Between injuries and inconsistency, the 2024-25 season was one of ups and downs for Pittsburgh Penguins goaltending prospect Joel Blomqvist.
Because of an injury to netminder Alex Nedeljkovic during training camp, Blomqvist made the opening night NHL roster and impressed in his first NHL stint, posting a .903 save percentage through nine appearances, which included one outlier poor performance against the Dallas Stars on Nov. 11.
He was then sent back down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) - Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate - and saw a second NHL stint after Tristan Jarry was waived on Jan. 15. He struggled in that one, and afterwards, was optioned and didn't see another AHL game until the Calder Cup playoffs due to a lower-body injury.
So what's in store for Blomqvist next season?
With both Nedeljkovic and Jarry still under contract in 2025-25 - as of now - Blomqvist's path to making the opening night NHL roster won't be an easy one. But despite the roller coaster ride of a season he had, his confidence level is exactly where it needs to be.
"I feel pretty good," Blomqvist said after his final start of the regular season on Mar. 2, which was a 6-5 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. "I'm learning from each game, and I feel more confident each time. So, I'll just keep building [confidence]."
Blomqvist, 23, was a second-round pick (52nd overall) by the Penguins in 2020. The Finnish netminder had an .885 save percentage for the NHL season and a .914 save percentage for WBS. With the current goaltending logjam at the NHL level - and prospects such as Sergei Murashov, Filip Larsson, and Taylor Gauthier on the rise - 2025-26 may just be a make-it-or-break-it season for Blomqvist.
Penguins GM and POHO Kyle Dubas has reiterated that the team will undergo a youth movement next season, and that figures to include the goaltending position. If Pittsburgh is to move into the next phase of its rebuild on-the-fly effort, they need to see what they have in Blomqvist and some of their other prospects between the pipes.
As such, Blomqvist should be on the NHL roster out of training camp. That would likely require the Penguins to move out either Jarry or Nedeljkovic, but - given the team's trajectory - it's something they should highly consider.
Either way, Blomqvist should get some runway next season to prove that he can be the guy - or, at least, one of the guys - for the Penguins as they look to the future.
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