Kraken select G Kim Saarinen with the 88th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft

Saarinen is a 6'4" goalie from Finland who played for a bunch of teams, including 2 games in the top-level Liiga for HPK.

Info

• https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/796046/kim-saarinen
• some stats https://x.com/SeattleKrakenPR/status/1807107424425283607

Corey Pronman, The Athletic, "has a chance to play games" tier, https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5595355/2024/06/28/kraken-draft-picks-grades-2024/

Analysis: Saarinen had a good season at the Finland junior level, although he was less impressive with their U18 national team. I can see what makes Saarinen quite appealing to NHL teams. He’s a big goalie who moves quite well for a 6-foot-4 goaltender. He can make a lot of difficult saves, showing the lower half power to explode across the net when he needs to. As a pure athlete, he looks like an NHL goalie. His sense and puck tracking are my major concerns. He loses the puck a lot, and despite being so big he doesn’t square up as many pucks as you’d like, often having to scramble in his net. As of now, he doesn’t project as a full-time goalie, but he has the tools to become one.