3 days ago
Is this finally the goaltender the Edmonton Oilers have long been looking for?
The Top 20 countdown of our 2025 Cult of Hockey Prospect Series begins today. These are the twenty young men in the system right now who are closest to making an impact with the big club.
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A friendly reminder: Players only fall off the list once they:
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-Make the NHL
-Get dealt to a different organization
-Age out, or…
-Drop off the map.
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(Voters: David Staples, Kurt Leavins, Jim Matheson, Ira Cooper).
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Few things are quite as divisive in Oil Country as the state of the Edmonton Oilers goaltending.
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And that debate gets no less heated when we start to delve into the young goalies advancing through the system. With the departure of Olivier Rodrigue from the organization, only two tenders remain in the Top 20 Prospects. And one of them, Eemil Vinni, sits squarely at #20.
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Vinni is nineteen, turning 20 in December. The Finnish puck stopper was selected by the Oilers in Round Two, sixty-four overall in the 2024 draft. At the time, it was thought that perhaps the Oilers jumped the gun on him just a shade. TSN's Bob McKenzie had Vinnie ranked at 74. Craig Button had him at 93. In fact, one of the few who had him slated higher than where the Oilers picked him was Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News (41). NHL Central Scouting did have him listed as the top EU goalie available.
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A left shot/left glove, Eemil Vinni stands slightly above average among today's netminders at 6'2+. And his size is certainly a plus. But what type of goalie is he? We first glance at this entry from Elite Prospects:
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'A well-rounded goaltender who has an exciting approach to the game which plays into his strengths. The 6-foot-2 netminder is not afraid to attack shooters and force their hand – leading to a lot of mistakes by opponents. Very active and assertive in the crease, but not overly aggressive. He controls pucks with his hands extremely well, and his elite edgework completes the package.
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And to Dobber Prospects, on how he is progressing thus far:
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– 'Prior to the 2024-25 season, Vinni underwent back surgery which limited him to only nine regular season games across three teams in Finland. Encouraging sign to see him playing again before season's end and improve his save percentage as well. Vinni had a .910 SV% over seven games for SM-sarja of the Finnish U20 league. Look for him to start in Mestis in 2025-26 and make a push for playing time in Liiga before the season is over'.
