Joel Quenneville said. "Want the puck, be in a position offensively and defensively to be around the puck, and I thought he was fine, no matter who he was with."
Teravainen says he enjoyed the variety of assignments in the Hawks' 5-4 overtime victory over Dallas.
"It was great," he said. "It's good to get to know all those guys and learning how they play and how I play with them.
"It's a learning process."
With Kris Versteeg out for a month with a hand injury, the young center will have time to improve.
"I think you can probably get better off of those levels (Sunday), getting a little accustomed to where we want to be and where we expected their pressure to be coming from as well," Quenneville said. "I thought it was a good start for him."
Teravainen, however, wasn't as pleased with his performance.
"I wasn't that happy with my game, but I'll get better," he said. "I think I can play better, but it was a good win."
Teravainen will get right back at it Tuesday night against Colorado, and if nerves kick in again, it's comforting to know he can always turn to fellow Finn, Antti Raanta, for advice.
"It's nice. I was sitting there with Antti and we were speaking our own language. I know that's not allowed in the locker room, but we still do it a little bit," Teravainen said with a laugh.
His coach has no problem with that.
"I think it helps," Quenneville said. "He's been in the organization for a while. But having a fellow countryman around helps. I know young guys, they seem to hang out and support one another.
"But you still have the core group that can lead you in the right fashion. So there's a real nice support group all the way across the organization.
"Guys, I'm sure, are excited about being here. Hopefully they're comfortable, so they can be comfortable and just play."
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