Penguins stocked in goal with Joel Blomqvist and Calle Clang
After trading away Matt Murray, one of the franchise’s most accomplished goaltenders, Wednesday the Pittsburgh Penguins wasted little time in restocking the position.
An hour or so after sending Murray to the Ottawa Senators, the Penguins used their primary return in that transaction, the No. 52 overall selection in the second round of this year’s draft, on Finnish goaltender Joel Blomqvist.
Not sated, they looked at the net again for their third-round selection and chose Calle Clang of Sweden at No. 77.
The decision to take goaltenders with their top two selections had little to do with Murray’s departure, which was rooted primarily in economic constraints, and more based on a cliched “best player available” philosophy.
“They were both intriguing players,” Penguins director of amateur scouting Patrik Allvin said during a video conference with reporters Wednesday. “It just ended up turning out that both were available there, Blomqvist in the second round and Clang in the (third). We felt both guys were intriguing moving forward. It turned out great that way.
“Both of them, most likely, will be at the (IIHF World Junior Championship tournament) this year, Blomqvist for Finland and Clang for Sweden. I don’t think you can ever have enough good players in your system. Both of them are in a good situation in Europe, and we have four years to work with them. We felt really strong those two players, to get both of them in our system, we were really excited about it.”
In addition to Blomqvist and Clang, the Penguins also selected three forwards Wednesday.
Here is a player-by-player look at the Penguins’ 2020 draft class:
Joel Blomqvist, goaltender
Selection: Second round, No. 52 overall
Size: 6-foot-2, 183 pounds
Age: 18
Catches: Left
Current Team: Hermes Kokkola of Finland’s Mestis league
2019-20 statistics with Karpat in Finland’s Nuorten SM-Liigan: 34 games, 26-6 record, 1.66 goals-against average, .931 save percentage, five shutouts
2019-20 statistics with Karpat in Finland’s Liiga: Two games, 0-1 record, 4.73 goals-against average, .808 save percentage, zero shutouts
Allvin’s scouting report: “Blomqvist, I would compare him to (current Penguins goaltender Tristan) Jarry at this point. Really calm, a play-reader, really athletic. Obviously, he need to get stronger, (like) most of the young kids.”
Calle Clang, goaltender
Selection: Third round, No. 77 overall
Size: 6-foot-2, 194 pounds
Age: 18
Catches: Left
Current team: Kristianstads IK of Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan league
2019-20 statistics with Rogle of Sweden’s J20 SuperElit league: 34 games, 17-17 record, 2.64 goals-against average, .913 save percentage, two shutouts
2019-20 statistics with Rogle of Sweden’s J18 Elite league: Three games, 1-2 record, 2.75 goals-against average, .897 save percentage, zero shutouts
Allvin’s scouting report: “Clang might be a little bit further ahead in his body composition (than Blomqvist). But the same there, a really competitive player. And he’s a play-reader as well.”
Lukas Svejkovsky, center
Selection: Fourth round, No. 108 overall
Size: 5-foot-10, 165 pounds
Age: 18
Shoots: Right
Current team: Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League (WHL)
2019-20 statistics with Medicine Hat: 34 games, 13 goals, 15 assists, 28 points
2019-20 statistics with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL: 18 games, five goals, five assists, 10 points
Allvin’s scouting report: “Heading to the (United States World Junior Championships tournament) next week. Started out last year in Vancouver. Got traded to Medicine Hat there where we felt his game took off. An intriguing player because of his hockey sense and skill level. And also a good skater.”
Notes: A native of Point Roberts, Wash., … Son of Jaroslav “Yogi” Svejkovsky, a forward with the Washington Capitals and Lightning in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Raivis Ansons, right winger
Selection: Fifth round, No. 149 overall
Size: 6-foot-1, 191 pounds
Age: 18
Shoots: Right
Current team: Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
2019-20 statistics with Baie-Comeau Drakkar: 60 games, 13 goals, 22 assists, 35 points
Allvin’s scouting report: “Ansons obviously played for (Baie-Comeau Drakkar), where we have (2019 third-round selection) Nathan Legare. So we had a lot of staff members watching (Baie-Comeau Drakkar) this year, and they were intrigued by Ansons’ size and speed. And we do think there is more production to come in (the 2020-21 season), being a second year older. So we hope he can take a big step there.”
Note: Ansons is a native of Riga, Latvia.
Chase Yoder, center
Selection: Sixth round, No. 170 overall
Size: 5-foot-10, 174 pounds
Age: 18
Shoots: Left
Current team: Providence of the NCAA
2019-20 statistics with United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP) of the United States Hockey League (USHL): 19 games, three goals, four assists, seven points
2019-20 statistics with U.S. National Under-18 Team: 40 games, 10 goals, 10 assists, 20 points
Allvin’s scouting report: “Yoder is a character player. Out of the (USNTDP) that we watched a lot. A little bit like Teddy Blueger, the way Teddy is playing now for Pittsburgh. A hard-working two-way energy player. More of a fourth-line energy upside. A strong leader, strong character.”
Note: A native of Fairview, Texas, Yoder is a product of the Dallas Stars Elite Hockey Club.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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