Penguins goalie prospect Joel Blomqvist ready to make the next step

The Pittsburgh Penguins are in a bit of a transition phase between core groups. Part of the next group of key Penguins coming up is goaltender Joel Blomqvist. His success this season has created major hope for the future.

This season has been a crucial one for development in Pittsburgh. On the NHL roster players like Valtteri Puustinen and Drew O'Connor have found regular roles. In the AHL the biggest breakout has come from goaltender Joel Blomqvist.

Last season Joel Blomqvist dominated Liiga in Finland. This led him to earn a contract with the Penguins and an opportunity in the AHL. Big things were expected from the 22-year-old but it was expected to take time. To the surprise of pretty much everyone, Joel Blomqvist has dominated the AHL in his first year at that level.

This season Joel Blomqvist was expected to split starts in the AHL with Wilkes/Barre-Scranton until he got comfortable. This transition did not take long before he took the starting job and ran with it. In 40 games this season Joel Blomqvist had a 2.15 goals against average and a 0.919 save percentage.





This incredible stat line has led many Penguins fans to wonder if Joel Blomqvist's NHL opportunity should come sooner rather than later. The opportunity will likely come next season as backup goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic is expected to not be brought back.

With a few games left in the season, it would be fun to see him get an opportunity. The even more exciting thing for Penguins fans is he is not the only goaltending prospect looking to be a stud.

Penguins future looks bright between the pipes

Beyond the success of Joel Blomqvist this season in the AHL there is another player overseas turning heads between the pipes for his outstanding play. That player would be the Russian draft pick of the Penguins Sergei Murashov.

This season the 20-year-old goaltender spent his season mostly in the Russian junior league the MHL. In his 34 appearances there Sergei Murashov had a 2.03 goals-against average and a 0.930 save percentage. He was also given 6 KHL games and was electric there as well with a 1.84 goals-against average and a 0.925 save percentage.

Next season he likely will stay in Russia and play in the KHL full time before coming to North America.

Every team that has success and wins the Stanley Cup tends to have excellent goaltending. The Penguins' investment and correct picks in the goaltending department could set them up to contend again sooner than many anticipated