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Justus Annunen

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Justus Annunen
Born (2000-03-11) 11 March 2000 (age 24)
Kempele, Finland
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 207 lb (94 kg; 14 st 11 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Nashville Predators
Oulun Kärpät
Colorado Avalanche
NHL draft 64th overall, 2018
Colorado Avalanche
Playing career 2018–present

Justus Hermanni Annunen (born 11 March 2000) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL).[1] He was selected by the Colorado Avalanche in the third-round, 64th overall, of the 2018 NHL entry draft.

Playing career

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Finland

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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 8 March 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 Kärpät'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]

Colorado Avalanche

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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] Unable to match his previous seasons numbers, Annunen played in a career high 24 regular season games, collecting seven wins and recording a 2.43 goals-against average and a .880 save percentage. He lost both playoff games as seventh-seeded Oulun Kärpät bowed out of the post-season after a quarterfinal defeat to HIFK. On 6 May 2021, Annunen was reassigned by the Avalanche to begin his North American career with AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, for the remainder of their season.[10]

Annunen continued with the Eagles to begin the following 2021–22 season, assigned by the Avalanche to assume the starting goaltender role. Adapting to the North American rink and style, Annunen was winless in his first 8 career AHL contests before earning a 5–4 overtime victory against the San Jose Barracuda on 29 October 2021.[11] He quickly improved to collect the AHL's November Goaltender of the Month honors in posting a 5–1–2 record.[12] On 1 December, Annunen received his first NHL recall on emergency conditions, after starting goaltender Darcy Kuemper went down with injury. He joined the Avalanche in time for the second period, assuming the backup duties for the remainder of an 8–2 defeat to the Toronto Maple Leafs.[13] Continuing as backup with the Avalanche on their Canadian road trip, on 4 December 2021, Annunen made his NHL debut with the Avalanche, appearing in relief of goaltender Jonas Johansson and allowing two goals on 19 shots including the overtime winner of a 6–5 defeat by the Ottawa Senators.[14] Annunen achieved his first NHL win on 6 December when the Avalanche defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 7–5.[15]

Annunen was called up by the Avalanche during the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs dressing for 13 May after an eye injury to Darcy Kuemper. Annunen dressed for two games in the Western Conference Finals when Kuemper had an upper body injury. However, he did not play in a game.[16] He shared in the team's eventual Stanley Cup win. He was given a Stanley Cup ring but did not dress in the finals, resulting in his name not being put on the Cup.[17][18]

In the 2024–25 season, Annunen made the Avalanche roster out training camp, solidifying his role as the backup to Alexandar Georgiev. Splitting duties with Georgiev through the first two months of the season, Annunen started 9 games and made 11 appearances, posting a 6 wins through the first two months of the campaign.

Nashville Predators

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On 30 November 2024, Annunen's tenure with the Avalanche ended after he was traded along with a sixth-round selection in the 2025 NHL entry draft to divisional rivals the Nashville Predators in exchange for Scott Wedgewood.[19][20]

International play

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Medal record
Representing  Finland
Ice hockey
World U18 Championships
Gold medal – first place 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

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Regular season and playoffs

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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 — — — — — — — —
2020–21 Oulun Kärpät Liiga 24 7 9 7 1384 56 1 2.43 .880 2 0 2 129 6 0 2.80 .861
2020–21 Colorado Eagles AHL 2 0 1 1 123 6 0 2.93 .900 1 0 1 58 3 0 3.08 .909
2021–22 Colorado Eagles AHL 48 24 13 6 2693 135 2 3.01 .893 9 6 3 561 23 0 2.46 .923
2021–22 Colorado Avalanche NHL 2 1 0 1 97 7 0 4.34 .863 — — — — — — — —
2022–23 Colorado Eagles AHL 41 22 10 8 2379 101 1 2.55 .916 3 2 1 186 12 0 3.87 .886
2022–23 Colorado Avalanche NHL 2 1 1 0 118 7 0 3.58 .854 — — — — — — — —
2023–24 Colorado Eagles AHL 23 14 5 4 1360 60 0 2.65 .908 — — — — — — — —
2023–24 Colorado Avalanche NHL 14 8 4 1 801 30 2 2.25 .928 — — — — — — — —
2024–25 Colorado Avalanche NHL 11 6 4 0 521 28 0 3.23 .872 — — — — — — — —
Liiga totals 49 22 15 11 2,863 104 7 2.18 .906 2 0 2 129 6 0 2.80 .861
NHL totals 29 16 9 2 1,536 72 2 2.81 .902 — — — — — — — —

International

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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 1st place, gold medalist(s) 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

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Award Year Ref
Jr. A
Jorma Valtonen Award 2018 [4]
First All-Star Team 2018
Champion 2019

References

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  1. ^ "Justus Annunen at eliteprospects.com". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  2. ^ "HPK 4, Karpat 0" (in Finnish). Liiga. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  3. ^ Knabenbauer, Ron (23 June 2018). "Avalanche Picks Justus Annunen 64th overall". NHL.com. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  4. ^ a b "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. ^ a b "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.
  10. ^ "Avalanche assigns Annunen to Eagles, Barron recalled from Utah". Colorado Eagles. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  11. ^ "Eagles clinch OT win over Barracuda". American Hockey League. 29 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  12. ^ "AHL announces award winners for November". American Hockey League. 1 December 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Annunen recalled by Colorado". Colorado Eagles. 1 December 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  14. ^ "Rapid Recap OTT 6 - COL 5". Colorado Avalanche. 4 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  15. ^ "Avs Rookie Goalie Justus Annunen Records First Career NHL Win in 7-5 Victory over Flyers". 7 December 2021.
  16. ^ Baugh, Peter (1 June 2022). "Avalanche trust Pavel Francouz, but can he deliver with Darcy Kuemper hurt?".
  17. ^ Brehm, Mike (27 June 2022). "Avalanche end Lightning's reign, win Stanley Cup for first time since 2001". USA Today. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  18. ^ National Hockey League [@NHL] (27 June 2022). "One at a time, there's enough of the #StanleyCup for everyone.🤩" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ^ "Avalanche, Predators reach trade to swap goalies". The Sports Network. 30 November 2024. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  20. ^ "Predators acquire Annunen". Nashville Predators. 30 November 2024. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
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