Islanders Loan Jesse Nurmi To OHL
The Islanders have loaned left winger Jesse Nurmi to the OHL’s London Knights, according to Stefen Rosner of NHL.com. Since he was previously on assignment to AHL Bridgeport, the move doesn’t impact their active roster.
Nurmi, 20, was looking to get his first real taste of pro hockey in North America this season, but will instead finish out the campaign back in juniors. A knee injury sustained during rookie camp kept him out of main training camp and delayed his season debut until November.
Instead of having the 2023 fourth-round pick begin his season in Bridgeport, the Islanders sent Nurmi down a level further to ECHL Worcester to get his feet wet. After being limited to a goal and an assist in 12 games, he was brought up to Bridgeport earlier this month but hasn’t played since.
Nurmi was one of the top producers in Finland’s junior circuit in his draft year, recording 21 goals and 50 points in 41 games for KooKoo’s under-20 club. Playing time was limited as he made the jump to the top-division Liiga the following year, influencing the Isles to sign Nurmi to his entry-level contract in the 2024 offseason and get him more deployment on this side of the Atlantic.
The 5’11” lefty won an OHL title and Memorial Cup championship with London last season as part of a stacked group that included a remarkable 15 NHL draft picks. He totaled a 9-22–31 scoring line in 58 games.
Obviously, the knee injury derailed his initial adjustment to the pro game. He’ll now be able to fully get back up to speed in a familiar environment while providing a significant boost to a London club eyeing its fourth consecutive OHL final appearance and third straight championship.
Since Nurmi is no longer slide-eligible, his contract will still fill up one of the Isles’ 50 slots for the remainder of the season.
Islanders’ Jesse Nurmi Out Four To Six Weeks After Knee Procedure
According to a team announcement, New York Islanders prospect Jesse Nurmi will miss the next four to six weeks following a procedure on his left knee. Nurmi was projected to begin the year with the AHL Bridgeport following the conclusion of training camp.
The Islanders drafted Nurmi, 20, with the 113th overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft after an impressive season with KooKoo in the Finnish U20 league. The winger scored 21 goals and 50 points in 41 games with a +21 rating. He was also successful during that year’s U18 World Junior Championships, scoring one goal and five points in five tournament contests.
Nurmi wasn’t afforded a positive season following his selection by the Islanders. An early-season injury during the 2023-24 campaign limited him to 19 games with KooKoo, where Nurmi tallied two assists. Still, he was selected by the OHL’s London Knights in the CHL Import Draft, and he joined them for the 2024-25 season.
Last season was somewhat of a mixed bag for Nurmi. He had a relatively poor transition to North American hockey, scoring nine goals and 31 points in 58 games for the Knights, while tallying another three goals and eight points in 17 postseason contests. That isn’t to say he showed no development throughout his first year in the OHL.
Nurmi was the leading scorer at the 2024 World Junior Showcase, achieving four goals and six points in four games. He added two goals and five points in seven games during the 2024-25 U20 World Junior Championships.
Though he had a slim chance of cracking New York’s opening night roster out of training camp, today’s injury update eliminates any remaining hope. Assuming his recovery remains on the projected timeline, Nurmi will start the season with the AHL Islanders sometime in mid-to-late October.
Snapshots: Kinkaid, Pulkkinen, Nurmi
Veteran NHL goalie Keith Kinkaid feels he still has plenty left in the tank and is working toward a return to the higher levels of professional hockey, per George Richards of NHL.com.
Kinkaid, 36, played last season for Savannah of the ECHL, the Panthers’ affiliate, posting a pedestrian .893 save percentage and 3.17 goals against average. It’s a steep fall for a 10-year NHL veteran with 146 career starts, but Kinkaid isn’t giving up hope that he can return to the top level. This summer, Kinkaid has performed well in 3ICE, an eight-team, 3-on-3 tournament being held in Florida. Kinkaid said he is hopeful to extend his pro career and is open to any opportunity.
“This is a great opportunity to show I still have it. My body is holding up very well. I am 36, but I am just trying to prolong my career because once it’s done, it’s done. [3ICE] has given me the chance to keep playing, to showcase that I still have gas left in the tank,” he said.
