The Colorado Avalanche have signed goaltender Justus Annunen to a three-year, entry-level contract that runs through the 2022-23 season, the team announced on Thursday.
Annunen played 23 games for Karpat this season — a team in Finland’s top professional league, Liiga — and posted a 15-5-3 record.
The 20-year-old ended the campaign with a .929 save percentage and a 1.77 goals-against average, leading the league in both categories, and his six shutouts set a new league record for longest single-season shutout streak — spanning 302 minutes and five seconds in total.
Internationally, Annunen represented Finland at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship, where he finished the tournament with a .916 save percentage and a 2.65 goals-against average in six contests, while playing 362:01 minutes — the second-most among all goaltenders in the tournament.
Annunen also helped Finland capture the gold medal at the 2018 IIHF U18 World Championship, registering a perfect 6-0 record.
The Avalanche selected Annunen in the third round, 64th overall, of the 2018 NHL Draft.
April 30, 2020
Colorado Avalanche
