Joel Blomqvist is probably the most accomplished goaltender the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have on their roster.
At least at the American Hockey League (AHL) level.
An All-Star during the 2023-24 season, Blomqvist nearly tied Marc-Andre Fleury’s team mark for wins (26 in 2004-05) by a rookie goaltender with a 25-12-6 mark.
As for this season, he might not even be Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s top option in net.
In fact, he isn’t a current option whatsoever due to an undisclosed injury that has sidelined him since he was torched while in net for the Pittsburgh Penguins during a 6-5 overtime home loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 2.
In his absence, the Penguins have been boosted by Filip Larsson and Sergei Murashov.
Larsson has five shutouts, one short of the AHL’s lead through Wednesday, and Murashov merely set a team record for longest winning streak by a rookie goaltender by racing out to a 10-0-0 mark this season (Matt Murray previous established that mark in 2014-15).
For the time being, Larsson and Murashov are platooning but at some point, Blomqvist will be healthy.
It’s a problem — albeit a wonderful one to be burdened with — that coach Kirk MacDonald will need to sort out.
“It’s been easy, they’ve all been playing great,” MacDonald quipped. “The two guys that we’ve had at a time, it’s just rotate whoever is up next. It’s been easy because they’ve played well and I haven’t really had to think about it. Right now, Sergei and (Larsson) are our two guys and they’ve been outstanding, so there’s no need to overthink it.”
On Thursday, MacDonald and company practiced in Cranberry in advance of a pair of road games against the Cleveland Monsters this upcoming weekend.
“We’ve basically played two or three games a week,” MacDonald said. “Sergei played Sunday, so (Larsson) can play (Friday) and Sergei can play Saturday. It’s simple. We’ll continue with that as we go forward until something changes.”
Per MacDonald, Blomqvist is considered “day to day” but is “getting a lot closer.” On Thursday, he worked out on the ice before practice with injured Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman P.O Joseph.
With the Pittsburgh Penguins facing considerable questions this upcoming offseason as to what to do with incumbent starter Tristan Jarry as he tries to rebound from what has mostly been an underwhelming 2024-25 campaign, the Penguins have three strong options to turn to if an opening is created on the NHL roster in net.
Striking a balance for Blomqvist, Larsson and Murashov to see sufficient ice time in the pursuit of aiding their development has been a challenge.
The 23-year-old Blomqvist has bounced between the NHL and AHL rosters most of the season while Larsson, 26, has been the organization’s only goaltender to be with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton all of 2024-25.
Murashov opened the season with the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL. Largely dominant at that level, he was summoned to the AHL roster on a full-time basis March 4 and has not slowed down.
“It’s definitely a challenge but it’s a great problem to have, seeing just the NHL how inconsistent goaltending can be,” Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins assistant general manager Amanda Kessel said. “It’s tough to find good goalies. The fact that we have multiple guys competing and pushing that envelope and ready to take the next steps, I think it’s a good problem to have. But definitely try to get them (all) in games, playing as much as possible.”
Note: Per Kessel, “there’s talks going on, definitely” with forward prospect Chase Yoder regarding a potential NHL or AHL contract. A sixth-round draft pick (No. 170), the 22-year-old Yoder just completed his NCAA career with Providence. The Penguins have exclusive NHL rights to him until Aug. 15.