The Seattle Kraken opted to use their sixth-round draft pick to add goaltending depth, by selecting Visa Vedenpää with the 168th overall selection. Vedenpää reigns from the goaltending factory of Finland; a small nation that has scaled some of the best NHL goalie talent.
▪︎ 6 Round Pick 168: Visa Vedenpää
— Depths Of The Kraken🎙️🇧🇷 Free Agency (@Deptofthekraken) June 29, 2023
• Mais um Goleiro filandês para a farm system da equipe ( assim como o N. Kokko ). O Visa é um goleiro baixo e pouca amostragem na liga principal da Filandia.
Desempenho do Visa:
GP: 33 | GAA: 2.50 | SV: .886 | SO: 0#SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/zutG8PfpTp
This selection can be described as a "flyer" by Ron Francis, and his Seattle squad. Goaltending is one of the most difficult positions to judge at a young, junior level. Vedenpää in specific is a very-raw prospect. Yes, he possess the NHL size, standing in at 6-foot-2, but has shown very little success playing against high-end talent.
The netminder started the season off with the Karpat U18 team. He had a very dominate two game stretch where he put up a .923 save percentage. He was later called-up to the U20 team, where he played the remainder of the season. Vedenpää struggled mightily amongst one of the league's worst team. The Fin appeared in 31 games posting a .886 save percentage.
Vedenpää is likely at least two-years out from reaching the North American ice. It is expected he plays a full-season with the U20 team next year, and will be reassessed once again at the conclusion of next season.
Q/A:
Q: Favourite NHL team?
A: Seattle Kraken
Q: Favourite NHL player?
A: Andrei Vasilevsky
Q: Favourite arena you have played in?
A: Oulun Energia Areena