The Edmonton Oilers have added to an already crowded crease situation in Bakersfield, signing goaltender Eemil Vinni to a one-year, two-way American Hockey League contract for the 2026-27 season.
Vinni was selected 64th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2024 NHL Draft after being ranked the top European goalie by NHL Central Scouting. The 6-foot-3 netminder missed much of 2024-25 with an injury but returned last season, splitting time between JoKP and Ketterä in Finland’s Mestis league. He posted an 8-5-4 record with a .884 save percentage for JoKP before being loaned to Ketterä, where he excelled with a .951 save percentage and 1.23 GAA in four regular-season games. He also went 4-2 with a .943 save percentage and 1.52 GAA in six playoff appearances.
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The question now becomes, what happens with the rest of the netminders in Bakersfield?
The Oilers already have Matt Tomkins, Connor Ungar, Samuel Jonsson, Nathaniel Day in their system. Tomkins and Ungar were likely the next in line to get an NHL shot.
Like they intend to do at the NHL level this season, the Oilers farm team must be planning on three goalies. Alternatively, the organization might be thinking about including one of the goalies in a future trade.
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