The Philadelphia Flyers have signed former San Jose Sharks goaltender Eetu Makiniemi to a professional tryout offer, his agency, WD Sports & Entertainment, announced Thursday evening.
Makiniemi, 25, last played in the Sharks organization in the 2023-24 season, splitting time between the San Jose Barracuda in the AHL and the Wichita Thunder in the ECHL. Makiniemi also has two NHL appearances to his name, going 1-1-0 with a 2.13 GAA and .906 save percentage in the 2022-23 season.
The Vantaa, Finland, native has yet to appear in more than 22 games at any level since starting his North American career, though he played 34 games for Ilves in Finland’s Liiga before crossing the Atlantic.
It is important to note that while he is without a contract, Makiniemi joins a Flyers goaltending group that includes NHL incumbents Sam Ersson and Ivan Fedotov, Los Angeles Kings castaway Cal Petersen, and career AHLers Parker Gahagen and Keith Petruzzelli.
Gahagen was re-signed by the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this summer, while Petruzzelli joined as a new addition.
With the addition of Makiniemi, the Flyers now have four goalies competing for two spots on the Phantoms, excluding the potential return of top prospect Alexei Kolosov.
It is currently unclear where Kolosov plans to return to North America from Belarus, but the 22-year-old was included on the Flyers’ training camp roster.
Among the four goalies, Makiniemi and Petersen are the only two with NHL experience, thus giving them the inside track to stick in the AHL if and when the Flyers need to call their names in the 2024-25 season.
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