Flames sign defence prospect Joni Jurmo to entry-level contract

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Joni Jurmo woke up to the text he’d been dreaming about his whole life.

The Calgary Flames had offered him an entry-level contract.

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There are a lot of worse ways to have your sleep interrupted, that’s for sure.

“I woke up from the nap and checked my phone and my agent had texted me,” Jurmo said. “I just went downstairs and told my parents.

“It was an unbelievable moment. I’ve been dreaming about this since I knew what the NHL even was.”

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It was a wake-up Jurmo will never forget, and it set in motion a sequence of events that will bring him to Calgary quickly.

He expects to fly from Finland to join the Flames’ AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, on Tuesday. He’ll skate with them for the rest of the season, beginning his North American professional hockey journey.

Needless to say, it’s a big change from where Jurmo was a few months ago.

The 21-year-old defenceman was selected by the Vancouver Canucks in the third round, 82^nd overall in the 2020 NHL Draft. He’s stayed in Finland since, skating in 46 games in Finland’s top division this season. His time was split between Ilves and Kookoo, and he registered one goal and four assists.

At 6-foot-5, 210 lbs., though, Jurmo certainly has the size to be an NHL blueliner, and he was an important piece of the package the Flames received in exchange for Elias Lindholm when they traded the Swedish centre at the end of January. They also received forward Andrei Kuzmenko, the Canucks’ first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, a conditional fourth-rounder in the same draft, and defensive prospect Hunter Brzustewicz.

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For Jurmo, the move presents an opportunity. The Flames dealt away defencemen Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin and Nikita Zadorov this season and while they replenished their cupboard of defensive prospects, there’s no doubt there will be opportunities available — probably more than there would have been in Vancouver.

That’s not something Jurmo takes for granted.

“Even though there’s more opportunity, you need to earn that opportunity and make the most of it,” Jurmo said. “It’s pretty obvious there’s more opportunity, but the Flames are an amazing organization and I believe I can grow here as a player and as a human, also.”

The Flames are high on Jurmo, with GM Craig Conroy highlighting his size, mobility, skating and abilities in his defensive zone in a press release announcing the signing.

They’ll get a much closer look at him over the coming weeks with the Wranglers and now have Jurmo signed on for two years at $850,000 annually.

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He turns 22 next month, but like any young defenceman will likely need a little time to adapt to the North American game.

But there’s an intriguing skill set there.

“My biggest strength is my skating, I‘ve been working on that really hard,” Jurmo said. “That, combined with my size and my reach I think is a pretty good combination. I’m a pretty skilled guy, I’d say, for my size and I can deliver a good, hard first pass and skate out of my own zone. There’s also place to grow my game, playing a little simpler, but I think my game will fit well with the North American style of hockey.”

daustin@postmedia.com

X: @DannyAustin_9

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