Abel to Yzerman

Abel to Yzerman

Red Wings Sign Finnish Goaltender Jussi Olkinuora

06/14/2022 at 10:33pm EDT

added 3:05pm on 6/16/22, Detroit release is below.

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today signed goaltender Jussi Olkinuora to a one-year contract.

Olkinuora, 31, completed his second season with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Kontinental Hockey League in 2021-22, holding a 20-10-2 record with a 2.45 goals-against average, 0.917 save percentage and three shutouts in 36 appearances. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound netminder also played in one postseason game as Metallurg Magnitogorsk reached the Gagarin Cup Final, falling to CSKA Moscow in seven games. Olkinuora has spent the last three seasons in the KHL between Admiral Vladivostok and Metallurg Magnitogorsk, accumulating a 50-30-10 mark with a 2.30 goals-against average, 0.927 save percentage and eight shutouts in 97 contests. Prior to arriving in Russia, Olkinuora split three seasons (2016-19) in Finland’s top professional league between SaiPa, JYP and Pelicans, owning a 58-31-13 record with a 2.26 goals-against average, 0.916 save percentage and 12 shutouts in 103 appearances. He won a Champions Hockey League title with JYP in 2017-18 and posted a playoff-best 0.946 save percentage for Pelicans the following campaign.

A native of Helsinki, Finland, Olkinuora captured a gold medal with Finland at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, making one relief appearance as the backup to former Grand Rapids Griffins goaltender Harri Sateri. Olkinuora also won gold at the 2022 IIHF World Championship in Helsinki and Tampere, Finland, finishing with a perfect 8-0 record and a tournament-best 1.11 goals-against average along with a 0.948 save percentage and four shutouts in eight games. He was selected as the tournament’s MVP and top goaltender and was also named to the competition’s All-Star Team for the second consecutive year. Additionally, Olkinuora claimed a silver medal at the 2021 IIHF World Championship and a gold medal at the 2019 edition.

Originally signed by the Winnipeg Jets as an undrafted free agent on April 8, 2013, Olkinuora began his professional career with a three-year stint in North America. He made 21 appearances in the American Hockey League between the St. John’s Ice Caps and Manitoba Moose, recording a 7-6-2 mark with a 3.82 goals-against average, 0.879 save percentage and one shutout. In 96 ECHL games with the Ontario Reign and Tulsa Oilers, Olkinuora compiled a 55-29-9 record with a 2.61 goals-against average, 0.907 save percentage and a pair of shutouts. Prior to turning pro, Olkinuora played two seasons at the University of Denver from 2011-13, building a 22-14-8 record in 46 contests. He was named to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association All-Rookie team in 2011-12, and was selected to the WCHA All-Academic Team, WCHA Second All-Star Team and the NCAA West All-American Second Team after his sophomore season.

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Welcome to Abel to Yzerman, a Red Wing blog since 1977. No other site on the internet has better-researched, fact-laden and better prepared discussions than A2Y. Re-phrase: we do little research, find facts and stats highly overrated and claim little to no preparation. There are 19 readers of A2Y. No more, no less. All of them, except maybe one, are juvenile in nature. Reminding them of that in the comment section will only encourage them to prove that.

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