Although the 2024 NHL Draft doesn’t have any superstar goalies available, there are several noteworthy goalies to mention, who could be impactful down the road. Here are the top 5 goalies available in the 2024 NHL Draft.
Related: 2024 NHL DRAFT: TOP DEFENSEMAN THIS DRAFT
Eemil Vinni, HIFK (Liiga)
Eemil Vinni will battle with Noah Erliden and Eric Olsson to be the top-rated European Goalie in the 2024 Draft. With a 6 foot 2 frame, Vinni has good size, great feet, moves very well laterally, and controls his rebounds. He’s also not shy about jumping out of his crease to play the puck and outlet up ice. Vinni played the majority of last season with HIFK U20, where he recorded a 15-12 record with a 2.80 GAA, .894 SV% in 32 regular season games, then put up a 2.15 GAA, .891 SV% in 3 playoff games. Vinni also played in 2 Liiga games as well, although he didn’t fare as well. The 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup was the coming out party for Vinni, he posted a 1.75 GAA, .927 SV% in 4 games, and helped Finland win the Bronze Medal. His six-foot-two frame is already NHL-sized, and he has the tools to follow in the footsteps of a player like Jesper Wallstedt who was a first-round pick and fast-tracked to the AHL. At the current moment, Eemil Vinni is the top-ranked goalie in the 2024 Draft and has the potential to be a starter in the NHL. He could be a late first-round pick if a team really needs to address a need in need.
Noah Erliden HV71 J20 (J20 Nationell)
Erliden continued his strong U-18 season. He had just average stats in the Swedish U-20 league, putting up a 10-8 record with a 2.93 GAA, and .912 SV% in 19 games. Internationally, he was Sweden’s go-to keeper at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he was 3-1, registering a 2.53 GAA, and .915 SV%, helping them to win a silver medal. In the World Junior A Challenge-19, he had a 2.89 GAA, .917 SV% in 4 games, then at the U-18 WJC, he was 5-1 with a 1.49 GAA, .945 SV%. He was excellent at all of these events and had the best stats in the tournament, which earned him the top goaltender award at the U18 and was named to the WJAC-19 All-Star team. Erliden is an undersized goalie for today’s standard, at only 5 foot 11 and 183 pounds, but he has proved thus far to be very consistent with the starts he has been given. To this point, Noah Erliden is the top-ranked goalie in the 2024 Draft based on what he has accomplished in juniors
and international play. It might take a couple years for Erliden to be a starter in the NHL, but in time, he could be a starter in the NHL. Right now, I have Noah Erliden projected as a second-round pick, but he could move up or down depending on how he plays this season.
Eric Olsson, Fargo Force (USHL)
Eric Olsson is a Swedish-born netminder, who was born shortly after the Sept. 15 cutoff for the 2023 draft, making him a target for 2024. There is much to like about this prospect. He has sound crease composure and size. With a pro-ready frame, 6-foot-3, and 183 pounds, Olsson tracks very well and has good feet and gloves. If he was eligible for 2023, he would be a high-end goalie target. The fact he has two full years of development ahead of him should elevate his stock further as he trends towards 2024. Olsson played the majority of the season with Örebro HK J20, where he recorded a 12-12 record, with a 2.60 GAA, .909 SV% in 26 games. Olsson won the silver medal with Sweden as the backup to Noah Erliden at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. It is tough for Olsson to overtake Vinni and Erliden as a top goalie in the goalie rankings, but if Olsson can piece together a good season this year, he could be a late second or 3rd-round pick. Olsson may not have the high upside of a goalie like Gabriel D’Aigle but he is the safer pick because he is more NHL-ready at this point.
Gabriel D’Aigle, Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)
What stands out most for Victoriaville Tigres, goalie Gabriel D’Aigle is his current 6-foot-4 frame, the ability to move laterally with precision is a major boon to his performance. His ability to move across the crease is strong for someone of his age and size. With proper development, this can continue to be advanced. D’aigle has incredibly strong lateral transitions and continues that precision when moving in and out of the butterfly. One of the areas he will need to work on is recovery. He can have a bit of a tendency to overcommit on an initial save attempt and then scramble back if he gives up a bad rebound or if the shot changes. With the Victoriaville Tigres of the QMJHL last season, he recorded a 13-6 record with a 3.18 GAA, .894 SV% in 21 games. There is no doubt about D’Aigle’s raw skillset, he has a very high upside and has the potential to be an elite goalie in the league with the right development. It will take several years before D’Aigle is NHL-ready but the hope is by that time, the team drafting him will be getting a truly elite starting-caliber goalie. Gabriel D’Aigle should be taken in the late 2nd or 3rd round in the draft due to his high upside.
Christian Kirsch, EV Zug (NL)
Christian Kirsch isn’t really being talked about a whole lot because he plays in the Swiss League and there isn’t much tape on him on the internet. Most of what the public knows about the Swiss goalie is from his international play, as he was a part the the Swiss U17 at the EYOF and the U18s at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. After dominating in net with Zug U17, where he had a 14-7 record, with a 1.69 GAA and 6 SO in 22 games, then a 3-1-2 record, and a 2.41 GAA in 6 playoff games. Kirsch also played 5 games with Zug’s U20 team, and had a 1.80 GAA and 2 shutouts. Committed to UMass for the 2025-26 season, Kirsch is expected to start the season with Zug U20 and if he does well will spend some time in the NL. The 6-foot-3 goalie would be a good long-term project for a team to draft in the 3rd round, but because the transition from the Swiss league to North America takes a bit longer, I wouldn’t be surprised if he falls to the 4th round or later.
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