For twenty-one-year-old Finnish-born goaltender Justus Annunen,  it’s been a year of firsts. Even though he missed the first two periods, he was able to watch the final period as Team Finland won their first-ever Olympic gold medal with a 2-1 victory over the Russian Olympic Committee in Beijing. 

He played a game that night and had a matinee game the next day, so it was nice he could find a moment to watch as the Finnish team, some of which he knows personally, reveled in their moment. Annunen admitted he felt proud.

After a four-game absence, he returned to practice and started in net for the first-ever series against the AHL expansion team Abbotsford Canucks.

“I’m feeling great. I was off [about] one week, and I practiced this week and I’m feeling good,” he said on his return after battling a minor bug.

Even though the Eagles dropped the first game of the series 2-1, a piece of his game that has been valuable to his team has been his steadiness on the penalty kill. In tandem with the penalty kill unit, the Eagles PK went 4/4 in game one against a team whose powerplay is second in the division.

The Eagles have seen their penalty kill rise to fourth in the division and Eagles head coach Greg Cronin credits Annunen for much of this.

“When you have goaltenders making the saves, and handling the puck well on dump-ins, the penalty kill is going to follow that,” he said. “[Annunen’s] great. I love the kid. He’s a big asset.”

He was drafted in the third round, 64th overall, by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2018 draft. In his first full pro-season with the Colorado Eagles, Annunen has been making strides to adapt to North American ice and polish his game.

“He turned the corner and you could see he was getting more comfortable with the North American game,” Cronin said of his first half of the season. “ He’s a big guy, he was coming out of his net. He got more confidence.”

On January 21st, the Colorado Eagles announced former goaltending coach, Ryan Bach, would be the team president and alternate governor. Bach was involved with Pavel Francouz’s conditioning stint and had been working with the Eagles goaltenders for much of this season.

This change brought about a familiar face in former Colorado Avalanche goaltender, Peter Budaj. After a 16-year professional career, six of which were in Colorado, Budaj joined the Avalanche organization again this past August as a development goaltending coach. He has spent most of this season working with the Utah Grizzlies returning to Colorado at times to serve a supplemental role.

Following Bach’s promotion, Budaj has stepped in as the primary goaltending coach for the Eagles working alongside Annunen, Hunter Miska, and Trent Miner at times.

“With Ryan [Bach], we are pretty much a team, which is great. It’s very important to have both goalie people on the same page, so [that] they understand and work together,” Budaj explained of the transition. “Ryan Bach is doing the same things. We understand each other with that. It’s good for Justus.” 

Annunen is grateful for the support of both Bach and Budaj, citing different types of guidance both have offered him throughout this season. “They’ve been great for me. They both help a lot,” he revealed.

Two extremely valuable types of expertise Budaj brings to the table are his recent pro-experience, having last played professionally in the 2018-2019 season, and his experience as a European player who also had to make the adjustment to North American ice.

“The first 15 games it was hard, but I’m getting used to the game here,” Annunen said. “I play a lot, so that helps too.”

For reference, his goals-against-average in his first 15 starts reached 3.00 while his last 15 has lowered to 2.26.

Budaj acknowledged the adjustment to North American ice too. 

“The mindset of North American style hockey is very different from European. You have more time in Europe because of the [larger] ice surface, and here you have less time. There are definitely more screens in front of the net, more jamming stuff from behind, and quick plays,” Budaj said.

“He’s adjusting very well because he has to be very quick. His stick position, he has to cut the passes through the crease because that’s our responsibility as a goalie. I think he’s doing a great job on it. He’s working, and he’s a great kid to work with.”

Specifically, Budaj is working with Annunen on net plays.

“He’s a very strong, powerful kid. He moves very well laterally. He’s always in a good position,” said Budaj. “On European ice, when somebody’s on the side, in the corner – the puck doesn’t come in front of the net as fast as here because [the ice] is a bit bigger. He has to be really alert. He has taken big strides from the beginning of the year until now, so it’s good to see.”

Annunen made his NHL debut and earned his first NHL win before his first AHL shutout – all of which happened in December.

On December 4th, he received a long-awaited call, making his NHL debut with the Avalanche in relief of goaltender Jonas Johansson.

He received his first NHL win on December 6th in a high-scoring defeat of the Philadelphia Flyers.

“It was unbelievable. It’s what I’ve been dreaming of my whole life, so it was an unbelievable feeling,” Annunen said of his debut.

On December 22nd, he stopped all 23 shots he faced to notch his first AHL shutout as the Eagles defeated the San Jose Barracuda 5-0.

He has played 34 of their 46 games with a 0.906 save percentage. He’s second in the league in shootout wins having stopped 18 of 24 shots.

The value of Annunen is captured in how his coaches talk about him.

“He’s an awesome guy. Great kid. Coachable. Team first. I really like him as a person, and he’s getting better. You can’t win without goaltending,” Cronin said.

“He’s working, and he’s a great kid to work with,” said Budaj. “He’s a humble guy, he works really hard. He’s easy to talk to and he’s very coachable. When you have a goalie like that, and it’s [only] my first year, it’s fun to work with [him].”

At just twenty-one years old, his level of professionalism has especially impressed Budaj.

“He takes care of his body. He does so much stuff [off] the ice, in the gym, he eats well, and everything else – all those things go together. His work ethic, his good habits, and everything else can definitely take him somewhere because that’s what we want to see, that’s why we’re here. We’re wanting to level up his game so that he can go to the NHL in the future.”

With 22 more games remaining in the Eagles season, many are hoping for a playoff run and goaltending will be a key factor to get them there.

“That’s where everybody is heading, and that’s what everybody is aiming for. We know what our goals are, we have the tools for it, [and] we just have to put it all together,” Budaj explained of their ambitions. “They’re great guys, and we’re working hard. We’ll continue getting better and better so we can help the team to get to the playoffs and hopefully win the Calder Cup.”

The future is very bright for Justus Annunen. What lies ahead for the young netminder is surely opportunities to create lasting memories in Colorado much like Peter Budaj.

“There’s a lot of great memories,” said Budaj of his time here. “It’s a great place to play. I always tell it to [the] guys that it’s an awesome place to play. It’s something they should always be thankful for. For me, it was the day I got drafted and my first game that I played, and the first win at home too, there’s a few in there so it’s hard to pick just one.”

As an organization, growth is the expectation. 

“They’ve been great the last three years. They’re getting better and better every year,” Budaj said of the current Avalanche team.

“They’re a strong team and hopefully this is the year for us and for them. That’s what we want to see as an organization. We want to do well together as a team.”

Among rookie goaltenders, Annunen is among the top 8 by save percentage, and 4th among all goaltenders by wins. He sits third in shots faced, so goal support and defensive support will be important factors to consider moving forward as well.

Sitting at 7th in their conference with the fewest games remaining, the Eagles will have to dial it in for the rest of the season to successfully stay the course. It’s a steep challenge, but Annunen has played some of his best games during this last stretch earning another shutout on January 29th against Henderson.