Observations:

July 2013 – Jay Feaster continues to put his stamp on the Calgary Flames, signing Ramo to a two-year contract worth $5.8 million. This is a signature move by Feaster, as it is anticipated their long time franchise goalie, Miikka Kiprusoff, will indeed retire. Ramo faltered as a young goalie in Tampa Bay, posting a 3.35 GOA on a struggling team that averaged 33 wins from 2006-09. His numbers in the KHL have been excellent (26-9-5 / 2.00 GOA / .929 save percentage this season), and he has shown impressive consistency from year to year. He was an unheralded inclusion in the trade with Montreal that featured Mike Cammalleri moving to the Flames for Rene Bourque. Ramo’s upside may eventually explain why Feaster was willing to give up a second round pick (ironically, Montreal chose goaltender Zach Fucale), and his play may go a long way in determining Feaster’s future with the Flames. Sheldon Curtis

March 2013 – Ramo continues to dominate the KHL. His contract expires April 30 and the buzz is really ramping up that the Flames will work hard to bring him back to the NHL. Makes for a great dark horse with potentially an instant impact. – Dobber

January 2013 – Ramo was a high ceiling goalie prospect for the NHL on the cusp three years ago that everyone knew about and still remains very close. He is a rather large and fully grown goaltender now with great athleticism and solid positioning. The past four years he has been an absolute rock for Avangard Omsk of the KHL, in 202 games (regular season & playoffs) he has posted a 114-62-20 record with a 1.99 goals against average, .923 save percentage while posting 21 shutouts. He has currently just been named the KHL goalie of the month. In interviews with Calgary GM Jay Feaster discussed late last season on CBC that intentions were for Ramo to finish his KHL commitments and then be signed and return to NHL with the Flames. It would be expected that Ramo would serve as a backup to fellow Finnish tender Mikka Kiprusoff (then 37 years old) and then likely take the reins as starter if all goes well once Kipper becomes an unrestricted free agent. Between now and end of the year would be an excellent time for a manager struggling in net to acquire and stash Ramo on their roster.

Fantasy Outlook:  B+

He struggled in his first few attempts in North America as a 20-23 year old, but is now more mature and has more experience with high quality shooters. Should become an above average starter with upside and longevity.

Footage: Rather amusing video of Karri making a rather routine save then pulling the puck out of the air into his net trying to control the rebound.

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Fantasy Prospects Report Notes (Any FPR’s released in the last 18 months will not be listed here):

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Karri Ramo statistics courtesy of Elite Prospects