Prospect Info: #104 Eetu Makiniemi G/Jokerit U20, Finland

[NotOpie]

Probably worth a consideration since the contacts for Forsberg and Booth are set to expire. Have Eetu, Ned, and Helvig fight it out for the 2 AHL sports

Also, keep in mind, Ned's on a one-way next season and, I believe, he is no longer waivers exempt. I'd be hard pressed to believe he would easily pass through waivers. Additionally, I believe that the organization made a commitment to him in the form of the 1 way deal.

Ned won't be in Charlotte next season.

 

[A Star is Burns]

Also, keep in mind, Ned's on a one-way next season and, I believe, he is no longer waivers exempt. I'd be hard pressed to believe he would easily pass through waivers. Additionally, I believe that the organization made a commitment to him in the form of the 1 way deal.

Ned won't be in Charlotte next season.

If they were willing to put Forsberg down there with his one way, I'm sure they'll do it with Ned if they don't feel he's the best option and he clears. Barring preseason injuries, I'm not sure why anyone would claim him either.

I don't think he's promised anything even with the one way. The fact they haven't been compelled to give him a sniff when there was talk of him getting as much as 10 games this year at one point has me thinking it won't be surprising to have two veteran goalies in Raleigh next year as well.

 

[NotOpie]

If they were willing to put Forsberg down there with his one way, I'm sure they'll do it with Ned if they don't feel he's the best option and he clears. Barring preseason injuries, I'm not sure why anyone would claim him either.

I don't think he's promised anything even with the one way. The fact they haven't been compelled to give him a sniff when there was talk of him getting as much as 10 games this year at one point has me thinking it won't be surprising to have two veteran goalies in Raleigh next year as well.

My p0int is that they will either play him at the NHL level or trade him as part of a larger deal. If they don't believe in him enough to bring him up, then they don't believe in him enough to think he'll evolve into an NHL tender. Therefore he's taking up space in Charlotte.

Forsberg is an after thought. Dude should have been cut loose.

 

[traffic cone]

Think Makiniemi needs to be in Charlotte next season.

He turns 21 in April and has pretty much led the 2nd tier league statistically all season. In his games in the top league he has been even better. The thing is Ilves has Lukas Dostal, an Anaheim prospect, who has been playing all season and is fourth in the league in sv%. With Gibson, Anaheim isn't in a hurry to develop a young goalie. So they probably leave Dostal in Finland. If Makiniemi isn't going to get 30 starts over there, he needs to get a shot here.

Dostal will definitely be the one in the AHL next season. He is also a Ducks contract player.

Makiniemi will definitely NOT be in the AHL next season (unless something unexcpeted happens). He isn't under contract for the Hurricanes. He's shown flashes of brilliance for Ilves and has the chance to be their number one goalie next season - at least 50-50 tandem.

It would be foolish for Makiniemi AND Canes to have him in Charlotte next season - when he's just finding his groove in Finland.

He'll play the next season in Finland, starting as a 50-50 tandem goalie. If he plays like he has for the past 7 Liiga games he'll be the clear number one at the end of next season. Then he can come to Charlotte once his season in Finland is over.

 

[dogbazinho]

Leave him in Europe as long as possible. We haven't shown goalies can develop here.

 

[CandyCanes]

Leave him in Europe as long as possible. We haven't shown goalies can develop here.

That's the great thing about drafting European goalie prospects. We don't have to give them a contract and we don't have to forcefully make room for them in the ECHL / AHL to develop. We can really let them ripen in their respective Euro leagues. I'd really like to see more picks like Makiniemi & Kochetkov. In theory you could have Kochetkov, Makiniemi, and Nedeljkovic all getting plenty of starts as a starting goalie. The downfall of drafting a guy from North America is a guy like Helvig, who gets stuck playing in a really low level league (ECHL), and is sharing starts in that league.

 

[My Special Purpose]

That's the great thing about drafting European goalie prospects. We don't have to give them a contract and we don't have to forcefully make room for them in the ECHL / AHL to develop. We can really let them ripen in their respective Euro leagues. I'd really like to see more picks like Makiniemi & Kochetkov. In theory you could have Kochetkov, Makiniemi, and Nedeljkovic all getting plenty of starts as a starting goalie. The downfall of drafting a guy from North America is a guy like Helvig, who gets stuck playing in a really low level league (ECHL), and is sharing starts in that league.

Great theory, but there's a glitch. European leagues aren't really set up for prospect development, especially for goalies over age 20 (thus no longer eligible for juniors). It took Makiniemi 2/3 of a season to settle into a team, and he's only made five starts in Liiga this calendar year. Kochetkov has been on so many teams this season that we don't know where he is for sure, and I can't find any evidence he's played since Dec. 29.

