Joel Blomqvist

June 2023 – Blomqvist is another goaltender in Pittsburgh’s strong stable of prospects. The 2020 draft pick spent the season in Liiga the Finnish pro league where he finished with a 2.29 goals against average and a 0.907 save percentage in 21 total games. The numbers are good for a player at his point in development, however, two concussions limited the number of games Blomqvist was able to dress for. Blomqvist is a prototypical goaltender at 6-2 and 183 lbs with solid athleticism. He also made his second career AHL start at the end of the season in Wilkes-Barre. Going into next year Blomqvist has the potential to play in Wilkes-Barre for a full season next year, but does have a European assignment clause that could allow him to head back to Finland for one more year. With both of Wilkes-Barre’s goaltenders from this past season being upcoming free agents the path for Blomqvist to be in the AHL is there. Tyler Ball

June 2022 – The Finnish goaltender enjoyed a terrific campaign with Kärpät in Liiga, leading the league with a 1.32 goals-against average and a 0.940 save percentage – albeit in just 20 appearances. Development has been going as expected for Blomqvist, to the point that the Penguins felt comfortable dealing Calle Clang at the trade deadline. He plays a very technical game, focused on tracking the puck and cutting down angles to remain big as he is relatively undersized at 6-2, 183 pounds. He is not an explosive skater like Yaroslav Askarov, but he is very precise in his lateral movement, rarely finding himself out of position. It looks like he will likely start the year in Wilkes-Barre after signing an amateur tryout in the spring. Don’t be surprised if he takes over the net by the end of the year. Kyle Watson

December 2020 – Many thought Blomqvist would be the starter for Team Finland at the World Juniors, but it appears he will have to win that job from 19-year-old Kari Piiroinen. Both have started the season well in Finland’s second tier, but Blomqvist does have two wins in two starts in the Liiga, letting in just three goals in the process. Kyle Watson

October 2020 – Blomqvist was drafted 52nd overall by the Penguins. Blomqvist is expected to spend at least two more years in Finland before crossing the pond.  Jokke Nevalainen

March 2020 – Blomqvist finished his first full season in Jr. SM-liiga with a 0.931 save percentage as the number one goalie for the regular season championship winning Kärpät team. Blomqvist won 26 out of the 34 games he played and took home the Best Goalie award at the end of the regular season. Blomqvist has also been Finland’s undisputed number one goalie in his age group in international events for two years now, including at the U17 World Hockey Challenge last season and at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup to start this season. He was also Finland’s number three goalie at the U18 Worlds last season as an underager. Blomqvist has the size, technical skills and hockey sense to become a starting goalie at the NHL level. But like most young goalies, he will need lots of time and development before he gets there. He has a chance to be the second goalie taken in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, as early as in the second round. But it also wouldn’t be surprising if the goalie run doesn’t start until the third round.  Jokke Nevalainen