With Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic injured, prospect Joel Blomqvist sees opportunity
Chances are few people in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization have as much familiarity with goaltending prospect Joel Blomqvist as forward Valtteri Puustinen.
A fellow Finn, Puustinen watched Blomqvist come up through the professional ranks in that country’s top league, the Liiga. And last season, they were teammates in the American Hockey League with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
“Last year (was) his first (in North America) and he played so good,” Puustinen said. “But this is not a big surprise for me. Because I (saw) when he played in Finland in the playoffs and he had really good (games).
“I am happy for him. I hope he plays this year a little bit better than last year.”
If nothing else, Blomqvist figures to have a better station to open this year as he seems to be the leading candidate to open the 2024-25 season as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ primary backup goaltender.
On Wednesday, the NHL club announced incumbent backup Alex Nedeljkovic will be sidelined on a week-to-week basis due to an undisclosed injury he suffered during a 5-1 road preseason win against the Detroit Red Wings on Monday.
Hobbled by a suspected right leg ailment, Nedeljkovic gave way to Blomqvist, who earned the victory by making 20 saves on 21 shots.
That performance represented a considerable improvement from his first contest this preseason when he was blasted for six goals on 24 shots during a 7-3 road loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Sept. 21.
Since then, his play has leveled off and been reflective of his status as one of the organization’s top prospects.
“How he reacted to his first game has been impressive,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “As a young player, when it doesn’t go the way you want, sometimes that can affect your overall confidence and in turn affect your future performance. That hasn’t been the case. He put it behind him, went back to work and he controls that which he can control. When he went back in the net, he did a terrific job.
“He certainly has reacted to it the right way to what could have been a tough situation for him. We give him high marks for that. I think it says a lot about his maturity as a player.”
Blomqvist’s performance with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2023-24 spoke volumes as well. Selected as an All-Star, Blomqvist appeared in 45 games and had a 25-12-6 record, 2.16 goals against average, .921 save percentage and one shutout.
During a practice session in Cranberry on Wednesday, Blomqvist skated with the Penguins’ main group of NHL-caliber players. Meanwhile, Filip Larsson, a veteran seen as a competitor to Blomqvist for the starting role with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, skated with a group of reserves.
“I feel like my game is getting better all the time each day,” Blomqvist said. “I’m getting (an) opportunity to practice with NHL guys. So, it’s a lot of fun. And I feel like I improve every day.”
His chances to open the season on the NHL roster improved quite a bit Wednesday.
“It’s unfortunate when a teammate gets injured,” Blomqvist said. “But that’s the times when opportunities come for other guys. You take (it) day by day and do my best when the opportunity comes.”
Other injuries
The team also announced forward Blake Lizotte will be sidelined indefinitely after being diagnosed with a concussion. He was injured when he was struck in the head by a puck while sitting on the bench during a 5-2 win against the Ottawa Senators in Sudbury, Ont., on Sunday.
A free agent signing in July, Lizotte was expected to open the season in the team’s group of bottom-six forwards.
Defenseman Erik Karlsson, sidelined for all of training camp to this point due to an undisclosed injury, skated before practice for the second consecutive day. He has been labeled as “day to day.”
Forward prospect Vasily Ponomarev has also been termed as “day to day” due to an unspecified injury. He slammed his left shoulder into the boards during a 2-1 home loss to the Red Wings on Tuesday and left the contest at 7:09 of the second period.
Forward Bryan Rust was absent from practice for what was described as a maintenance day.
Roster moves
Forwards Jimmy Huntington and Marc Johnstone and defenseman Mac Hollowell were waived, presumably for the purposes of being assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Forward Avery Hayes and defenseman Dan Renouf, each signed to AHL contracts, were assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Off to Columbus
The Penguins announced the players they are scheduled to send to Columbus for their final road game of the preseason on Thursday.
Forwards - Corey Andonovski, Emil Bemstrom, Tristan Broz, Jonathan Gruden, Kevin Hayes, Boko Imama, Joona Koppanen, Ville Koivunen, Rutger McGroarty, Sam Poulin, Jesse Puljujarvi, Valtteri Puustinen
Defensemen - Sebastian Aho, Harrison Brunicke, Nathan Clurman, Filip Kral, John Ludvig, Owen Pickering, Ryan Shea
Goaltenders - Tristan Jarry, Filip Larsson
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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