Overseas Update: Ilves top Liiga with goaltender Lukas Dostal

If Lukas Dostal is one thing, it’s consistent.

A third-round selection by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2018 NHL Draft, Dostal was the top-rated European goaltending prospect, dominating the Czech leagues. He signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Ducks the following May.

Now playing in the Finnish Liiga, Dostal is keeping the Ilves (Finnish for “Lynx,” if you were wondering) at the top of the league standings. They’re currently tied for first with the Lukko (Finnish for “Lock”), though Lukko has a game in hand.

Last year, Dostal won the Urpo Ylönen Award for the league’s best goaltender with a 27-8-6 record, .928 save percentage and 1.78 goals against average. Ilves finished fourth overall before the final game of the regular season and playoffs were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Dostal is giving the team another stellar performance. In seven games so far, he’s had a 6-1-0 record with a save percentage of .928, and allowing an average of just 1.58 goals against. Expectations are going to be high when Dostal decides to make the jump to North America.

I’d be remiss to not include this great moment from earlier this month:

Here’s a quick glance at how the rest of the Ducks are doing abroad (Note: I broke it down by league, to give an easy comparison of how players in the same league are performing. This means that players might have multiple entries, if they are shifted up and down between leagues):

-J20 Nationell-

Thimo Nickl, D

Team: Rögle BK J20 | 2020-21 Stats: 6 GP, 0 G, 4 A | Nationality: AUT | Age: 18 | Ht: 6-2 | Wt: 176 | Shoots: R

-HockeyAllsvenskan-

Isac Lundeström, C

Team: Timrå IK | 2020-21 Stats: 6 GP, 2 G, 4 A | Nationality: SWE | Age: 20 | Ht: 6-0 | Wt: 185 | Shoots: L

Axel Andersson, D

Team: Södertälje SK | 2020-21 Stats: 11 GP, 0 G, 1 A | Nationality: SWE | Age: 20 | Ht: 6-0 | Wt: 179 | Shoots: R

-SHL-

Albin Sundsvik, C

Team: Skellefteå AIK | 2020-21 Stats: 11 GP, 1 G, 1 A | Nationality: SWE | Age: 19 | Ht: 6-2 | Wt: 187 | Shoots: L

-Liiga-

Lukas Dostal, G

Team: Ilves | 2020-21 Stats: 7 GP, 1.58 GAA, .945 SV% | Nationality: CZE | Age: 20 | Ht: 6-1 | Wt: 168 | Catches: L

-KHL-

Artyom Galimov, C

Team: Ak Bars Kazan | 2020-21 Stats: 19 GP, 3 G, 6 A | Nationality: RUS | Age: 21 | Ht: 5-11 | Wt: 176 | Shoots: L

-Slovakia-

Hunter Drew, D

Team: HC Banska Bystrica | 2020-21 Stats: 3 GP, 0 G, 1 A | Nationality: CAN | Age: 22 | Ht: 6-2 | Wt: 192 | Shoots: R

Roman Durný, G

Team: HC Slovan Bratislava | 2020-21 Stats: 4 GP, 4.07 GAA, .833 SV% | Nationality: SVK | Age: 22 | Ht: 6-2 | Wt: 201 | Catches: R