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Welcome back to our <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/ca-top-20-vancouver-canucks-prospect-rankings-honourable-mentions">CanucksArmy top 20 Vancouver Canucks prospect ranking.</a>
Today, we&#8217;re going between the pipes for our 18th-ranked youngster.
<blockquote>
<h3>Aku Koskenvuo 
Team: Harvard University | Age: 21 | Position: Goaltender | Height: 6&#8217;4 | Weight: 201 lbs | Catches: Left</h3>
</blockquote>
It feels commonplace for NHL teams to find diamonds in the rough with goaltenders at the draft podium. Simply put, their development tends to take longer and experience many more ebbs and flows than your common skater.
<a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-announce-2024-training-camp-penticton">In Aku Koskenvuo</a>, we see a 6’4 kid selected in the fifth round (137th overall) who’s trending strongly toward a pro career.
When we refer back to David Quadrelli’s fantastic article from two years ago, Ian Clark had this to say about scouting for netminders:
“I say this, and I probably shouldn’t, but I say that we can teach a goaltender technique in a weekend,” <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/how-ian-clarks-remote-lessons-aku-koskenvuo-paying-immensely">Clark told David in a CanucksArmy interview</a>. “So for me, those things really don’t register for me when I’m evaluating a goalie. What I’m really looking at is the intangible things that I know through my history in the game are much more difficult to teach through nurture.&#8221;
&#8220;When I look at Aku, I look at a goaltender who may be a little bit raw, a little bit green with some of the structural stuff. You know, there are some blemishes there that we can easily transform and reorganize in his game, but some of those other areas which are much harder, he has in spades.”
This is what makes Ian Clark so good at what he does, and by all accounts, it looks like he’s on a good track to be proven right once again.
After playing third fiddle with just two starts to his name in his freshman year at Harvard University (2022-23), Koskenvuo was finally handed some solid playing time in his sophomore season.
Splitting equal time with his goaltending tandem partner, Derek Mullahy, Aku saw 17 starts and posted a 5-6-4 record with a .910 save percentage and a 2.95 goals against average.
Don’t let his pedestrian numbers fool you, however. He faced 35 or more shots on seven occasions and was one of his team’s top performers in most of the matches he started. To put it bluntly, he did not get much offensive help, as Harvard ranked third-worst among Eastern Conference Athletic Conference (ECAC) teams in goals for (70).
At 6’4, it’s obvious that he takes up most of the net. But what always draws us is the way that he moves despite that lankiness. He covers the low parts of the net quite well and is quick with his movements.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Aku Koskenvuo dropped 38 saves in his season debut, despite a 5-4 shootout loss. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a>
He had a strong game in a back-and-fourth battle. <a href="https://t.co/61hLO73TFs">pic.twitter.com/61hLO73TFs</a>
&mdash; Dave Hall (@hall1289) <a href="https://twitter.com/hall1289/status/1720617898765414707?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 4, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Aku Koskenvuo made 34 saves in a 6-3 victory to extend his win streak to three games. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a>
Give the kid a 3-4-2 record. <a href="https://t.co/ZVkt9Yb3au">pic.twitter.com/ZVkt9Yb3au</a>
&mdash; Dave Hall (@hall1289) <a href="https://twitter.com/hall1289/status/1751437219963994593?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Last season, he posted two shutouts, which sat fifth-most among all netminders nationwide (21 other goalies also had two shutouts). Impressively, he saved his second career shutout for the playoffs, defeating Princeton with 38 saves in the first round of the ECAC playoffs.
It’s hard not to love the kid&#8217;s confidence, either. After posting his second career NCAA shutout — a 38-save 1-0 first-round playoff performance — he kept his explanation simple:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
&quot;Well, we needed the win. I needed to stop all of the pucks because we only had one goal.&quot;
Aku Koskenvuo on his 38 save shutout.<a href="https://t.co/20G7MSxgxD">pic.twitter.com/20G7MSxgxD</a>
&mdash; Dave Hall (@hall1289) <a href="https://twitter.com/hall1289/status/1766294663147958414?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Fair enough, Aku.
His heroic efforts earned him his first career ECAC Goalie of the Week honour to boot.
Looking ahead to 2024-25, his tandem partner Mullahy has since transferred to Michigan Tech, giving Koskenvuo the reins between the pipes for the upcoming season. The numbers don&#8217;t suggest a ‘huge upside,’ but as mentioned, his play was well above what his stats show.
We&#8217;re quite excited to see what he does with a more guaranteed spot between the pipes in his third season in the NCAA.
Ceiling: Netminders are always a wild card, not only for performance reasons, but let’s face it, there are only 32 starting spots up for grabs. The Canucks have a secret weapon in Ian Clarke, however. We believe Koskenvuo has what it takes to carve out an NHL role at some point down the line. He&#8217;s tall, athletic, and coachable.
Floor: We haven’t seen the transition yet, but all signs point toward him being able to hold down an AHL career if that’s the route he chooses. With Thatcher Demko, Arturs Silovs, and now Nikita Tolopilo all standing in his way, there’s always the possibility of either not signing out of college or returning to Finland.
ETA: This year is crucial. The Canucks will have until August 2025 to put pen to paper and bring him on board. With that in mind, the timing of him taking over as number one couldn&#8217;t be better. Should he sign, we expect at least a year or two of AHL duties to assess whether he&#8217;s ready for that ultimate leap. As such, we peg him to be ready somewhere around the 2026-27 season.
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Be sure to check out the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/canucks-zach-hyman-bet-jake-debrusks-contract">latest odds</a> with online sportsbook Betway.