 

[Lempo]

Great theory, but there's a glitch. European leagues aren't really set up for prospect development, especially for goalies over age 20 (thus no longer eligible for juniors). It took Makiniemi 2/3 of a season to settle into a team, and he's only made five starts in Liiga this calendar year. Kochetkov has been on so many teams this season that we don't know where he is for sure, and I can't find any evidence he's played since Dec. 29.

His plan for the season was to get Mestis games in KooVee in the Ilves organization. 20 is very young for a goalie. He knew he would get a shot when Lukas Dostal was away for WCJ. You can find a place that fits your needs.

As for Liiga, he was part in the longest away win streak in Ilves Liiga history. Not bad.

Eetu Mäkiniemi siirtyi vastuun ja valmennuksen perässä Ilvekseen: "Pelit ovat menneet jopa paremmin kuin odotin"

 

[CanesFanBudMan]

Starting today/ tonight

 

[CanesFanBudMan]

And another win

 

[Lempo]

Funny crap going on related to Ilves, nice that it didn't affect the game:

The new Tampere arena is ready enough to be named, and the name sponsor is Universal Roaming Solutions.

Ilves fans are happy, because you can anagram it to "Our Ilves", but everyone else is either ridiculing on or throwing a hissy fit over the name that in Finnish (also) reads as "Male Live". Certain party of city councillors have mentioned genderizedness of the name and barely stopped before calling out toxic masculinity. It's just as ridiculous as peak 2020 can be.

The situation isn't helped at all by the new arena being right next to my own alma mater the University of Tampere that has recently had some universally-ridiculed brand issues with their choosing of start-uppey buzzword innovation fire hazard nonsense in their recruitment and illadvised attempt to prohibit student organizations from parodying the new logo of the university. I fear a massive black hole might form to collapse the whole area into some kind of social media event horizon.

 

[CanesFanBudMan]

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

the Anaheim prospect that has started has been really good too.

 

[CanesFanBudMan]

the Anaheim prospect that has started has been really good too.

Yeah hoping they bring Dostal in as their #2 this year so Eetu can become the starter in Ilves

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Yeah hoping they bring Dostal in as their #2 this year so Eetu can become the starter in Ilves

if there is an AHL, hopefully he goes to the A.

 

[emptyNedder]

if there is an AHL, hopefully he goes to the A.

It would also be good if the organization started showing confidence in Makiniemi when they talk about goalie prospects.

 

[NJ Fan 12]

It would also be good if the organization started showing confidence in Makiniemi when they talk about goalie prospects.

Unless there is a trade, it doesn't seem like he'll see many games the way Dostal is playing. He has played well when given the opportunity but is that enough for Carolina to feel confident in signing him?

 

[Chan790]

Unless there is a trade, it doesn't seem like he'll see many games the way Dostal is playing. He has played well when given the opportunity but is that enough for Carolina to feel confident in signing him?

They seem happy in him and it's not like our pipeline is bursting with goalie talent. Giving him a contract is probably a smart "more darts for the dartboard" move.

I mean it's not like we have a runaway clincher for NHL starter, we seem to have no interest in looking for a starter in FA or trade because the prices and value don't meet the Canes FO value for that position, and the other guys in the system (Ned, Koch, Helvig,...) aren't projecting any better really.

 

[WreckingCrew]

Unless there is a trade, it doesn't seem like he'll see many games the way Dostal is playing. He has played well when given the opportunity but is that enough for Carolina to feel confident in signing him?

I'm with @Chan790 , there's absolutely no reason NOT to sign him at some point...he has played well when given the chance and we have nothing else much in the pipeline. Ned/Helvig are "meh" at best at this point, LaFontaine MAY get a look but I haven't heard anything much on him through the years, and Kuch probably won't get an ELC at this point since I don't even know when he last played in a game. That leaves Koch & Maki, both of whom show some promise but aren't getting many games behind better goalies. As of right now I believe we have 0 goalies under contract past this season.

