WARpath BuffaloWARpath BuffaloWARpath BuffaloWARpath Buffalo
Kim Saarinen
Goaltender · SEA · Liiga

Kim Saarinen

Age
20
Height
6'4"
Weight
169 lb
Catches
L
Drafted
2024, round 3, 88th overall
Born
FIN
2026-27
Liiga · HPK
Games
9
Save pct
.915
GAA
2.42
Prospect score · 2026-27
High end

67th of 1,160 prospects in the NHLnew

3rd in the SEA system · 1st among its goalies

+2.3WAR a season if he sticks
Outlook
NHL odds52%Becomes a full-time NHL player — 100 games by 27
Impact odds30%Better than the typical NHL regular among goalies
Arrival2029-30The season his comps who made it typically became regulars
WAR a season if he sticks+0.1+2.3+4.5Low, middle and high outcomes among his comparables who became regulars

Of the 10 players most like him at the same point in their development, 5 became full-time NHL players.

Development

His save percentage, adjusted for league, against every goalie his age that season. Zero is the average player his age; the band is where his comparables were at each age.

-10+1+21819Age2024-25, age 18, 30 GP: +0.95 vs. his age group2025-26, age 19, 38 GP: +1.38 vs. his age group
HimMiddle half of his comps at that ageAverage player his age
Comparables

Past prospects at the same position and the same stage after their draft, matched on draft slot, age, size and league-adjusted production. What they became is already known. The outcome is judged at 27: 100 NHL games by then makes a regular.

#PlayerMatchNHL GP by 27Career NHL GPOutcomeWAR a season
1Linus Soderstrom2014 · #95 · at 2142%00Did not stick—
2Ilya Sorokin2014 · #78 · at 2141%136313Regular+4.54
3Matt Hackett2009 · #77 · at 2138%2626Did not stick—
4Filip Gustavsson2016 · #55 · at 2037%219219Regular+2.41
5Adam Werner2016 · #131 · at 2236%22Did not stick—
6Matt Murray2012 · #83 · at 2136%246279Regular+2.28
7Marcus Hogberg2013 · #78 · at 2136%4258Did not stick—
8Ville Husso2014 · #94 · at 2136%113167Regular+0.08
9Sam Brittain2010 · #92 · at 2035%00Did not stick—
10Frederik Andersen2012 · #87 · at 2335%257552Regular+4.98
Season by season
SeasonGPRecordSv%GAASO
2026-27Liiga · HPK93-3-2.9152.420
2025-26Liiga · HPK3812-14-12.9162.114
2024-25U20 SM-sarja · HPK U2020-1-0.9301.470
2024-25Liiga · HPK3010-11-5.9112.493
2023-24WJC-18 · Finland U1821-1-0.9520.770
2023-24U20 SM-sarja · HPK U202314-5-0.9172.412
2023-24U18 SM-sarja · HPK U1898-1-0.9451.670
2023-24Liiga · HPK21-0-1.9092.460
2022-23WHC-17 · Finland U1721-0-0.8973.010
2022-23U20 SM-sarja · HPK U2030-0-0.8544.620
2022-23U18 SM-sarja · HPK U182410-9-0.9112.961
2021-22U16 SM-sarja · HPK U162615-7-0.9103.180
2020-21U16 SM-sarja · HPK U1620-0-0.9331.500

The prospect score is a percentile of his expected outcome among every prospect in the league: the chance he becomes a regular, times how good his comparables who did became against others at their position. A player who never sticks counts as zero, which is why a long shot with a high ceiling can rank below a safe bet. Goalie projections carry the widest error on the site — goaltending develops late, and there are few goalies to learn from. All Sabres prospects · How the rankings work