Monsters Announce Three Roster Moves

Feb 23, 2020

The AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, top affiliate of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, announced Sunday that the Blue Jackets assigned goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks and forward Calvin Thurkauf to the Monsters and recalled goaltender Joonas Korpisalo from his conditioning loan to Cleveland.

 

A 6’2”, 180 lb. left-catching native of Riga, Latvia, Kivlenieks, 23, signed a three-year, two-way entry level contract with Columbus on May 25, 2017. In four appearances for the Blue Jackets this season, Kivlenieks posted a record of 1-0-2 with a 2.41 goals-against average (GAA) and a .907 save percentage (S%) and went 9-8-2 with one shutout, a 2.97 GAA and a .904 S% in 19 appearances for Cleveland this year. In 76 career AHL appearances, all for the Monsters, spanning parts of three seasons from 2017-20, Kivlenieks posted a record of 27-33-7 with three shutouts, a 3.23 GAA and a .892 S%. During the 2018-19 season, Kilvenieks logged a 5-3-0 record with a 2.71 GAA and a .923 S% in eight ECHL appearances for the Kalamazoo Wings.

 

Prior to his professional career, Kilvenieks went 36-7-2 with five shutouts, a 1.85 GAA and a .932 S% in 49 appearances for the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers during the 2016-17 campaign. That season, Kivlenieks claimed USHL Player and Goaltender of the Year honors, was named to the 2016-17 USHL First All-Star Team and helped Sioux City claim the 2017 Anderson Cup as USHL Regular-Season Champions while leading the league in wins (1st), shutouts (T1st), GAA (1st) and S% (1st).

 

A 6’2”, 212 lb. left-shooting native of Zug, Switzerland, Thurkauf, 22, was originally selected by Columbus in the seventh round (185th overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and signed a three-year, two-way entry-level contract with the Blue Jackets on December 30, 2016. Thurkauf made his NHL debut for Columbus on Saturday in Nashville and posted 9-16-25 with 37 penalty minutes and a +6 rating in 47 appearances for the Monsters this season. In 148 career AHL appearances for Cleveland spanning three seasons from 2017-20, Thurkauf contributed 22-29-51 with 101 penalty minutes and a -10 rating.

 

Prior to his professional career, Thurkauf tallied 51-64-115 with 141 penalty minutes and a +53 rating in 121 WHL appearances for the Kelowna Rockets spanning two seasons from 2015-17. Additionally, Thurkauf represented Switzerland in the 2016 and 2017 IIHF U20 World Junior Championships.

 

In 32 appearances for Columbus this season, Korpisalo went 17-10-4 with two shutouts, a 2.49 goals-against average (GAA) and .913 save percentage (S%) and was named a 2020 NHL All-Star. A 6’3”, 191 lb., left-catching native of Pori, Finland, Korpisalo, 25, was originally selected by the Blue Jackets in the third round (62nd overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and posted a record of 58-41-13 with three shutouts, a 2.78 GAA and a .908 S% in 122 career appearances for Columbus spanning parts of five seasons from 2015-20.

 

Korpisalo made 32 saves in his only appearance for Cleveland this season, a 3-2 road overtime victory over the Rochester Americans on Saturday, and supplied a record of 19-20-6 with two shutouts, a 2.50 GAA and a .911 S% in 46 career AHL appearances for Lake Erie/Cleveland and the Springfield Falcons spanning parts of five seasons from 2014-18 and in 2020. During the 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs, Korpisalo went 6-2 with a 2.96 GAA and a .898 S% in nine appearances for the Monsters, helping the team claim the Calder Cup as AHL Playoff Champions.

 

Prior to his North American professional career, Korpisalo appeared in 45 Liiga games for Jokerit and Ilves in his native Finland spanning parts of three seasons from 2012-15 and in international competition, Korpisalo represented Finland in the 2013 IIHF U20 World Junior Championships and the 2017 IIHF World Championships.

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