Noa Vali is a 2023 NHL Draft Goaltending Prospect; the 18-year-old netminder stands at 6’0, 154lbs, and hails from Forssa, Finland. Vali certainly isn’t the top goaltender available in the 2023 NHL Draft; however, his name is expected to be called on Day Two of the NHL Draft, as he’s expected to go somewhere early in the third or fourth round. Vali was part of the U18 World Juniors Team for Finland, and despite being the backup coming into the tournament, he would get the start in the final game of the tournament making 13 of 15 saves against Norway. He was also part of the Finland team at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup that took home the Bronze medal. However, he didn’t make any appearances during that tournament.
Scouting Report:
In the opportunities that Vali has gotten, a few things stick out; the biggest thing is his quickness in net, which makes up for his lack of size in net. The biggest thing to remember about Vali is that he really hasn’t gotten his chance to show what he’s got as he’s only played one game in one major tournament as he spent last season in the Amateur league in Finland and only saw one game in Liiga which is the top league in Finland. Most of his time came with the TPS-U20 team in SM-sarja, where he appeared in 20 games, going 17-8 with a 2.38 GAA, .912 SV%, and three shutouts in 29 games. SM-sarja is the third-highest league in Finland behind Liiga and Mestis. Regardless of who or where he gets drafted, one would think he’s easily at least two or three years minimum away from the NHL.
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