Eemil Vinni
2023-24 Team: JoKP (Mestis)
Date of Birth: Dec. 18, 2005
Place of Birth: Vantaa, FIN
Height: 6-foot-2 Weight: 185 pounds
Catches: Left
Position: Goaltender
NHL Draft Eligibility: 2024 first-year eligible
Rankings
- NHL Central Scouting: 1st (European Goaltenders)
- FC Hockey: 64th
- The Hockey Writers (Baracchini): 78th
- Bob McKenzie (TSN): 69th
- Daily Faceoff: 73rd
Eemil Vinni jumped into the number one spot in the final 2024 NHL Central Scouting rankings for European goaltenders. As a promising prospect, he started moving up the rankings after the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where Vinni backstopped Finland to a third-place finish. He posted a 1.75 GAA and .927 save percentage at the tournament in four games. He was equally as good in the 2022 Cup as he didn’t have the net to start the tournament but established himself as the No. 1 for Finland as the week rolled along.
Vinni has good size and great feet, moves very well laterally, and controls his rebounds. He’s also not shy about jumping out of his crease to play the puck and outlet up ice. He also has good hands with a solid glove and blocker that he uses to react quickly by swallowing up rebounds into his chest.
Related: THW 2024 NHL Draft Guide
Scouts also like how Vinnin plays calmly is mentally focused and has the team feeding off his confidence. He usually stops that first shot. He lets the play come to him, doesn’t waste movements, and rarely overcommits. He displays good technique, plays the angles well, absorbs shots in his soft pads, and limits rebounds.
Some of the concerns around Vinni are that he tends to give up some soft goals and needs to be quicker with his side-to-side movements. One area that he has improved over previous seasons is his overcomminting to shots. Overall, Vinnihas noy major flaws and has incredible numbers as an 18-year-old in Finland’s second-tier pro league (Mestis).
NHL teams will be intrigued by the Finnish stopper, who enters the draft at good size, at 6 feet 2 inches, and has tremendous athleticism and control of his movements.
Other Draft Profiles
Eemil Vinni – NHL Draft Projection
A team will be attracted to Vinni because his stance covers a lot more net than one would expect from a median-sized goaltender. The question in this draft is where any top goaltenders will be drafted. Without a true top-level goaltending prospect in this draft, expect Vinni to be drafted in the third to fourth round along with the other handful of similarly ranked goaltenders.
Quotables
“Vinni is a very complete goaltending prospect. He’s decently sized with above-average athleticism, and his standout trait is his technical understanding of the game. He has precise and powerful footwork mixed with smart movement decisions makes him my No. 1 goalie for this year’s class.” David Phillips – FC Hockey
“Mature and highly advanced in his game, Vinni has a goalie’s lean physique with Gumby-like body and long arms. Has a real good glove, and gets a good push when going side to side. Poised with good feet and pads down low. The question is just a solid abckstopper or can he come with the bigs stops when he has to?” Bill Placzek – Lines.com
“The top goalie for many coming into the draft year, Vinni had a real rough start to his professional career in Mestis. Since then, however, he has been excellent and seems to have found his footing playing against men. Vinni is an intriguing prospect: the tools are evident, but so are the issues. His lateral speed and general skating abilities are great, and he loves to aggressively challenge shooters. However, he can have a hard time tracking, getting beat on medium-low danger chances and through the body too often.” Colin Hunter – Dobber Prospects
Strengths
- Mature and confident
- Moves quickly in the crease
- Cuts down the angles and space
Under Construction – Improvements to Make
- Rebound control
- Less “soft goals”
- Improved tracking
NHL Potential
His upside is being a starting goalie in the NHL. He is already adjusting to professional hockey in his draft year. If he continues to move up the ranks in Finland or decides to play in the American Hockey League, he has the potential to land on an NHL roster earlier than most goaltenders.
Risk-Reward Analysis
Risk: 2/5, Reward: 4/5
Awards/Achievements
2023 – U18 WJC Bronze Medal
2023 – Hlinka Gretzky Cup Bronze Medal
2023 – U18 SM-sarja Bronze Medal
Interviews/Links
Youtube: Mestis League Interview (In Finnish)
Eemil Vinni Stats
Videos
