Although not normally known for their depth in goal, the Edmonton Oilers goaltending pipeline is quite stacked. The team has done well at identifying goalies to draft or sign in recent years, which is more than they can say for the rest of their prospect pool.
As a goalie in the system, it is easy to get lost in the fold behind the likes of Connor Ungar and Samuel Jonsson along with the recent addition of Devon Levi. It is bound to make at least a few in the Oilers goaltending pipeline appear underrated and that is exactly what has happened with 20 year old southpaw netminder, Daniel Salonen.
The Finnish goaltender was drafted as an overager in the sixth round, 191st overall at the 2025 NHL Draft. Salonen is a 6'3, 185lbs netminder, giving him the size profile that teams covet in a modern goalie. He also joined and has been slightly overshadowed by a fellow countrymen in the Oilers system, their second round selection at the 2024 NHL Draft, Eemil Vinni. Vinni, the same goalie who signed an American Hockey League contract with the Bakersfield Condors to come to North America this season.
Why is Daniel Salonen underrated?
He spent the seasons leading up to his draft in the Finnish junior ranks at the U20 and U18 levels, posting positive results for the most part. Except when it mattered in his draft year in 2023-24 where he played 33 games with Luukko U20, finishing with an 11-16-0 record with a 3.06 goals against average and .868 save percentage.
He was also stuck behind fellow countrymen, the aforementioned Vinni along with; Petteri Rimpinen, Kim Saarinen, and Patrik Kerkola. This caused him to be overlooked for National Team duties such as; The Hlinka Gretzky Cup tournament, World Junior U-18s, and the World Junior U-20s in his draft year and beyond.
Looking at his career, it is easy to see why he may have been overlooked in his draft year. The low exposure, mixed with his relatively poor results in 2023-24 at the U20 level, he is not a player that particularly jumped off the page.
Salonen has been impressing
However, he followed that season up with a dominant performance. In 25 games with Luukko he had a 23-1-0 record and a 1.55 GAA and .933 save percentage, helping his team win the championships with a 9-2-0 postseason record and a 2.02 GAA and .911 save percentage.
He won the Jorma Valtonen and Teemu Selanne awards as U20 SM-sarja best goalie and best player, respectively. His efforts also earned him an eight game call-up at the men’s second-tier Mestis level with Hokki. He put up an impressive 4-3-1 record and a 2.53 GAA and .909 save percentage.
Last season, he skipped the Mestis level altogether and played with Luukko’s Liiga club team where he played 30 games with an 14-7-7 record and 2.40 GAA and .887 save percentage along with three shutouts. His performance ranked fourth amongst U-21 goalies in the top Finnish men’s league in terms of save percentage.
He may be overlooked for many reasons: He was an overager who plays in a relatively undercovered league to a North American audience. He also has the perception as second fiddle behind Vinni on the depth chart by virtue of pedigree. Despite having posted arguably more successful seasons since 2024.
Historically, Salonen is one of only 64 goalies to play over 25 games in a Liiga season by age 20. He may not reach the heights that some greats like Juuse Saros or Tuukka Rask hit but having professional experience under his belt at his age is impressive, regardless.
Time will tell if Salonen pans out but given his track record, it seems silly to continue to overlook him.
Add us as a preferred source on Google