Justus Annunen

Justus Hermanni Annunen (born 11 March 2000) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for Oulun Kärpät of the Finnish Liiga on loan from the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL).[1]

Justus Annunen
Born (2000-03-11) 11 March 2000
Kempele, Finland
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 207 lb (94 kg; 14 st 11 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NHL team (P)
Cur. team		 Colorado Avalanche
Oulun Kärpät (Liiga)
NHL Draft 64th overall, 2018
Colorado Avalanche
Playing career 2018–present

Playing career

Annunen first played as a 14-year old with Kiekko-Laser at the junior under-18 level in 2014. Showing promise at age 16, Annunen joined the ranks of Oulun Kärpät, leading the under-18 team in the 2016–17 season, with 30 appearances. In the 2017–18 season, Annunen played predominantly in the Nuorten SM-liiga, posting a 2.21 goals-against average and .907 save percentage. He made his professional and Liiga debut with Kärpät near the conclusion of the regular season, allowing four goals in 33 shots of a shutout defeat to HPK on March 8, 2018.[2] He returned to the Jr. A to be named as the league's best goalie, a first-team all-star and won a silver medal after the club finished in second place.

With his draft eligible status, Annunen was ranked as the fourth International goalie by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau and was elevated as the third keeper selected, when he was drafted in the third-round, 64th overall, by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.[3]

In order to continue his development, Annunen was loaned by Kärpät to Mestis club Kokkolan Hermes, to begin the 2018–19 season on 31 July 2018.[4] In 22 appearances with Hermes, he had a 12-7-2 record with a 2.77 goals-against average and .891 save percentage, before he returned to Kärpät mirroring his previous season in making one regular season appearance in a 4–3 overtime defeat to KalPa on 14 March 2019.[5] In the post-season, Annunen was assigned to join Karpat's Junior team and posted a 1.50 goals-against average and .930 save percentage in six appearances to help the team capture the Jr. A SM-liiga championship.[6]

In the 2019–20 season, Annunen was slated to play in the Liiga to serve as the backup to Patrik Rybár. He collected his first Liiga win in a 3-2 decision in his opening game against KalPa on 12 September 2019.[7] On 16 September 2019, Annunen was signed to an improved two-year contract extension to solidify his role in the Liiga. From September 21 to October 23, Annunen collected four consecutive shutouts to establish a new league record for the longest shutout streak during a single season (302 minutes, five seconds). Sharing the goaltending duties with Rybár for the regular season leading Kärpät, Annunen posted a 15-5-3 record in 23 games, ranking first among all goaltenders in both save percentage (.929) and goals-against average (1.77). With the season ended prematurely before the commencement of the playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Annunen finished the season third in voting for the Urpo Ylönen trophy as the league's best goalkeeper.[8]

On 30 April 2020, Annunen was signed by his draft club, the Colorado Avalanche, to a three-year entry-level contract.[9] He was assigned to continue his development and tenure with Oulun Kärpät for the 2020–21 season.[8]

International play
Medal record
Representing  Finland
Ice hockey
World U18 Championships
2018 Russia

Annunen first represented Finland at the 2017 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament before competing at the 2018 IIHF World U18 Championships, the latter of which he helped Finland to a gold medal. He posted a 2.00 goals-against average and .914 save percentage in six games at the under-18 tournament.

Annunen represented his country at the 2020 World Junior Championships, where he finished the tournament with a .916 save percentage and a 2.65 goals-against average in six contests. His 362:01 minutes in net was the second-most among all goaltenders in the tournament.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2017–18 Oulun Kärpät Jr. A 26 19 5 0 1516 52 4 2.31 .907 12 8 4 728 22 2 1.83 .935
2017–18 Oulun Kärpät Liiga 1 0 1 0 60 4 0 4.00 .892 — — — — — — — —
2018–19 Hermes Mestis 22 12 7 2 1149 61 1 2.77 .891 — — — — — — — —
2018–19 Oulun Kärpät Liiga 1 0 0 1 61 4 0 4.00 .818 — — — — — — — —
2018–19 Oulun Kärpät Jr. A — — — — — — — — — 6 5 1 359 9 1 1.50 .930
2019–20 Oulun Kärpät Liiga 23 15 5 3 1358 40 6 1.77 .929 — — — — — — — —
Liiga totals 25 15 6 4 1479 48 6 1.95 .922 — — — — — — — —

International
Year Team Event Result GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2016 Finland U17 7th 3 1 2 0 176 9 0 3.05 .904
2017 Finland IH18 6th 3 1 2 0 174 9 0 3.10 .871
2018 Finland U18 6 6 0 0 360 12 1 2.00 .914
2020 Finland WJC 4th 6 2 3 1 362 16 1 2.65 .916
Junior totals 18 10 7 1 1,072 46 2 2.57 .911

Awards and honours
Award Year
Jr. A
Jorma Valtonen Award (Best Goalie) 2018 [4]
First All-Star Team 2018
Champion (Oulun Kärpät) 2019

References
  1. "Justus Annunen at eliteprospects.com". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  2. "HPK 4, Karpat 0" (in Finnish). Liiga. March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  3. Knabenbauer, Ron (June 23, 2018). "Avalanche Picks Justus Annunen 64th overall". NHL.com. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  4. "Annunen, Korhonen loaned to Hermes" (in Finnish). Kokkolan Hermes. 31 July 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  5. "KalPa 4, Karpat 3 OT" (in Finnish). Liiga. 14 March 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  6. "Karpat win Junior Finnish Championship" (in Finnish). leijonat.fi. 4 April 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  7. "Karpat best KalPa 3-2" (in Finnish). Liiga. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  8. "Justus Annunen signs a three-year agreement with Colorado" (in Finnish). Oulun Kärpät. 4 May 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  9. "Avalanche signs Justus Annunen". Colorado Avalanche. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
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