The Bakersfield Condors made an interesting announcement on Wednesday, signing Edmonton Oilers goaltending prospect Eemil Vinni to a one-year, two-way American Hockey League contract.
The @Condors have signed goaltender Eemil Vinni to a one-year, two-way American Hockey League contract for the 2026-27 season. https://t.co/7UHGvkIIIK
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) August 12, 2026
This move essentially guarantees Vinni a position with the Condors or the Oilers' ECHL affiliate, the Fort Wayne Komets. The 20 year old goaltender remains unsigned by the Oilers and still has two years left under team control before becoming an unrestricted free agent.
Originally drafted in the second round 64th overall by the Oilers at the 2024 NHL draft, he has spent his hockey career developing in his home country of Finland. Spending time playing at the Mestis, U20, and Liiga levels.
Vinni's development so far
Before being drafted in 2024, Vinni was a highly touted goaltending prospect representing Finland as their starting goalie at multiple international events. He played at the 2023 U-18 Men's World Championships and the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup tournament, capturing Bronze at both tournaments.
He was even able to work his way up to the Liiga level in his pre-draft season, making two appearances with HIFK in 2022-23. However, leading up to his draft in 2024, Vinni underwent back surgery, a fact that deterred some teams and one that may provide context for his struggles to get back to the full swing in recent seasons. He spent the entire 37 games of that season at the second tier pro level, Mestis posting a 17-9-10 record and a .892 save percentage and 2.72 goals against averageand two shutouts.
In the two seasons since he was drafted, Vinni has struggled to work back to the heights he hit before his draft. He played only nine games in his post-draft season, posting a .910 save percentage in seven games in the U20 level with one game apiece at the Mestis and Liiga posting .893 and .625 save percentages, respectively.
This past year he played exclusively at the Mestis level with JoKP and Kettera, with a combined 10-6-5 record and a 2.65 GAA and .896 save percentage with two shutouts. Next season he will join the Oilers organization and hopefully get the chance to develop and show what he has and hopefully take another step forward.
Vinni joins logjam in Oilers system
Although it is exciting news for a prospect who was once expected to be a highly touted goaltender, Vinni will have some serious competition when camp breaks in the coming weeks. He joins an Oilers system that boasts a pretty full logjam in the crease.
The Oilers are expected to carry three goaltenders to start the season with Frederik Andersen, Devon Levi, and Tristan Jarry between the pipes. Beyond them, the team has four additional goalies under NHL contract and five under contract if you include Vinni.
There is always the possibility that the team is able to loan out a goaltender as they did with their top goaltending prospect, Connor Ungar last season. As of right now, expect there to be intense competition for playing time at all three levels but especially with the Condors and the Komets next year.
This is healthy for a prospect pool and a positive sign. As long as the club is able to come away with an NHL goaltender from their current pool, it will be worth it to have some discomfort for a period of time.
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