Lassi Lehti, the netminder for the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, is generating interest from some NHL clubs, according to Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal. The Boston Bruins are currently scouting the 24-year-old goaltender, who is having a quality campaign despite the Nanooks' brutal season. Lehti has appeared in 11 games, managing a .921 save percentage and 2.59 goals-against average, and last season, as the team's backup, he finished with a .924 save percentage and 2.04 goals-against average. Although he was only a backup last season, that's an impressive 24-game run.
However, given the length that it typically takes goaltenders to develop, it may be too little too late for Lehti. He was eligible to be selected in the 2019 NHL Draft, and waited until the 2022-23 NCAA season to begin his collegiate career. Although he's not considered in the same tier as Jesper Wallstedt and Yaroslav Askarov, both of whom are already fully entrenched in their NHL careers, Lehti is older than both of them.
If he keeps producing at the same level through the end of the campaign with the University of Alaska, there will likely be a team willing to give him a chance. If he's set on playing professionally, Lehti could immediately step into the starter's crease for an ECHL team or serve as a backup with a lower-level AHL team.
