Dave Isaac of Philly Sports Daily reported this morning that the Flyers have signed Finnish goaltender Niko Hovinen to an entry level contract. The details of the contract have not been made public yet.
Hovinen, 23, was formerly a Minnesota Wild draft pick but has only played in the Finnish league SM-Liga. He was Ville Leino’s teammate in 2007-08 with Jokerit Helsinki and played 49 games this past season with the Lahti Pelivans. According to TeemuH of Broad Street Hockey, Hovinen posted a 2.59 goals-against-average and and 0.921 save percentage this past season.
In case you’re wondering, no, Hovinen was not the goaltender for Team Finland in this year’s IIHF World Championship. That honor goes to Petri Vehanen, 33, who backstopped Finland to win a gold medal (and is shown in the main image in this post). Hovinen was the third goaltender on the team, though, so he still wins a gold medal.
One could make the argument that Vehanen or Swedish goaltender Viktor Fasth, who was named MVP of the tournament prior to imploding in the gold medal game, should have been on our radar. Presumably, though, the Flyers’ scouts saw raw talent in Hovinen’s game.
Perhaps lightning will strike twice and we have another Sergei Bobrovsky in the wings.
As Isaac mentions in his report, this signing suggests that neither Nicola Riopel or Brian Stewart will be re-signed. I would have liked to see Stewart get another shot after he performed well with the Adirondack Phantoms. It’s not his fault that the same day he was named “AHL Player of the Week,” Michael Leighton was placed on waivers.
The problem with this signing is the same one we had last year- where does he fit on the depth chart? The only way he sees time with the Phantoms is if A) the Flyers choose not to address their goaltending during the offseason and don’t acquire another goaltender or if B) either Leighton or Johan Backlund are expected to be out of the line-up with injuries.
I don’t see how signing a goalie playing in a European league and placing him in the ECHL could possibly be good for his career. The Flyers also have talented goaltending prospect Joacim Eriksson, who is currently playing in the Swedih Elitserien but is expected to be in North America next year.
By that time, the Flyers would have Bobrovsky, Hovinen, Eriksson, and whoever starts this season under contract. That actually doesn’t sound that bad.
UPDATE: Apparently Hovinen will spend next season in Finland, according to Teemu and Broad Street Hockey. That answers the question of where he fits in the system.
project at best, but this is project worth investing in.
Boston out skated us, had more odd man rushes, Back checked better, made better passes, there breakout was flawless, and always had bodies in front of our net. They wanted it more and we cant point the blame at our Goalies.
So the Chairman of the Board declares.. “We (Flyers) will not have a revolving door at Goalie next Season” .. and this is the best they can do… Wow..
What a fraud that man is..
Paulman, Hovinen isn’t expected to be in North America next season. Its still possible depending on how the offseason continues, but I don’t think they’ll allow for a similar situation to develop like what happened with Bobrovsky. If anything, this is just depth building for a team with few draft picks.
Thanx Josh, I was just being facetious by the way… I like to get hits against Ed Snider every chance I can…
To your point Greg, there have been just as many articles about the lack of leadership and Mike Richards specifically as the goalie situation. Let’s be clear that they have a lot more problems than their goalies, but their goalies were atrocious in the playoffs, and look what a solid goalie can do in the playoffs. Buff would be nothing without Miller and the ageless Tim Thomas was unconscious in the Boston series. A solid goalie solves a lot of problems.