The Edmonton Oilers No. 6 ranked prospect is another goaltender, Eemil Vinni. Our No. 7 ranked prospect was also a goaltending prospect, Samuel Jonsson.
Vinni was drafted by the Oilers in the Second round of the 2024 National Hockey League (NHL) Draft at 64th overall and although he has faced some injury struggles in recent seasons -- even undergoing back surgery leading up to his draft in Las Vegas -- he has clear potential.
He was a highly regarded goaltender heading into the 2024 NHL Draft cycle and throughout, finishing as the top ranked International Goaltender by NHL Central Scouting. His play at various international tournaments representing Finland as well as his play at the Junior level and later the second-tier men's league level in Finland, the Mestis has put his stock high.
Although last season he played only nine games split between the U20, Liiga, and Mestis levels he struggled to put up encouraging statistics outside of the U20 level. His injuries and some of his numbers seems to have caused him to fall out of favour with many. However, I still rate him quite highly.
He is only one year removed from being arguably one of the draft's top prospects in net and with his good frame at 6'3 187lbs and abilities, he still has the highest ceiling of any Oilers goalie in the system. The team was willing to spend a high pick on him last season and this likely has not changed much.
Future outlook
This year he is expected to spend significant time with JoKP of the Mestis, likely splitting the crease with Juho Ahopelto and potentially finding his way up to the top flight, Liiga by season's end. If he can do that, he may be ready to come overseas but if not, may opt to spend one more season in his home country.
The 19 year old will need to play a fully healthy season, something that plagued him last year, in order to continue to develop at his expected trajectory. If he can play healthy and improve upon his numbers from the past, he should be ready to take the next step, which he could do as early as this year.
Vinni is a prospect who looks primed to have a breakout season especially if he can truly put his injury issues behind him.
If things work out for Vinni, he will likely sign with the Oilers next summer, coming over to North America to develop in the American Hockey League (AHL) or the ECHL starting in the 2026-27 season.
NHL potential
As previously mentioned, there is a lot to like in the profile of Vinni, he is only 19 years old, giving him plenty of runway to develop. He also boasts desirable size for a modern day NHL goalie at 6'3 and has the pedigree of being a high end netminding prospect.
It is hard to project given that goalies typically take five or more years to develop into NHL goalies but with the young Finnish goaltender, it seems like he has legitimate NHL potential. If he can properly develop, Vinni could be a '1A/1B' tandem goalie with the ability to take on a starting job if needed, similar to Oilers current goalie, Stuart Skinner.
There is still a ways to go as Vinni is not set to turn 20 for a few months but if he can take solid this season, it would really help his potential especially as he recovers from his injury troubles in recent years.