Emil Larmi

October 2020 – The penguins have loaned Larmi to his former Finnish team, HPK of the Liiga, for the entirety of the 2020-21 season. He will be playing on the team with fellow Penguins prospect, Valtteri Puutstien. Clare McManus

June 2020 – The Penguins have recalled Larmi to their return to play roster and to participate in Phase two practices. Clare McManus

May 2020 – Had a decent first North American year between the Wheeling Nailers and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He played nine total games with the AHL Penguins posting a 3.55 GAA and a .883 save percentage. He then played 11 games with the ECHL Nailers where he posted a 3.55 GAA and a .908 save percentage. Clare McManus

February 2020 – The Finnish puckstopper’s season has been interesting, if not successful. After a scare when he took a hit to the head in late October against the San Antonio Rampage, Larmi was elevated from the ECHL to the NHL in January to back up Matt Murray. It was supposed to be Casey DeSmith, but he misplaced his passport. Larmi’s numbers are unimpressive this season in the AHL and ECHL, but he’s under contract for 2020-21 before becoming an RFA. Mark Allan

January 2020 – After being promoted to back up Matt Murray for a 3-2 OT win in Montreal, the 23-year-old Finn was reassigned to the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers. The North American pro rookie has a 1-2-2 AHL record with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and is 3-1 in the ECHL with a 1.51 goals-against average and .959 save percentage. Mark Allan

September 2019 – Larmi was one of 17 players assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL in the second round of cuts from Pittsburgh’s training camp. Signed as a free agent in June to address the organization’s scarcity of good netminding prospects, the 20-year-old is coming off a spectacular campaign in the Liiga in which he followed a regular-season GAA of 1.94 by posting 1.72 in 18 playoff games while leading HPK to the championship. His North American minor-pro introduction will be a whole new challenge. Mark Allan

June 2019 – The 22-year-old Finn has signed to a two-year, two-way entry-level contract that lasts through the 2020-21 campaign with an average annual value of $925,000 at the NHL level. The 6-foot, 183-pound netminder earned the attention of western Pennsylvania scouts by helping HPK capture the championship of the Liiga, Finland’s top professional league. Undrafted by any NHL squad, Larmi played in all of his team’s 18 playoff games with a 12-6 record achieved with a 1.72 goals-against average, a .932 save percentage, and two shutouts in the final series. That followed a regular season in which he finished third in the league with a 1.94 goals-against average and tied for third with four shutouts. He also won a gold medal at the 2016 World Junior Championship as Finland’s backup puck-stopper.

Although he’s a smurf by current NHL goaltending standards, Larmi is described as athletic, mobile and extremely competitive with a good hockey IQ. Can he
come close in North America to replicating his eye-popping Liiga numbers? It’s hard to tell how any young goalie will perform in the pros, particularly one without North American experience. We’ll learn more when he debuts for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the AHL. Mark Allan