St. Louis Blues Add Goaltender Niklas Lundstrom to NHL Roster
The St. Louis Blues continued the process of inflating their roster for the postseason on Wednesday, recalling goaltender Niklas Lundstrom from the Alaska Aces of the ECHL. Lundstrom’s season just ended on Saturday as the Aces completed their schedule.
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The 22-year-old goaltender has no chance of seeing playoff action, but the experience he collects should be good for him as he attempts to build his resume. The Blues have a complicated minor-league goaltending situation, as they are allowed to have only one goalie with their AHL affiliate, the Wolves, due to the fact that independent veteran Matt Climie is under contract with the team. The Blues’ goalie in Chicago is Jordan Binnington, a more advanced prospect with a higher ceiling who is getting the bulk of the work as the Wolves prepare to embark on a playoff run. With Binnington still playing, Lundstrom is being called in to serve as the extra goalie and will get some work with the NHL team during practice. He served the same role last year as now-starter Jake Allen was serving out the remainder of the season with the Wolves.
Lundstrom played in 36 games for the Aces this season, collecting a 3.05 goals-against average with a save percentage of .895. He also joined the Wolves for several weeks as Climie rehabbed an injury and saw relief action in one game, stopping every shot he faced. Lundstrom is probably fifth the Blues’ goalie totem pole in terms of upside, behind the team’s two primary NHL goalies, Binnington and international prospect Ville Husso, so making a good impression over the next few weeks will be key for him if he has plans of ascending to the NHL with the Blues.