Welcome back to our <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/ca-top-20-vancouver-canucks-prospect-rankings-honourable-mentions">CanucksArmy top 20 Vancouver Canucks prospect ranking.</a>

Today, we're going between the pipes for our 18th-ranked youngster.
<blockquote>
<h3>Aku Koskenvuo
Team: Harvard University | Age: 21 | Position: Goaltender | Height: 6'4 | Weight: 201 lbs | Catches: Left</h3>
</blockquote>
It feels commonplace for NHL teams to find diamonds in the rough with goaltenders at the draft podium. Simply put, their development tends to take longer and experience many more ebbs and flows than your common skater.

<a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-announce-2024-training-camp-penticton">In Aku Koskenvuo</a>, we see a 6’4 kid selected in the fifth round (137th overall) who’s trending strongly toward a pro career.

When we refer back to David Quadrelli’s fantastic article from two years ago, Ian Clark had this to say about scouting for netminders:

“I say this, and I probably shouldn’t, but I say that we can teach a goaltender technique in a weekend,” <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/how-ian-clarks-remote-lessons-aku-koskenvuo-paying-immensely">Clark told David in a CanucksArmy interview</a>. “So for me, those things really don’t register for me when I’m evaluating a goalie. What I’m really looking at is the intangible things that I know through my history in the game are much more difficult to teach through nurture."

"When I look at Aku, I look at a goaltender who may be a little bit raw, a little bit green with some of the structural stuff. You know, there are some blemishes there that we can easily transform and reorganize in his game, but some of those other areas which are much harder, he has in spades.”

This is what makes Ian Clark so good at what he does, and by all accounts, it looks like he’s on a good track to be proven right once again.

After playing third fiddle with just two starts to his name in his freshman year at Harvard University (2022-23), Koskenvuo was finally handed some solid playing time in his sophomore season.

Splitting equal time with his goaltending tandem partner, Derek Mullahy, Aku saw 17 starts and posted a 5-6-4 record with a .910 save percentage and a 2.95 goals against average.

Don’t let his pedestrian numbers fool you, however. He faced 35 or more shots on seven occasions and was one of his team’s top performers in most of the matches he started. To put it bluntly, he did not get much offensive help, as Harvard ranked third-worst among Eastern Conference Athletic Conference (ECAC) teams in goals for (70).

At 6’4, it’s obvious that he takes up most of the net. But what always draws us is the way that he moves despite that lankiness. He covers the low parts of the net quite well and is quick with his movements.

https://twitter.com/hall1289/status/1720617898765414707

https://twitter.com/hall1289/status/1751437219963994593

Last season, he posted two shutouts, which sat fifth-most among all netminders nationwide (21 other goalies also had two shutouts). Impressively, he saved his second career shutout for the playoffs, defeating Princeton with 38 saves in the first round of the ECAC playoffs.

It’s hard not to love the kid's confidence, either. After posting his second career NCAA shutout — a 38-save 1-0 first-round playoff performance — he kept his explanation simple:

https://twitter.com/hall1289/status/1766294663147958414

Fair enough, Aku.

His heroic efforts earned him his first career ECAC Goalie of the Week honour to boot.

Looking ahead to 2024-25, his tandem partner Mullahy has since transferred to Michigan Tech, giving Koskenvuo the reins between the pipes for the upcoming season. The numbers don't suggest a ‘huge upside,’ but as mentioned, his play was well above what his stats show.

We're quite excited to see what he does with a more guaranteed spot between the pipes in his third season in the NCAA.

Ceiling: Netminders are always a wild card, not only for performance reasons, but let’s face it, there are only 32 starting spots up for grabs. The Canucks have a secret weapon in Ian Clarke, however. We believe Koskenvuo has what it takes to carve out an NHL role at some point down the line. He's tall, athletic, and coachable.

Floor: We haven’t seen the transition yet, but all signs point toward him being able to hold down an AHL career if that’s the route he chooses. With Thatcher Demko, Arturs Silovs, and now Nikita Tolopilo all standing in his way, there’s always the possibility of either not signing out of college or returning to Finland.

ETA: This year is crucial. The Canucks will have until August 2025 to put pen to paper and bring him on board. With that in mind, the timing of him taking over as number one couldn't be better. Should he sign, we expect at least a year or two of AHL duties to assess whether he's ready for that ultimate leap. As such, we peg him to be ready somewhere around the 2026-27 season.

Presented by Betway

<img class="alignnone wp-image-124626 size-large" src="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/2560px-Betway_logo-1024x471.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="471" />

CA’s top 20 Vancouver Canucks prospect rankings: #18 Aku Koskenvuo

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