The Philadelphia Flyers have seen many goalies come and go in their 50+ year history, especially in the last decade. There are numerous reasons why some never stuck, making it all more crucial to draft goalies, especially with uncertainty still looming about the number one starter in the NHL.
I’ve put together a short list of potential 2024 draft-eligible goaltenders that the Flyers’ brass and scouting department could consider drafting throughout. This could help add to their promising young talent pool, including Alexei Kolosov, Carson Bjarnason, and Yegor Zavargin.
Kim Saarinen, HPK / Liiga
Ranked #3 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (EU Goalies)
Kim Saarinen, 17, is a talented young goalie from Hämeenlinna, Finland. Over the past year, his draft stock has risen significantly due to his noticeable improvements in goalkeeping while playing for HPK at the U20 level.
Last season he posted a .945 save percentage with a 1.67 goals-against average in the U18 SM-sarja before being called up to the U20 level and carrying a 14-5-0 record with a 2.41 goals against and a .917 save percentage.
Saarinen’s strong athleticism at 6-foot-4, allows him to make difficult saves and cover the net effectively. However, one area for improvement is his tendency to let in weak goals. Nevertheless, he compensates for this by excelling at tracking the puck through traffic using his height and vision.
He is an agile goalie with a strong ability to read developing plays and maintain composure in the net. He positions himself well, minimizing rebounds, and reacts quickly to cover the puck. Additionally, he demonstrates good puck-handling skills around the net. Overall, Saarinen is a mature and imposing presence between the pipes.
Ryerson Leenders, Mississauga Steelheads / OHL
Ranked #10 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (NA Goalies)
Ryerson Leenders, 17, out of the Ontario Hockey League is an acrobatic goaltender who moves cross-crease smoothly while staying in control or making desperation saves with a lengthy 6-foot-2 tall stature. He excels athletically, moving quicker than most along the ice, with high anticipation and reaction time.
In the 2023-24 season, he took control of the net after Mississauga’s, Jack Ivankovic, was sidelined with an injury. Leenders was second in the OHL in save percentage (.914%), top 15 in goals against (3.12) and tied second in shutouts with four.
Leenders excels in battling traffic and dealing with rebounds around his crease due to having a lower center of gravity in his stance. He is regarded as a hard-nosed tough-to-beat goaltender who is never fully out of a play. However, there are times when he tends to overcommit or move around too much.
He consistently makes breathtaking stops and gives his team a chance to win whenever he is in the crease. He is an acrobatic goalie who relies on great reflexes and efficient movement to make impressive saves.
Teodor Munther, Djurgårdens IF J20 / J20 Nationell
Ranked #6 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (EU Goalies)
Teodor Munther, 18, may be one of the most intriguing Swedish goalies in the 2024 NHL Draft class. He is a smaller goaltender to NHL standards at 6-foot-0, 185 pounds with an upright stance that still takes up large quantities of the net.
Munther posted consistent numbers in the J20 Nationell for Djurgårdens IF J20, appearing in 25 games he earned an 18-7-0 record this season. Along with a 2.72 goals against and a .908 save percentage. He carried that into the playoffs with a 2.17 GAA and a .924 Sv% in six games with a 4-2-0 record.
He is a knowledgeable goaltender who reads the game well. He keeps his hands and body square to shooters and is rarely out of position. He consistently keeps himself square and motionless above his waist, making for quick reaction time to snap pucks into his glove or turn them aside with the blocker. Munther is confident along the posts, sealing off any openings and can recover easily with smooth transitional abilities.
Jakub Milota, Cape Breton Eagles / QMJHL
Ranked #18 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (NA Goalies)
Jakub Milota, 18, is an aggressive and hyper-athletic goaltender from Czechia, who moves quickly and efficiently to stay in position. He has pure athleticism and recovers quickly to remain square to a shooter. Unlike your typical goalie who will go into the RVH along the post, Milota will overlap his body with the post more than retreating into the RVH taking away more of the net.
2023-24 was Milota’s first season in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, previously playing for Czechia U20. In his first year with the Cape Breton Eagles (QMJHL), he faired fairly well against stronger competition. Through 33 games he earned 18 wins with 11 losses, a 2.82 GAA with a .905 Sv% and three shutouts. He has also seen a lot of international play, representing Czechia on four separate occasions in the 2022-23 WHC-17, 2022-2024 International-Jr and 2023-24 WJC-18.
Over the last few years, the overlap technique has spiked in all play levels. Milota soaks up the puck well but when a rebound is created he can quickly react in order to cover up or make a secondary save. He makes quick precise adjustments to remain square to the puck after a rebound.
Pavel Moysevich, SKA St. Petersburg / KHL
Ranked #4 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (EU Goalies)
Depending on how Daniel Briere and the Flyers regime feel about returning to this well, having made a strong relationship with clubs and leagues overseas, it may be a much smoother process, Pavel Moisevich, 19, is a goaltender worth taking a shot at.
Belarussian netminder Pavel Moysevich stands at a staggering 6-foot-5 and has been stellar at all levels throughout the KHL. After some up-and-downs in the VHL and KHL last season, he posted a career year in both leagues. In 19 games for SKA-Neva St. Petersburg in the VHL, he had a 2.31 GAA and a .927 Sv% followed up by a league-leading 1.25 goals against and a .942 save percentage in the KHL for SKA St. Petersburg.
Moisveich is a returning goaltender to the NHL Draft, he was eligible last year but was passed on. There is no reason it should be the same story for the 2024 draft, especially after a phenomenal year in goal and not a ton of exceptional talent throughout the draft for goalies. He is an extremely gifted goalie with tons of flexibility and along with his size, he covers the net even when down in the butterfly.
Evan Gardner, Saskatoon Blades / WHL
Ranked #7 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (NA Goalies)
Rookie goaltender Evan Gardner, 18, at 6-foot-2, is one of the top goaltenders in his class. The promising netminder has lived with type 1 diabetes for six years and has had to make adjustments to how he approaches the game. In 30 starts, he collected 21 wins with a 1.91 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage with four shutouts to boot, carrying the Blades into the WHL Playoffs, where he took over as the starting netminder.
He is a composed presence in the goal, he moves from side to side efficiently and covers a lot of ground in the process. As an 18-year-old rookie, Gardner led all WHL goaltenders in goals against average and save percentage.
It’s challenging to score on Gardner whether up close or from a distance. He tracks the puck well when moving laterally and takes away the top half of the net, rarely being beaten over the shoulder. Instead of going down into the VH position, he uses the overlap to cut down the angle and prevent being beaten shortside.
Eemil Vinni, HIFK / Liiga
Ranked #1 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (EU Goalies)
Eemil Vinni, 18, has claimed the number one spot in the final 2024 NHL Central Scouting rankings for European goaltenders. He has established himself as the No. 1 goaltender for Finland after performing well at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he led Finland to a third-place finish posting a 1.75 GAA and .927 save percentage in four games at the tournament.
Vinni is praised for his 6-foot-2, 185-pound size, great foot and edgework, agility, and control with his stick and upper body. He is confident in playing the puck from anywhere behind the hash marks. He has a calming demeanour in the crease, immense focus and a strong winning mentality. The only minus in Vinni’s impressive report is his lateral movement and a tendency to let weak shots or soft goals get by.
Vinni has shown improvement and held consistent stats as an 18-year-old in Finland’s second-tier pro league. While on loan for JoKP in Mestis, playing up against older competition, he appeared in 37 games with two shutouts a .892 save percentage a 2.72 goals-against average and a 17-9-10 record to boot.
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