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It’s that time of year again where we look at the SHL rookies coming out of Colorado. With a small draft class and the massive trades that the Mammoths made prior to this season, they were only able to draft a single player. Introducing Colorado Mammoths #12

Jhonas Ville
Player Profile



The twenty year old net minder was picked up by Colorado late in the third round of the S27 draft. He was previously playing in the EHM league with jknox19 but was convinced to take his talents to the SMJHL. Coming in from Finland, the 6’0”, 180 lb brick wall prides himself in quick hands, excellent rebound control and an eye to see the entire sheet of ice. Even as a rookie I believe that he is going to be hard to beat.

Colorado was is in need of a backup goalie after they lost Austin Lemieux at the end of S26. Jacob Andrews (drafted in S26) was promoted to the starting position but with no other prospects in the pipeline it was important to find a secondary goalie in case things took a turn for the worse. With only three goalies in the draft class, they were lucky to snag Ville with the 21st overall. Ville would provide a safety blanket for the young expansion team, while providing pressure on Andrews to continue his development and improve to the point where he was the undeniable number 1 goalie in Colorado.

We got our first look at Ville in the S27 Prospects Tournament as part of the Blazers. He started all ten games for the Blazers and willed them to a 6-3 record. He finished the tournament with a respectable 0.877 save percentage on 220 shots seen with an average of 2.7 goals against. He was able to post a shutout in the tournament and was really showing some flash in net. The Blazers worked their way into the Prospect Tournament finals where they faced off against the high scoring Outlaws. It was on the big stage where Ville really shined. In 5 games played Ville was able to come away with a 0.919 save percentage on 154 shots and a 2.59 goals against average. At this point his draft stock was most certainly climbing.

After being drafted by the Mammoths he went incredible quiet and kept to himself in the LR. But, goalies being goalies, the team accepted him and moved on. During the preseason we only saw a glimpse of Ville as he came in to relieve Andrews after a poor showing in the first 10 minutes. Ville looked to be everything the Mammoths had hoped for. He stopped all 16 shots he faced and even got on the score sheet with an assist. If this was any indication of how good Ville could be, he would be the biggest steal in the draft class.

Ville got his first SMJHL start in game 85 against the St. Louis Scarecrows. With the jitters on high, the Scarecrows got an early lead 1:37 into the first. Even from the press box you could see Ville compose himself and focus in on what he needed to do. Ville responded by playing completely on his head. He made some incredible glove saves that we were accustomed to see from his highlight reels. The crowd seemed to love his effort and style. The Mammoths were able to rally and respond with two unanswered goals. St. Louis was able to sneak one more by in the third off an incredible screen that Ville had no chance of getting. Lucky for him, his teammates jumped back again and scored two more goals to finish the Scarecrows off 4-2. Ville finished the night with 19 saves on 21 shots (0.905) and a 2.0 GAA. A pretty outstanding showing for the young rookie. Ville would start 7 more games in season 27 for the Mammoths and continued to show his dominance in net. He finished the season 7-3 (including games her relieved Andrews) with a 0.904 save percentage on 198 shots. He was more than adequate with a 2.26 goals against average for the season, allowing Andrews to take a few nights off and rest.

Taking a look at some of the young NHL goalies, I would say the Jhonas Ville most resembles another young Finnish goalie, Joonas Korpisalo. Korpisalo stands 6’3” weighing in at 183 lbs. He was drafted 62nd overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets and had spent most of his young career playing in the SM-Liiga in Finland. While not overly tested, he showed focus and some flashy glove saves. Up until the 2014 season he had only seen a handful of starts but like Ville, dominated when given the chance. In 2013 he played 8 games finishing with a 1.42 GAA and .957 save percentage. This is extremely similar to the young Jhonas Ville. Korpisalo’s career is just starting out but due to injuries, was given the chance to show what he’s got on the big stage of the NHL. He has played 23 games winning 12 of them. He currently sits with a .919 save percentage on 714 shots and 2.62 GAA. He is proving that he’s got what it takes and will most certainly be seeing more time in the NHL as he progresses.

Jhonas Ville could have a very similar career if his old friend jknox19 would get him active. He was last seen December 30th and has not done any training since the season started. It is an unfortunate circumstance as the Mammoths were really hopping he would one day be the goalie of the future. His build is extremely strong and given the time could develop into a starting goaltender in the SHL. The Mammoths would be smart to working on getting him back on the ice as they can’t afford to lose any players to inactivity as they will most certainly be losing a lot of the core to call ups next season. While I don’t expect Ville to be drafted this season, his accomplishments as a rookie this season are truly one of a kind and are worth noting. If a team could bring him back in, he would most certainly be a beneficial asset to the prospect pool.

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Funnily enough I sent him a message this morning about how well his player had been doing :lol:

He didn't really take to the idea of the league too much but I will do my best to try to bring him round. Nice article either way

Originally posted by jknox17@Feb 29 2016, 09:15 AM
Funnily enough I sent him a message this morning about how well his player had been doing :lol:

He didn't really take to the idea of the league too much but I will do my best to try to bring him round. Nice article either way

Thanks! It would be awesome if you could bring him back. Looks like he's got one heck of a build so far. Would love to see him continue.