NEWARK, N.J. -- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is having one of the Penguins' top prospects join the AHL squad for the playoff push to finish the season.
Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday announced that Penguins goaltending prospect Joel Blomqvist has signed an amateur tryout contract with the team. Blomqvist, the Penguins' second-round pick in 2020, has yet to sign his entry-level deal with the Penguins, and has until next June to do so. An AHL tryout contract allows him to play some games for Wilkes-Barre to finish the season without eating into an entry-level contract.
As I reported in Sunday's game story, Blomqvist didn't know last week whether he would be coming to Wilkes-Barre to finish the season but the two parties had begun talking that day about the possibility.
Blomqvist's season in the Finnish Liiga was significantly impacted by his two separate concussions. In his 21 games with Karpat, Blomqvist recorded a 6-5-8 record, a 2.29 goals against average, a .907 save percentage and one shutout.
Wilkes-Barre also announced the signing of forward Jami Krannila to an amateur tryout contract. Krannila, 22, is a center who recently completed his senior season at St. Cloud State, where he scored 21 goals and 19 assists in 41 games. The Finnish native is listed at 5 foot 10, 175 pounds and has a left-handed shot.