The promising Finnish goalie, Joel Blomqvist, has made a significant impact in North America’s hockey AHL. Blomqvist, who moved to North America for a season, currently stands as the second-best goalie in the entire series, with an average of 2.08 goals conceded.
Blomqvist, 22, defends for Pittsburgh’s farm team, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. His exceptional performance has earned him an invitation to the AHL star event in San Jose, due to take place local time on Monday.
Since mid-December, Blomqvist’s performance has been nothing short of impressive. Out of 12 matches, he has saved with more than 95 percent certainty in eight of them. He has a total of 26 recorded games under his belt.
Despite his success, Blomqvist has yet to record a clean sheet this season, a unique feature in his statistics. He has a save percentage of 92.2 for the entire season. On the other hand, Magnus Hellberg, the Swedish goalie who previously performed exceptionally well in the KHL, has had to settle for 16 games and the role of the second goalie.
At present, Blomqvist’s chances of making it to the big league, the NHL, seem slim. The responsibility in Pittsburgh has been given to Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic, both of whom have performed reasonably well.
Andy Chiodo, who served in various Finnish teams such as Jokeri, HPK, Kärppi, Tapparaa, LeKi and KalPa, currently coaches Blomqvist. Blomqvist notes that while his performance is closely monitored, he also appreciates the peace to concentrate on his everyday life.
Interestingly, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton AHL team signed an NHL contract with Jesse Puljujärvi late on Sunday. Blomqvist joined the AHL when Kärppi’s playoff spring in 2022 was interrupted in the seventh game of the quarter-final series against Ilves. At that time, he saved his first match in the farm league.
This season, Blomqvist has settled more permanently in North America, playing the first season of his rookie contract.
