You surely know by now that Ryan Kuffner is the reigning ECHL Player of the Month, an honor he earned by scoring four goals, while adding 19 assists for 23 points in 12 games during the month of February.

But what might not be as clear is that the Iowa Heartlanders winger is making a late case for league MVP honors, with Princeton’s all-time leading goal scorer lighting up the scoresheet at a 1.64 points-per-game rate that hasn’t been bettered by any forward with 10 or more games played so far this season.

So, what’s clicked for the former Detroit Red Wings forward?

“I think the team’s just been playing really well, and I think everyone just feeds off each other,” Kuffner told FloHockey. “When the team goes into a bit of a drought, I think everybody is playing at a bit worse level, but when everything’s clicking with the team, you kind of just get a little bit more confidence.

“Guys have your back and you’re able to take a few more risks, and that normally turns out well,” he said. “We have guys that are playing confident. I’ve been playing with two unbelievable players on my line, Zach White and Kris Bennett, and it reminds me of when I was playing with (Max) Veronneau and (Alex) Riche (in college), where we just have a good thing going and we’re friends off the ice and can talk and really just try to build some chemistry together.”

There is something of a “why not us” type of vibe over in Iowa, where the expansion Heartlanders, who got off to an expansion team-type of start to their season, are now one of the league’s hottest teams, and entered this weekend’s slate of games just two points back of the Wheeling Nailers for the final playoff spot in the Central Division.

“Probably (a month ago), we were at a point where our odds of making the playoffs were probably 5 percent, and then winning six in a row like we did recently, I think it’s probably 30, 40, 50 percent right now,” Kuffner said. “If we keep playing the same way, that’ll keep going up.  

“For sure, there’s an underdog (mentality),” he said. “I don’t think anyone’s ever said it like that, but there’s for sure an underdog (mentality) in just trying to prove ourselves, that’s the biggest thing.  We’re certainly doing that right now. There’s a little bit more of a buzz around the locker room, same thing as when we were at (Princeton). You always have those big underdog teams, but once you get on a roll, things start clicking and it’s ‘why can’t we be the team,’ you know.”

🚨THE HOTTEST PLAYER IN THE LEAGUE🚨

RYAN KUFFNER ROOFS IT TO GIVE US THE LEAD LATE pic.twitter.com/vRkwHpo5nt

— Iowa Heartlanders (@GoHeartlanders) March 13, 2022

Kuffner’s path to the ECHL has been something of a circuitous one; after his 10-game stint with Detroit at the end of the 2018-19 season fresh out of college, he spent an up-and-down season in the American Hockey League between two teams following a late season trade, and ultimately ended up playing in Europe for the 2020-21 season.

He returned to North America this season on a two-day AHL deal with the Heartlanders parent affiliate, the Iowa Wild, but has spent most of this season in the “E,” scoring 11 goals and tallying 35 assists (good for seventh-best in the ECHL) for 46 points in just 28 games thus far, numbers that are in stark contrast to a scoreless, five-game stay with the Wild.

“I was a little bit unlucky at the start of the year and dealt with a few injuries for really the first three months of the year,” he said.  “But, at the same time, I was able to be around the boys and kind of just take on a little bit of a different role. I spent a couple games behind the bench (as a coach) and just got to watch. When you watch a lot of games, you kind of start to pick up on certain things, like when to exhaust yourself, when to get moving, when to just take it easy on the ice and just wait for your opportunity. I noticed that the goals are scored by guys being patient, ready to jump into spots when it’s time, and just watching let me build a little bit as a player in just trying to take what our best players were doing.”

Whatever he’s doing, it’s certainly worked.  Still just 25 years old, Kuffner has re-established himself as a legitimate prospect to NHL teams moving forward, showing the kind of promise as an elite scorer like he was at Princeton, showing the kind of touch with the puck that got Detroit to give him a chance at the game’s top level in the first place.

🚨🚨RYAN KUFFNER MAKES IT 2-0🚨🚨 pic.twitter.com/zurU8HpzfW

— Iowa Heartlanders (@GoHeartlanders) March 6, 2022

It’s also a process that first started when he headed overseas to play with Ingolstadt ERC in the DEL last season, something he called an “awesome experience” in getting to experience the game not far from the shadow of Audi’s world headquarters.

“That was definitely part of the idea,” he said of essentially hitting the career reset button in Europe. “I just wanted to get that fresh start, and a fresh start with an organization that hopefully believes in me and can let me be that confident version of myself. That was massive.  They’d been watching me a little bit, and I figured if I was able to have an impact on that team and could grow as a player, I’d just enjoy playing and enjoy the process a good amount. Any time you go through a crazy experience like that, you learn a ton.  If you ever do come back – and I didn’t know if I was planning on coming back or not – you learn to appreciate certain things and play a certain way, and kind of just find your role, find that best version of yourself to be able to come back to North America and see what I could do.”

It’s all been a chance to write another chapter for Kuffner, whose stay with the Red Wings was surprisingly an uneventful one; he made his much-anticipated NHL debut on March 16, 2019 against the New York Islanders, but, in limited ice time, ended up with no points and just eight shots on goal in 10 total games.

It was, Kuffner said, a “super eye-opening” experience, but also, of course, a dream come true.  Ultimately, though, it may have been something that temporarily stunted his development a bit; a move straight from the ECAC at the college level directly to the National Hockey League is an incredible challenge, one that the Ottawa native has had some time to reflect on.

Having done so he wouldn’t trade it for a thing.

“Maybe I wasn’t as prepared as possible for that experience, but at the same time, when an opportunity comes like that, I thought I’d be prepared,” Kuffner said. “You don’t realize how crazy of an adjustment it is until you’re actually there. But I think it’s the opposite, I think wherever I was at that level, I got better no matter what because of it. So, it kind of just gave me an eye-opening experience of where I have to be a certain point. Yes, I was dealing with some lingering stuff, but any hockey player goes through those periods where it’s a big learning experience. But, fortunately for me, I was able to have it when I was playing at the highest level. That was great for learning. It was a super tough adjustment, but I was lucky to have it at that level. To be able to learn from it is probably one of the greatest lessons I’ll ever have in my life.”