Goaltender Henrik Tikkanen is developing rather nicely for the Islanders.
Goaltender Henrik Tikkanen is developing rather nicely for the Islanders.
MONTREAL -- New York Islanders goaltender prospect Henrik Tikkanen is turning heads in Bridgeport.
In six games, the 23-year-old Mountain, standing at six-foot-seven, and weighing 190 pounds, owns a 2.76 GAA with a .909 SV% in six games.
His strong showing in his first stint in the AHL forced the hands of the Islanders to make a shocking goaltending decision Thursday morning.
The former seventh-round pick at the 2020 NHL Draft started his career in the ECHL with the Worcester Railers last season following his first appearance at Islanders rookie camp.
There, Tikkanen posted a 3.02 GAA with a .914 SV% in 38 appearances to kick off his North American career.
With former elite NHL netminder Cory Schneider not returning to the Islanders organization, that left an opening alongside Jakub Skarek in Bridgeport, with Tikkanen, top goalie prospect Tristan Lennox, and minor-league veteran Ken Appleby all in the mix for the job.
With Lennox gearing up for his first professional season and Tikkanen still adjusting to the North American game, Appleby won the gig.
Through 11 appearances, Appleby (2.88 GAA, .897 SV%) outperformed starter Skarek (3.36 GAA, .884 SV%), who inked a two-year deal this summer.
When Semyon Varlamov went down with a lower-body injury on Dec. 27, before another injury on Jan. 2, the organization elected to recall Appleby, who got into one game, playing the third period in the Islanders' 5-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Jan. 8.
While Appleby was up with the NHL club, Tikkanen (3.11 GAA, .896 SV% in 13 starts in Worcester) got the chance to join Bridgeport, as Lennox was out with an injury sustained on Dec. 18.
It seems that Tikkanen has done enough in his six-game stint in the AHL because with Varlamov back on the Islanders roster after a stint on Injured Reserve, it was Appleby whom the organization elected to return to Worcester.
Quite frankly, if Skarek hadn't signed a two-year deal this past summer, the former 2018 third-round pick may have been on his way to the ECHL.
So, for now, Tikkanen has earned the chance to continue to prove his worth at the AHL level and has clearly been developing faster than one would have thought in just his second season in the organization.