Penguins goaltending prospect Emil Larmi reminds me a lot of Marc-Andre Fleury, both on and off the ice.
Neither goaltender is the most technically sound. But they make up for it with athleticism, quickness, and agility.
A goaltender isn't going to look quite like himself while playing back-to-back 28-minute games of three-on-three hockey, like Larmi did in the Penguins development camp tournament last month. Still, he was able to use his athleticism to make a number of impressive, quick saves amidst a flurry of shots. He showed some of the aggressiveness he plays with, coming far out of his net twice to cut down the angle and challenge shooters. The move paid off the first time and he was able to knock the puck away, but the second time he missed the mark and got stuck far from the crease.
Larmi, 22, is entertaining to watch, but he'll probably get your heart beating a little faster with some of his decisions.
"I think it's part of my game to have fun," he said during camp.
For a better assessment of his game, we have to look at his time with HPK in the top Finnish men's league.
Larmi led HPK to a Liiga championship in 2019, recording a 1.94 goals-against average (third-best in the league) and a .909 save percentage in 36 games in the regular season. His four shutouts were the third-most in the league. He was even stronger in the postseason, posting a 1.72 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage over 18 games, including a .946 save percentage in the final seven-game series.
Finnish hockey writer Viljami Kalmari called Larmi "the biggest reason HPK went on to win the championship."
Larmi's quickness is seen in these pad saves:
Or in this clip, where he makes the initial pad save then slides to make the glove stop on the rebound:
Many of Larmi's highlight-reel saves are athletic diving plays like this one, just throwing his body around:
Larmi said that he tries to follow and model his game after Nashville’s Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros. Larmi is small for a goaltender, at 6-feet, 185 pounds. He's a few inches shorter than the 6-feet-5 Rinne, and a little taller than the 5-feet-10 Saros.
Even though Larmi is on the smaller side, he's still able to take up a lot of space in net by being so quick and agile.
"I try to be big," he said. "I'm not the tallest one, but I try to be big and stay on my feet. I can handle it."
Larmi's puck-handling is his biggest weakness:
Sometimes Larmi goes for the flashy pass rather than a simple one, and things go awry and the puck gets turned over. That should be something that can be reeled in as he works with goaltending development coach Andy Chiodo through his first season in North America.
Something else Larmi will have to adjust to in North America is the increased shot volume. Liiga is a low-scoring league and he was on a strong team with HPK, only facing an average of 23 shots per 60 minutes last season. For context, Tristan Jarry faced an average of 31.5 shots per 60 minutes with Wilkes-Barre last season.
Larmi has some shades of Fleury in his personality. He's just a goofy guy. I don't remember a time during development camp when he wasn't smiling in the locker room. In dealing with reporters, someone wouldn't even get a full question out and Larmi would already be giggling to himself. He's funny. As he got more comfortable, it felt like every other answer he gave was a joke or some sort of witty comment:
"I was bored, so I had to do something. Just kidding." -- On coming out of his net to challenge shooters in the development camp tournament
"I eat enough." -- On how he manages to take up space so well in the net
"I'm not talking with him anymore. We are not friends no more." -- On being scored on by best friend Niclas Almari in the tournament
“People talk a lot. In Finland, we don’t talk. That’s the biggest difference. And the food is different, everything is bigger. The sweets? It’s like, so much bigger.” -- On adjusting to North America
"No." -- On if Almari was a good tour guide in Pittsburgh
Both Larmi and fellow goaltending prospect Alex D'Orio will make their North American professional debuts next season. It's not ideal for two young goaltenders to be a tandem in the minor leagues, so one will likely be the starter for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton while the other is the starter for Wheeling, each sharing the net with a veteran backup.
Because Larmi has more experience than D'Orio from playing professionally in Finland, I'd expect Larmi to earn the Wilkes-Barre job to start the season.
