The Vancouver Canucks have signed one of their prospects after he finished his season in the NCAA.
No, not Tom Willander, whose Boston University won in overtime on the weekend to stay alive a little longer. Instead, the Canucks signed goaltender Aku Koskenvuo, whose season with Harvard University ended on Sunday in heartbreaking fashion with a 2-1 overtime loss to Clarkson.
The Canucks drafted the 6'4" Koskenvuo in the fifth round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Despite his draft position, Koskenvuo was actually the second player drafted by the Canucks in 2021, behind only Danila Klimovich in the second round.
Koskenvuo's two-year contract carries an $850,000 cap hit at the NHL level but it's entirely likely he'll spend both years of the contract predominantly in the AHL, where he'll earn an $80,000 salary to go with his $75,000 signing bonus each year.
The Canucks now have six goaltenders signed for next season: Thatcher Demko, Kevin Lankinen, Arturs Silovs, Ty Young, Jiri Patera, and now Koskenvuo. In addition, Nikita Tolopilo is a pending restricted free agent who will presumably be re-signed, giving the Canucks seven goaltenders.
That raises the question of where Koskenvuo will play in the coming season. Will he and Ty Young both play in the ECHL? Will the Canucks move Demko and have one of Silovs or Tolopilo back up Lankinen in the NHL, leaving Koskenvuo or Young to back up the remaining goaltender in the AHL? It's entirely likely that the team moves Patera, who played in just seven games for Abbotsford this season.
The 22-year-old Koskenvuo took on the starter's role for Harvard this season, starting 18 of their 33 games, up from 15 starts last season. He finished the season with a .902 save percentage and an 8-9-1 record, with two shutouts.
Koskenvuo's combination of size and athleticism gives him a solid base to work from but there's still development needed to refine his game before he'll be NHL-ready.
Beyond what he did on the ice, Koskenvuo earned praise for his work in the classroom. He was named to the Ivy League Academic All-Ivy Team, honouring his work as a student-athlete studying economics.
"Academics play an important part in my life," said Koskenvuo to the Canucks' Chris Faber. "I believe it's important to combine both athletics and academics and once my family and I realized that Harvard also has a great hockey program, it seemed like a no-brainer for me."
Koskenvuo will have to put completing his degree on the backburner, however, as the economics of turning professional now made too much sense.
