Luukkonen leads way as European goalies return to CHL after ban lifted
TORONTO — The Ontario Hockey League’s Sudbury Wolves didn’t wait long to pounce once the ban on foreign goaltenders was lifted for the 2018-19 season.
Sudbury selected Finnish netminder Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with the third-overall pick in the 2018 Canadian Hockey League import draft after a four-year restriction on selecting goalies was removed, making the Buffalo Sabres prospect the first European keeper chosen since 2013.
“Given the rules at the time he wasn’t an option until this year, so when they made the rule change you go back through your notes and memory bank and he was top of mind,” said Wolves general manager Rob Papineau, who first had an interest in Luukkonen after watching him win gold and getting named an all-star at the under-18 world championship in 2016.
“From a scouting standpoint I don’t think I was alone in thinking he was a very good goalie… Buffalo took him high in the NHL draft.”