The Vancouver Canucks have bolstered their goaltending depth by signing prospect Aku Koskenvuo to a two-year, entry-level contract.
A native of Espoo, Finland, Koskenvuo recently wrapped up his junior season with Harvard University, where he earned an NCAA-high 20 starts.
He posted an 8-9-1 record across those 20 games, posting a 2.81 goals against average, a .902 save percentage, and one shutout.
His season ended last weekend when he lost in the quarterfinals of a best-of-three series against Clarkson University. Despite the loss, he played tremendously in all three games.
Koskenvuo stopped 88 of 95 shots in three games for a .926 save percentage, including a very solid performance in a do-or-die game three. He stopped 39 of 41 shots but wasn’t given much offensive help, as Harvard was eliminated in overtime by a 2-1 score.
After three years at Harvard, the 2021 fifth-rounder (137th overall) posted a 14-16-5 record, with a 2.91 goals against average, a .905 save percentage, and three shutouts.
However, given Harvard’s lack of offensive firepower in recent seasons, one could argue that his development was much more positive than shown in his statistical ledger.
In addition to his on-ice performance, Koskenvuo earned an All-Ivy honourable mention and is the school’s Academic All-Ivy recipient.
Standing at 6-foot-4, 173-pounds, Koskenvuo’s size and athleticism have long been touted as key attributes by Canucks goaltending staff, including Director of Goaltending Ian Clark.
“For me, I’m a big believer when it comes to scouting in evaluating the intangibles when it comes to goaltenders,” Clark said in an exclusive interview with CanucksArmy in 2021. “Technique and structure and all those types of things are very tangible. Those are things we can kind of do with our eyes closed. They’re very tangible and very blueprint-y.”
“I say this, and I probably shouldn’t, but I say that we can teach a goaltender technique in a weekend,” Clark said with a laugh. “So for me, those things really don’t register for me when I’m evaluating a goalie. What I’m really looking at is the intangible things that I know through my history in the game are much more difficult to teach through nurture.
“When I look at Aku, I look at a goaltender that may be a little bit raw, a little bit green with some of the structural stuff, you know, there’s some blemishes there that we can easily transform and reorganize in his game, but some of those other areas which are much harder, he has in spades.”
Koskenvuo’s journey to this point has included international experience, representing Finland at the 2021 U18 World Championships — where he was named one of his country’s top three players — and the 2023 World Junior Championships.
With a crowded crease among each level in the Vancouver system, it’s unclear what the immediate plan for the Finn will be. However, you can likely expect him to kick off his pro-career in Kalamazoo while Ty Young continues to tend the crease in Abbotsford.