Former Kingston Frontenacs netminder Leevi Merilainen made his NHL debut on Tuesday, stopping 34 of the 37 shots he faced in the Ottawa Senators’ 3-2 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. The 20-year-old from Finland stopped all 21 shots across the second and third periods.
Merilainen spent the 2021-22 season in Kingston after being chosen by the Frontenacs 48th overall in the 2021 CHL Import Draft. He joined the OHL as a Senators prospect, having been taken in the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft. Merilainen played to a 31-16-4-1 mark with a 3.29 goals-against average and .891 save percentage with two shutouts over 53 games for Kingston.
The 6-foot-3, 175lb. goaltender was assigned to Ottawa’s American Hockey League team in Belleville on March 23, after completing his season with Kärpät in Finland’s top tier Liiga where he went 18-13-7 and posted a 2.02 goals-against average in 42 games. Merilainen recorded a 42-save shutout in his first game with the Belleville Senators.
Leevi lap!#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/J3oHath2O0
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) April 4, 2023
