CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Joel Blomqvist has made it clear for a while now that he wants to be in North America for the upcoming season.
Blomqvist, one of the Penguins' top goaltending prospects, signed his three-year entry-level contract back in April. He spent the last two seasons playing for Kärpät of the top Finnish league, and had a stellar season in 20 games as a backup in 2021-22 with a 1.32 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage, but his 2022-23 season was marred by injury. Blomqvist suffered two separate concussions throughout the year as a result of collisions, and was limited to 21 games as a result.