This season was supposed to be a breakout year for Penguins goaltending prospect Joel Blomqvist in Finland.
Blomqvist, the Penguins' second-round pick in 2020, finished last season on a high note.
Blomqvist, 21, was a backup last season for his club Karpat. It was his first full season in Finland's top men's league, and he excelled in his role. He posted a 1.32 goals-against average, a .940 save percentage and five shutouts in 20 appearances during the regular season. After Karpat's veteran backup faltered to start the playoffs, Blomqvist took over as his team's No. 1 goaltender. He played in all seven games in the first round -- two of which were relief appearances -- and elevated his game when it mattered the most. He gave his team a chance to win with a 1.10 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage, but the team struggling to generate any offense in front of him had Karpat's season end in the first round.
Karpat went into this season with Blomqvist as its No. 1 goaltender. But two concussions two months apart derailed Blomqvist's regular season, with the second concussion ending Blomqvist's regular season. Blomqvist took a slow and careful road back to recovery over three months and was able to return to Karpat in the playoffs, though another first-round flameout ended his team's season prematurely.
Blomqvist told me this week that he's feeling "completely normal, no issues anymore" as he enters the offseason. The adversity he faced this season has given him a new perspective on hockey, and he's already forward to his next season ... wherever that may be,
Blomqvist wasn't completely sure if he's ever had a concussion before this season. He knows that he had something wrong with him for a short period of time last season that caused him to be sidelined for a few games, but he's not sure what exactly that injury ever was.
When an opponent collided with Blomqvist in the first period of a game in early October this season, he knew it was a concussion. He was only seven game into his first season as starter, and he had to hit the shelf for four weeks as he recovered.
Blomqvist resumed the No. 1 role when he returned, and had moderate success over the next month and a half. In his 14 games after that first concussion, he posted a .904 save percentage and a 2.39 goals-against average. His last three of those games were some of his strongest -- a 30-save performance, a heavy workload in the defense-heavy Liiga, followed by a pair of games in which he allowed just one goal each.
It was another heavy workload for Blomqvist in his start on Dec. 16. He stopped 16 of 17 shots faced in the first period when another opponent collided hard with him.
The collision gave Blomqvist his second concussion, less than two months after he recovered from his first one. The latest concussion would sideline Blomqvist for the next three months.
"I had more symptoms," Blomqvist told me. "I had headaches from training and practice. But we were also a little bit more careful there, since it was the second in the same season."
As the road to recovery got longer, it also became more of a mental challenge for Blomqvist. There were some days when he wasn't quite sure if he really felt "off" still, or if he was overthinking things and getting in his own head.
"You start thinking about it, and you're not sure anymore if it's from the injury or if you're making it up," he said.
It was the longest Blomqvist had ever been away from the game -- he had never dealt with an injury so severe. He started out with light off-ice workouts like the exercise bike, and was back on the ice for about two weeks before he was cleared by Karpat's doctors to return to play. The grind of the rehab process and just missing being able to play in a game gave Blomqvist a new perspective while he was away.
"I noticed that during the injury, you get that perspective on how nice it is to be able to play and be healthy with the team," he said. "I got a better appreciation of the whole sport."
Before Blomqvist was able to get back into a game, though, the Penguins wanted to check in on him first.
About a week or two before Blomqvist was able to play, the Penguins flew Blomqvist out to Pittsburgh for five days so their own doctors could run tests on Blomqvist and clear him themselves. Everything came back OK. Penguins goaltending development coach Kain Tisi, who spends most of the year working with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, came to Pittsburgh too during that time and worked with Blomqvist in some on-ice sessions in Cranberry before Blomqvist went back home.
Blomqvist and Tisi have a good working relationship. Tisi is the development coach who keeps in touch with Blomqvist throughout the season, shooting each other text messages "very often."
"He reaches out to to see how it's going for me," Blomqvist said of Tisi. "I believe he watches pretty many games of mine and asks me about some situations, maybe gives me some sort of feedback from his perspective, too."
Blomqvist was cleared physically to play, but wasn't quite back at 100% of his usual form when the Liiga regular season ended in early March. But Karpat's backup goaltender, who had assumed the No. 1 role while Blomqvist was sidelined, suffered his own injury at the end of the regular season and was unavailable for Game 1 of the best-of-three first-round series against the club KooKoo.
Blomqvist made his return to the lineup for Game 1, three months after he suffered his second concussion. He made 24 saves on 26 shots in his first game back to help carry Karpat to a win to open the playoffs.
Karpat
Joel Blomqvist in the playoffs with Karpat
"I got some time to practice, like two weeks with ice," Blomqvist told me of his return. "I felt like it was enough. But maybe the way I feel in the games wasn't really 100% like it used to be. But I think I still felt pretty good in the games I got to play after injury."
Game 2 was the following day and Karpat turned right back to Blomqvist, who made 22 saves on 25 shots in a loss to even the series. The deciding game was two nights later on the road, and it was a struggle for all involved. Blomqvist allowed four goals on eight shots through the first 28 minutes and was pulled, and Karpat went on to get shutout 5-0 to be eliminated from the postseason.
"We had a pretty hard season overall with many ups and downs," Blomqvist reflected. "We couldn't really play at our best in the most important games. I think that was the issue in the playoffs too. I think everything from the regular season affected us too in the playoffs."
Blomqvist hasn't been back on the ice yet since the season ended. He's focused more on working out off the ice and getting stronger physically in the gym.
As far as what's in store for Blomqvist next season ... he's not quite sure yet.
"My contract with Karpat ended this season," Blomqvist said. "So it's still open. Of course, I'm thinking about what's going to be next."
The Penguins retain the exclusive signing rights to Blomqvist until June 2024, so there's no rush to get him over just yet. He could sign a one-year deal to stay in Finland -- whether that's with Karpat or another club -- and finally have his full year as a starter in the Liiga, provided he stays healthy. Then, he could sign his entry-level deal with the Penguins afterward, and come to North America for the 2024-25 season.
Or ... he could come over next season, and presumably start in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
"We're going to check with the Penguins and see what they think would be a good plan and they can talk to my agent," Blomqvist said of what's next.
There would have to be a spot for Blomqvist, of course. The three goaltenders currently under contract in the minors are the veteran Dustin Tokarski, first-year pro Taylor Gauthier, and Filip Lindberg, who is in his second pro season after missing most of his rookie year with an ankle injury. Tokarski is an unrestricted free agent. Gauthier has two years left on his entry-level contract, and has fared pretty well for a rookie with a .908 save percentage and a 2.67 goals-against average in 18 games on a sub-.500 Wilkes-Barre team. Lindberg is set to be a restricted free agent has been limited to 19 games this season and is currently sidelined with his second of the two longer injuries he's had this season. Lindberg hasn't been as strong when he has been healthy, with a 3.13 goals-against average and a .896 save percentage.
There's a lot up in the air with the goaltending situation in the pipeline. If there does end up being a spot for Blomqvist, he would certainly be a boost to that group.
Much of what happens next with Blomqvist is contingent on what the Penguins think is best for him and their plans. But I asked Blomqvist, if it were up to him, what would he want to do? Make the jump to North America now, or try to put together a full, healthy season in Finland as a starter?
"Oh yeah, I would be interested in coming over," he said without a millisecond of hesitation. "For sure. Yeah."
Time will tell whether he gets to make that happen.