Elsewhere around hockey:
- NHL and KHL veteran Teemu Pulkkinen has signed in Finland with Kiekko-Vantaa of the Mestis League, per a team release. Pulkkinen, 33, appeared in 83 NHL games over four seasons. A fourth-round selection of the Detroit Red Wings in the 2010 draft (111th overall), he scored 13 goals and 22 points in the NHL but hasn’t appeared in the league since the 2016-17 season. He then spent eight seasons in the KHL, and spent last year split between Germany and Slovakia.
- New York Islanders prospect Jesse Nurmi will start next season in the AHL, per NHL.com’s Stefen Rosner. A fourth-round pick in the 2023 draft (113th overall), Nurmi, 20, spent last season with the OHL’s London Knights, where the winger produced nine goals and 31 points in 58 games. A native of Finland, the 6-foot, 180-pound left-shot winger spent parts of three seasons in Liiga, Finland’s top professional league, before making his North American debut last year.
Metro Notes: Penguins, Nurmi, Pikkarainen
In a think piece regarding the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier today, Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette suggests the Penguins could still do more to improve their team this summer. Pittsburgh has nearly $3.5MM available in cap space and could weaponize that in a few ways to improve their playoff chances for the 2024-25 NHL season.
Next year, one of the bigger question marks surrounding the Penguins is who will play next to Sidney Crosby on the team’s top line. Currently, Drew O’Connor is penciled in, but Pittsburgh may be able to snag Max Pacioretty or James van Riemsdyk on the free-agent market. Additionally, Vensel puts forward the idea that the Penguins could go after Trevor Zegras from the Anaheim Ducks or Rutger McGroarty from the Winnipeg Jets organization.
Zegras may be hard to capture at this point in the offseason as the Ducks will look to get higher above the cap floor and will look to capitalize off a better season from Zegras. Although McGroarty has already made public his desire to move away from the Jets organization, Winnipeg is under no time crunch to move him. The Penguins may be best served by scouring the crumbles on the free-agent market this summer and attempting to pursue a bigger fish next offseason.
Other Metro notes:
- Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News reports New York Islanders’ prospect Jesse Nurmi will make his way to North America next season as he will suit up for the OHL’s London Knights. It would be difficult to find a better program for Nurmi as he looks to rebound from an average season in the Finnish Liiga with KooKoo. The former 113th overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft skated in 19 games for KooKoo last year where he tallied two assists overall. On the U20 international junior level, Nurmi skated in six games for Team Finland while collecting another two helpers.
- Moving west of UBS Arena, the New Jersey Devils will similarly have a prospect coming overseas, this time with the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels (Article Link). Although signing a three-year extension with TPS earlier this offseason, the Devils third-round pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, Kasper Pikkarainen, will join Red Deer for the 2024-25 WHL season. Pikkarainen played well for TPS U20 last year as he scored 12 goals and 28 points in 34 contests.
Islanders Sign Jesse Nurmi To Entry-Level Deal
The Islanders signed left winger Jesse Nurmi to a three-year, entry-level contract earlier this week, per PuckPedia. His deal carries an $870K cap hit and breaks down into an NHL salary of $775K, a signing bonus of $95K, a games played bonus of $80K, and a minors salary of $82.5K each season.
The Isles picked up Nurmi’s signing rights in the fourth round of the 2023 draft. The 19-year-old has played in parts of three major-league seasons overseas, all with KooKoo of the Finnish Liiga. Since his 20th birthday doesn’t fall until next year, his deal will be eligible for an entry-level slide. His contract won’t go into effect until 2025-26 if he plays less than 10 NHL games next season.
Nurmi is still looking for his first professional goal, but he has three assists in 29 Liiga games, including a career-high 19 appearances this season. The checking winger has good speed and good offensive instincts, as evidenced by his 21 goals and 50 points in 41 junior games last season. However, despite a 6’0″ frame, he weighs only 172 lbs, so adding muscle will likely be a priority before he has a shot at making his NHL debut.
And with so little professional experience in his home country to date, Nurmi isn’t close to competing for an NHL roster spot. While he’ll collect a signing bonus from the Isles next season, he’ll likely spend the campaign on loan back to KooKoo, where he’ll have the chance to solidify himself as an everyday contributor in the pros. That will kick in his aforementioned slide and extend the expiry of his ELC to 2028.
Nurmi becomes the first member of the Isles’ most recent draft class to sign. The team’s first pick, second-round selection Danny Nelson, is coming off his freshman campaign at the University of Notre Dame and won’t sign his deal until he’s ready to turn pro.