 

[Vagrant]

I'm with @Chan790 , there's absolutely no reason NOT to sign him at some point...he has played well when given the chance and we have nothing else much in the pipeline. Ned/Helvig are "meh" at best at this point, LaFontaine MAY get a look but I haven't heard anything much on him through the years, and Kuch probably won't get an ELC at this point since I don't even know when he last played in a game. That leaves Koch & Maki, both of whom show some promise but aren't getting many games behind better goalies. As of right now I believe we have 0 goalies under contract past this season.

not trying to be a jerk, but are we talking about the same guy here that is posting .886 in liiga behind the absurd .940 or so of dostal? i would consider it improbable that we're expecting anything of him other than to compete for the starting job next season there and are keeping half an eye on him. i don't think there's any chance he gets signed without a full season of work somewhere before it. they're going to want to give the whole net to kochetkov in the american league next season and probably have a veteran russian backstop to play with him down there to split starts. the rest of our goalies would need an outlier season to get themselves back on the map. the problem with the uncertainty of the world is that a lot of the guys who were supposed to move on ended up coming back to their euro clubs and blocking. this was supposed to be eetu's net this season, which would have been a lot more telling for us. but at this point i think we should consider our goaltender position bare save kochetkov as far as nhl potential goes.

 

[NJ Fan 12]

With so many free agent options out there - both in North America and overseas - it would seem he is in a tough spot if he's not playing.

To clarify the previous post, I was referring to a trade (or loan) to another club in Liiga where he would be able to start.

 

[WreckingCrew]

not trying to be a jerk, but are we talking about the same guy here that is posting .886 in liiga behind the absurd .940 or so of dostal? i would consider it improbable that we're expecting anything of him other than to compete for the starting job next season there and are keeping half an eye on him. i don't think there's any chance he gets signed without a full season of work somewhere before it. they're going to want to give the whole net to kochetkov in the american league next season and probably have a veteran russian backstop to play with him down there to split starts. the rest of our goalies would need an outlier season to get themselves back on the map. the problem with the uncertainty of the world is that a lot of the guys who were supposed to move on ended up coming back to their euro clubs and blocking. this was supposed to be eetu's net this season, which would have been a lot more telling for us. but at this point i think we should consider our goaltender position bare save kochetkov as far as nhl potential goes.

I'm not reading much into his 3 starts this season after a big layoff/offseason while getting limited starts behind Dostal, that's a tiny sample size. Last year, he was the #2 goalie in Mestis (even if .908% doesn't pop out all that much) and had a .936% in 7 Liiga games (Dostal had .928% in 43 GP)...that's none-too-shabby in my mind. That's no more of a crapshoot than Koch at this point. Granted I haven't SEEN him play (or either) to know how any of that translates, purely stat-watching I admit.

 

[Lempo]

i don't think there's any chance he gets signed without a full season of work somewhere before it.

The problem is, he's 2017 draftee and his rights will expire June 2021. Carolina's options are try to sign him this season or let him become draft-related UFA.

 

[Vagrant]

The problem is, he's 2017 draftee and his rights will expire June 2021. Carolina's options are try to sign him this season or let him become draft-related UFA.

with due respect all around, i doubt there's a line forming. as far as kotchekov vs. eetu that one is a first round tko for the one who is starting games in the toughest league in the world outside the nhl and is at the very least treading water enough to suggest that ahl success should be on the way. if you look at some of our previous guys that have gone to the khl as goaltenders, it's not pretty. some of those guys were even decent in that league. stats in mestis mean less than zero to me considering the level of play is so far away from being remotely projectable to even american league success. if he was nhl material he would be pushing the younger dostal for starts instead of holding his water bottle and the truth is that between the two of them, the disparity is so wide it's not even a contest. we have to be very mindful of success in lower leagues for goaltenders as being projectable to higher levels. the adjustment is going to be immense for even a prospect like dostal. let those rights expire and keep half an eye on how it's going over there. we have such an edge with finnish players that signing him down the road shouldn't be an issue should he start to show a pulse.

 

[Lempo]

with due respect all around, i doubt there's a line forming. as far as kotchekov vs. eetu that one is a first round tko for the one who is starting games in the toughest league in the world outside the nhl and is at the very least treading water enough to suggest that ahl success should be on the way. if you look at some of our previous guys that have gone to the khl as goaltenders, it's not pretty. some of those guys were even decent in that league. stats in mestis mean less than zero to me considering the level of play is so far away from being remotely projectable to even american league success. if he was nhl material he would be pushing the younger dostal for starts instead of holding his water bottle and the truth is that between the two of them, the disparity is so wide it's not even a contest. we have to be very mindful of success in lower leagues for goaltenders as being projectable to higher levels. the adjustment is going to be immense for even a prospect like dostal. let those rights expire and keep half an eye on how it's going over there. we have such an edge with finnish players that signing him down the road shouldn't be an issue should he start to show a pulse.

All very good points.

I don't know though if Maenalanen became a bit of a warning example for Finnish free agents who got more than one offer from NHL but chose Carolina. He did get his QO though, so he would have had a SPC had he took it.

Obviously it would be advisable for Makiniemi to do something to get even one offer from NHL.