Maybe that's because he dishes them out so regularly.

"He's the most physical player we've had this year by far," Coyotes superstar Jeremy Roenick told SportsLine.com. "When he's out on the ice, people know it."

Of course, it's hard to miss him. Vaananen stands six-foot-four and weighs 220 pounds, but the way he really makes his presence felt is by crunching opponents whenever he can. In fact the 129 hits he has been credited with this season -- the most among first-year players -- is the one stat with which he measures much of his success.

Ossi Vaananen (left) sets his sights on opponents and makes them pay a price.(Allsport)

"I'm not very happy when there is a zero (in the hit column) after the game," the 20-year-old native of Finland said. "I don't go around looking for it, but when there's a chance, I definitely like to hit. That's always been my style."

Well, part of his style anyway. According to Coyotes coach Bob Francis, there are many other dimensions to Vaananen on the ice.

"He can play any type of game," Francis said. "He can play finesse, he can skate, he's agile, he can move, he sees the ice and he plays physical. You can match him up against anybody."

Which is really quite tribute to a defenseman who is not only breaking in, but who had never played a North American game until this year.

"The speed of the game is way faster here and the guys are stronger, but those are the things you learn about as you go along," Vaananen said. "You have to make adjustments."

Vaananen has adjusted, but more important, he has demonstrated the poise and smarts of someone who has been in the game for several years. As a result, he finds himself among the Coyotes top four defenseman, lining up most often with veteran Keith Carney and usually against opponents' bigger forwards.

It is something no one could have predicted when he showed up for his first NHL training camp last summer.

"I didn't know what to expect," Francis admitted. "For a 20-year-old to crack an NHL lineup speaks for itself because it's such a difficult transition, but what is really impressive is the impact he has had. He's been outstanding for us."

Vaananen has been a stalwart along the Phoenix blueline, averaging more than 18 minutes of ice time per game and taking regular turns on both the power play and penalty killing units. His offensive production has been minimal -- although he scored a goal in his NHL debut last October -- but he has shown himself to be reliable in his own end and intimidating enough to draw some comparisons to a young Chris Pronger, a reference that even scouts refrained from using while they watched him star in Finnish elite leagues as a teenager.

The Helsinki native has developed as a stay-at-home first type of defenseman, but has always been shown strong skating and puck-movement ability, and of course, a penchant for making contact with any opponent on the move.

Phoenix saw those talents and selected Vaananen in the second round of the 1998 draft, but signed him only last season after he played a starring role on his country's national team.

"I wanted to come over as soon as I could get a deal," said Vaananen, who is earning $625,000 from the Coyotes this season. "But I also wanted to make sure I was ready."

If Vaananen had any doubts, they were intensified by the fact that Phoenix had two of his country's hockey legends, Teppo Numminen and Jyrki Lumme, in its lineup. The rookie admitted he was a little awestruck at first, but added that he quickly used it to his advantage.

"At first it was like, wow, what am I doing here? But you get used to seeing guys like that sitting next to you on the bench," Vaananen said. "Now I watch what they're doing. Maybe I can learn something from them."

Evidently, he has. Francis insists Vaananen reads plays much like Numminen does and has progressed much faster than anyone would have a right to expect from a rookie.

"We knew we'd suffer through some mistakes early in the year, but by Christmas we knew we'd be a better team because of him," Francis said. "He's just getting better and better as time goes on."