Should Finland Consider Penguins' Blomqvist For 4 Nations Face-off?

Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Joel Blomqvist is off to one of the better starts for Finnish-born netminders this season. Should he be considered as a backup at the 4 Nations Face-off?

Finland will be one of the four teams participating in the upcoming 4 Nations Face-off tournament in February 2025. 

Although Team Canada has dominated the headlines regarding goaltending at the event, Finland has Juuse Saros as their top goalie, and there's an argument to be made there is no clear-cut favorite to serve as a backup.

That's why Finland should consider bringing in Pittsburgh Penguins netminder Joel Blomqvist, who leads Finnish goalies with a .913 SV% in seven games this season.

Even though veteran Joonas Korpisalo has the inside track to the backup role, he's 3-2-0 with a .900 SV% and 2.72 GAA with the Boston Bruins, his fourth team in the past three seasons. He's compiled a .901 SV% and 3,06 GAA over 282 career games.

Meanwhile, Blomqvist, who is only 22, was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team and the league's Second All-Star Team last year with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He was 25-12-6 in 45 games with a .921 SV% and 2.16 GAA.

He doesn't have the experience of other Finnish netminders in the NHL, such as Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Buffalo), Kevin Lankinen (Vancouver), or Justus Annunen. However, Blmosyqvist has the country's second-best SV% since 2021-22, one point behind Saros, .914 to .913. 

His career 3.25 GAA may rank ninth in that time, but he's playing behind a team struggling defensively. After 16 games, Blomqvist is the only netminder in Pittsburgh with an SV% over .900, while his two partners, Alex Nedeljkovic (.883) and Tristan Jarry (.836), rank among the league's worst.

Lankinen plays behind reigning Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes, while Luukkonen stops pucks for one of the league's young defensive units led by Rasmus Dahlin. 

Other Finnish goalies, like Ville Husso and Kaapo Kahkonen, are in the mix but have had horrid starts this year. This means the role of Saros' backup comes down to five goalies, and Blomqvist has to be considered one of the top three candidates. 

Even if he is selected and spends the entire tournament in the press box, getting to skate with the best players for Finland would be a massive boost and a good indication that he would be in the conversation for the 2026 Olympics.

In addition to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin's milestone chases Blomqvist's brilliant performances have been one of the few success stories of the Penguins' timid start to 2024-25. Finnish executives should be watching since Pittsburgh sees its future in the young netminder.

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