Justus Annunen leads all Finnish NHL goalies with a .918 save percentage since the start of last season.
Colorado’s Justus tends goal against the Utah Hockey Club in the third period at Ball Arena on September 29, 2024 in Denver, Colorado. Justus Annunen’s string of competent goaltending helped steady the Colorado Avalanche during a tumultuous start to this season, and it will likely help him stave off a challenge for his place on the NHL roster.
Let’s be clear — Annunen making the 4 Nations roster is a long shot. The final rosters are due less than a month from now. But the Olympics in Italy a year later could be a reasonable goal, with some good fortune and another step in his development along the way. The most likely answer right now is Vancouver’s Kevin Lankinen. He’s off to a great start filling in for Thatcher Demko with the Canucks — 7-0-2 with a .923 save percentage. Lankinen was also the starting goalie for a Finland team that surprisingly won the world championships in 2019. That was the last time any of the current options for Finland played for the country in a men’s international event.
Annunen was probably eighth out those eight Finnish goalies in name recognition before the start of last season, though he did start for his country at both the U-18 and U-20 world championships. It’s been a long, slow build for Annunen to become an NHL goalie, but getting to start six times in eight games for the Avs was a big step for him.
“I don’t think there’s any easy games in this league,” Annunen said. “Every team has a lot of great players, but it is different against the top, top teams. It’s a huge challenge.”
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