There is one positive about the season being stopped and that is signings like this don’t get lost in the playoff hysteria. Normally at this time of year, the fact that Justus Annunen has signed his Entry-Level Contract with the Colorado Avalanche would have been a secondary thought with full focus on the next playoff game. Instead, the news is met with excitement for an Avalanche future that gets brighter by the second.
The 20-year-old goaltender from Finland was drafted by the Avalanche in the second round (64th overall) of the 2018 draft and has attended the last two years of Development Camp in Colorado. Both years he has returned to play in Finland, first with Kokkolan Hermes in the Mestis (Finland’s second league) and then with Oulun Kärpät in Finland’s Liiga. This year he has a record of 15-5-3 with a 1.77 GAA and 9.29 SV%. He also has six shutouts (second best in the league) and went over three hundred minutes without letting in a goal between September 21 and October 23rd.
The Finn also won a League Championship with Kärpät’s Jr side after joining them from Kokkolan Hermes in 2019. During the playoffs, he recorded a 1.50 GAA and .930 save percentage in six games. He also won an under-18 IIHF World Championship in 2018 with Finland going undefeated (6-0-0) with a .914 SV%.
The Future of NHL
With the signing of Annunen, Colorado now has four goaltenders under contract for next year. Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz, barring injury, should remain the one-two punch in Denver while Annunen would likely move to Loveland with the AHL Colorado Eagles. This would see him split time with 2016 draft pick (131st overall) Adam Werner who shared that amazing shutout win against the Winnipeg Jets with Pavel Francouz earlier in the season.
