The Calgary Flames have a ton of defence prospects.
Two of those prospects were acquired on Jan. 31, 2024, as the Flames sent Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks. In return, the Flames received two picks, Andrei Kuzmenko, Hunter Brzustewicz, and the prospect we’ll look at in this article, Joni Jurmo.
Born in Espoo, Finland, the 6’5”, 205 lbs left-shot defenceman played his draft season on Jokerit’s youth teams, mainly their U20 team where he scored five goals and 28 points in 43 games. This led to the Vancouver Canucks selecting him in the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft.
Jurmo stayed in Finland for a while. In 2020-21, he was held pointless in 20 games JYP Jyväskyl of the SM-Liiga, while playing 10 games with Kiekko-Espoo of the second tier of Finnish hockey. Jurmo found more success there, scoring three goals and eight points.
The 2021-22 season saw Jurmo become a regular in the SM-Liiga with Mikkelin Jukurit, scoring two goals and 10 points in 50 games. He followed that up with five goals and 13 points in 52 games. In 2023-24, Jurmo split his time between Tampereen Ilves and KooKoo Kouvola scoring a goal and five points in 46 games.
During the 2023-24 season, the left-shot defenceman had his rights traded to the Flames in the Lindholm deal. In late March, Jurmo signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Flames, allowing him to come to North America to begin the 2024-25 season.
Jurmo didn’t rank on our top prospect list coming into the season, nor was he an honourable mention. However, the Finn is a big-bodied defenceman who can also skate. He isn’t afraid to carry the puck. According to his Dobber Prospects scouting report, his defence needs to improve, as does his decision-making.
This season hasn’t been great for Jurmo because he hasn’t had a whole lot of action. He’s split his time between the ECHL and the American Hockey League in his first season in North America. In the ECHL with the Rapid City Rush, he has two goals and 10 points in 12 games. However, he’s been held pointless in his 11 AHL appearances with the Calgary Wranglers.
It’s safe to say that there is a logjam of defence prospects in the Flames system. On the Wranglers alone, the team has Artem Grushnikov, Jérémie Poirier, Brzustewicz, Yan Kuznetsov, and Ilya Soloyov, with all three defencemen being 25 or younger.
Hopefully, Jurmo sees some playing time in the AHL to end the 2024-25 season as he has an intriguing blend of size and speed.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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