Kingston Frontenacs Draft Sens Goaltending Prospect

While the Ottawa Senators struggled at times to find spots for their plethora of goaltending prospects to play, they at least know where one of them will be. And he won’t be far from the Canadian Tire Centre.

Leevi Merilainen has been selected by the Ontario Hockey League’s Kingston Frontenacs in the 2021 CHL Import Draft. Merilainen was the third goalie selected in the import draft, going 48th overall.

The 18-year-old had a Hamburglar-type season playing with Karpat in Finland’s SM-Sarja u20 junior hockey league in 2020-21. He had a near-perfect 21-0-3 record with a save percentage of .928 and a 1.71 Goals Against Average. He also led the league with six shutouts. 

Selected by the Senators with the 71st overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Merilainen signed his entry-level contract with Ottawa on June 14.

The Ottawa 67s, meanwhile, picked 27th and took Austrian forward Vinzenz Rohrer. With their second pick in the two-round draft, they opted to pass and not make a selection.