joe89
#5
- Apr 30, 2009
- 20,316
- 179
Finland has been regarded as a powerhouse when it comes to goaltending for a long long time. Sweden's usually had one good goalie at the time, which is good enough for International play, but with underwhelming depth.
So.. Finland's had six goaltenders starting a game this season in the NHL. Sweden's had nine. That's an incredibly flawed stat as every single one of the Finnish goalies is an above average or better starter(three or four arguably world class), while we still only have one full-time starter and a couple of 1a, 1b guys.
---------------
A comparison..
NHL
Sweden:
Lundqvist
Fasth
Lindbäck
Hedberg
Lehner
Markström
Enroth
Gustavsson
Nilstorp
Finland:
Bäckström
Rinne
Rask
Kiprusoff
Niemi
Lehtonen
Their crop is starting to come to age a little as only Rask(26) is under 29 years of age.
Hedberg is old, but other than that Lundqvist at 31 is our oldest goalie, with four guys being younger than Rask.
AHL/ECHL
By my count we have an additional six goaltenders playing pro hockey in North America, which means that 15 of 30 NHL teams have a Swedish goalie signed and playing within the organization already. Those other six are:
Svedberg
Hellberg
Nilsson
Läck
Owuya
Karlsson
Owuya and Karlsson aren't much, but the other four are really good prospects and/or having great seasons.
Finland have another five goalies themselves playing pro in NA:
Aittokallio
Hovinen
Helenius
Rynnäs
Säteri
Other than Aittokallio, probably not guys with a great NA future.
Recently Drafted Prospects(2010-2012) in Europe/CHL/USHL
Sweden:
Dansk
Gustafsson
Ullmark
Lundström
Forsberg
Mattsson
Pettersson-Wentzel
Finland:
Gibson
Korpisalo
Tuohimaa
Kiviaho
Perhonen
Iilahti
Some really good, some decent and some meh for both. A bit early to tell really.
---------------
To take out of this, Finland trumps us big time when it comes to NHL starting goalies which is all that really matters, but from age 25 and under(guys born -88 or later) it seems like we really have an edge in current development. Both in quality and in depth.
How many starters do you think we have in 3-4 years time? Who takes the next step?
And do we take up the fight with the Finns as a goaltending nation?
So.. Finland's had six goaltenders starting a game this season in the NHL. Sweden's had nine. That's an incredibly flawed stat as every single one of the Finnish goalies is an above average or better starter(three or four arguably world class), while we still only have one full-time starter and a couple of 1a, 1b guys.
---------------
A comparison..
NHL
Sweden:
Lundqvist
Fasth
Lindbäck
Hedberg
Lehner
Markström
Enroth
Gustavsson
Nilstorp
Finland:
Bäckström
Rinne
Rask
Kiprusoff
Niemi
Lehtonen
Their crop is starting to come to age a little as only Rask(26) is under 29 years of age.
Hedberg is old, but other than that Lundqvist at 31 is our oldest goalie, with four guys being younger than Rask.
AHL/ECHL
By my count we have an additional six goaltenders playing pro hockey in North America, which means that 15 of 30 NHL teams have a Swedish goalie signed and playing within the organization already. Those other six are:
Svedberg
Hellberg
Nilsson
Läck
Owuya
Karlsson
Owuya and Karlsson aren't much, but the other four are really good prospects and/or having great seasons.
Finland have another five goalies themselves playing pro in NA:
Aittokallio
Hovinen
Helenius
Rynnäs
Säteri
Other than Aittokallio, probably not guys with a great NA future.
Recently Drafted Prospects(2010-2012) in Europe/CHL/USHL
Sweden:
Dansk
Gustafsson
Ullmark
Lundström
Forsberg
Mattsson
Pettersson-Wentzel
Finland:
Gibson
Korpisalo
Tuohimaa
Kiviaho
Perhonen
Iilahti
Some really good, some decent and some meh for both. A bit early to tell really.
---------------
To take out of this, Finland trumps us big time when it comes to NHL starting goalies which is all that really matters, but from age 25 and under(guys born -88 or later) it seems like we really have an edge in current development. Both in quality and in depth.
How many starters do you think we have in 3-4 years time? Who takes the next step?
And do we take up the fight with the Finns as a goaltending nation?