The Pittsburgh Penguins goalie depth has become less of a worry over the last few seasons as they have added the likes of Alex Nedeljkovic, Joel Blomqvist, and most recently, Sergei Murashov. Their depth is going to be tested early this season as on Wednesday (Oct. 2), the team announced Nedeljkovic will be out week-to-week with a lower-body injury he suffered early in their 5-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Monday (Sept. 30).
This is a huge loss as the Penguins open their regular season next week with a back-to-back against the New York Rangers and the aforementioned Red Wings. Though it may be a loss of a veteran goalie, the Penguins have a young, hungry goaltender in Blomqvist waiting for his moment to shine, and now can be that time. He has a big opportunity ahead of him, and will be looking to seize that chance.
Blomqvist is a promising goalie who made a splash last season in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. With the “baby” Penguins, he went 25-12-6 in 45 games played. Through those games, he managed to accumulate a 2.16 goals-against average (GAA) and a .921 save percentage (SV%), which ranked him third and fifth respectively. His 25 wins tied him with Matt Murray for second-most wins by a rookie goalie with Wilkes-Barre, just one short of tying Marc-Andre Fleury.
Has a Scouting Report on Detroit Already
As mentioned before, the Penguins open their 2024-25 campaign with a back-to-back next week. The first is on home ice, which will see Tristan Jarry get the start, then on the road the next night to play the Red Wings. Blomqvist could make his NHL debut then as he has already seen a number of the Red Wings’ regular roster players such as Patrick Kane, Dylan Larkin, and Moritz Seider, to name a few, so he has an early scouting report on how they play and shoot. Yes, it is preseason, but you can still scout the same as if it were a regular season game, especially when guys will still be shaking off the rust of their game. That leaves a good chance for Blomqvist to step in the net in what has been a very good rivalry over the years when they face Detroit.
Can Be a Solid Backup Choice to Begin NHL Career
I discussed in a previous article that Blomqvist could be a solid choice between the pipes for the Penguins soon, but they should not rush his development too quickly to get him into a backup or starter role. However, it seems as though they will not be able to take their time with his development and will need to get him up to NHL speed quickly. However, they can still develop him properly as he will not be seeing regular game time. This would allow goalie coach, Andy Chiodo, to work with him more intensely, but not to the point one would try to get a starter ready.
Related: Joel Blomqvist Could Be a Good Option in Net for the Penguins Soon
Through the preseason, Blomqvist has shown he can be at least a backup in the NHL now. His first game against the Buffalo Sabres on Sept. 21 was unlike him, to say the least. He allowed six goals on 24 shots and was pulled in a game he was scheduled to play the entirety of. That did not let it affect his mindset, however. Three nights later, he had a big bounce-back game against the Sabres, coming in for the second half of the game. He stopped all 11 shots he faced. The next game, he came on in relief for the injured Nedeljkovic, allowing just one goal on 21 shots to finish out the game. This had Penguins’ head coach Mike Sullivan singing his praises.
He told Taylor Haase of DK Pittsburgh Sports, “It was one of the reasons why we wanted to get him back in there. I thought he played a very calculated game. He has a calm demeanor. He was tracking pucks. He made a couple good saves for us. And I think that’s a really good sign when a player has the ability to bounce back the way he did.” As Sullivan also told Haase, when a young goaltender has a bad game, it usually affects their overall confidence and future performances. That has not been the case with Blomqvist. He has been able to have those big bounce-back games, even at just 22 years old. In some cases, goaltenders that have been in the NHL for a while struggle to get back to the way they were playing before a bad game. It is for this reason, that should it happen, the Penguins will not need to look far for their number two goalie.
Though an unfortunate thing has already happened to the Penguins goaltending, which has been the case for a few years now, their depth allows them to be successful. Blomqvist has a great opportunity to continue making a name for himself to management, which will get them thinking about future plans with goaltending. He is prepared to take that next step, but it is a matter of getting that development boosted a bit, and games under his belt.
