The Edmonton Oilers have drafted goalie Daniel Salonen out of Finland 191st overall.
Tony Brar of Oilers TV said, “The Edmonton Oilers select G Daniel Salonen (Finland – Lukko U20) with the 191st pick. Right-catching goaltender coming in at 6’3, 185-pounds. 23-1-0 with a .933 SV% and 1.55 GAA in U20 Division + nine wins in the playoffs. Started (and won) one game at World Juniors.”
Daniel Salonen
The Oilers have drafted a number of goalies in recent years, Finland’s Eemil Vinni 64th overall in 2024, Samuel Jonsson 158th overall in 2022, Ilya Konovalov 85th overall in 2019, Olivier Rodrigue 62nd overall in 2018 and Stuart Skinner 78th overall in 2017.
Of those Skinner had become the Oilers starting goalie, while Jonsson was named goalie of the year in the Swedish second division this season and just signed an Entry Level Contract with the Oilers.
To say that Salonen has gone under the radar is an under-statement. I can’t find one scouting report on him, not even in this saturated era of internet hockey coverage. Of course, he’s a goalie and many hockey writers don’t know what to make of goalies.
As Edmonton hockey writer Bruce Curlock put it: “Daniel Salonen. A Finnish goalie. I’m still looking for the last one we drafted, who went all where is Waldo. I don’t evaluate goalies. But I am big fan of drafting one every year late. That’s the analysis you pay for.”
His stats at his U-20 junior team Lukko speak of a goalie who killing it at that level.
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