Kraken goalie prospect Niklas Kokko says goaltender is his position in hockey because it’s a role that factors into every game outcome. Well, that, and a familiar story for many goalies: His older sibling put him in net during sessions in the family basement back home in Oulu, Finland.
Kokko is certainly proving out the impact of being the last line of defense in the playoffs of Liiga, Finland’s top pro league. After a solid performance at the 2024 World Junior Championship, including a lifetime-memory performance to beat host and rival nation Sweden in overtime during the group round, Kokko returned to his hometown Karpat club.
But Karpat officials had decided to retain the goalie activated to take Kokko’s spot during World Juniors. Similar to how European soccer clubs conduct some player transactions, Karpat loaned Kokko to the Pelicans club in Lahti for the remainder of the season.
The move to Lahti has been a boon for Kokko and his new team. After posting a .906 save percentage in a dozen earlier-season games with Karpat, Kokko notched a 9-0-3 record in Pelicans' net with a 1.49 goals-against average and .926 save percentage. He has upped his story arc even more in the postseason, helping the Pelicans win a quarterfinal and semifinal series, going 8-4 with a 1.54 goals against and .933 save percentage.
His achievements have made headlines in Finnish media, in large part because the goaltender was a major reason why Pelicans eliminated none other than Karpat in the semifinals, winning the best-of-seven series in five games. The only game he lost in the series was a 1-0 shutout in which Karpat scored in the last two minutes of regulation. Kokko, who just turned 20 in March, pitched his own 1-0 shutout in Game 3 and allowed just one goal in the 2-1 overtime clincher. He finished the semifinal series with a .947 save percentage against his former team. The championship against Tappara and opposing goalie Christian Heljanko, top goaltender for the senior national team, starts Saturday in Tappara.
WHL Matchup Features Kraken D-men Prospects
The Western Hockey League Portland Winterhawks are in town Monday for Game 3 of their playoff series against the Everett Silvertips, looking to take a three-games-to-none lead in the matchup. Portland defenseman and Kraken prospect Tyson Jugnauth has been a standout for the Winterhawks in the postseason, notching three goals and three assists in six games, with most of that production against the Silvertips. The Kraken 2023 fourth-rounder is facing fellow Kraken defenseman prospect Kaden Hammell (5th round, 2023), who has posted two goals and an assist in seven playoff games to date.
Jugnauth, picked in the fourth round of the 2022 NHL Draft, scored twice in Game 1 on both the power play and while Portland was shorthanded. He scored again in Game 2 and added an assist. The power play score in Game 1 will no doubt make any of Portland’s best-goals-of-the-year highlight videos.
