Overview
- Toronto used its third-round selection to draft Juuso Ainasto, a 6-foot-4 Finnish goaltender viewed as a mid-round developmental prospect.
- Ainasto posted dominant U18 numbers for Jukurit with a 1.74 GAA and .938 save percentage in the regular season and a 1.85 GAA and .925 SV% in the playoffs.
- He struggled at the U20 level, recording a .892 save percentage, a 3.28 GAA and a 6-7-0 record in 14 games, a contrast that likely lowered his draft stock.
- Scouts praised his size, quick movement, glove hand and game process and project him as a long-term project who could develop into a tandem option.
- The pick adds to an already deep Leafs goalie pipeline that includes Dennis Hildeby, Artur Akhtyamov, Vyacheslav Peksa and Timofei Obvintsev and signals the club is collecting higher-variance goalie prospects for future depth.