Bjarnason’s numbers have seen a continuous, albeit slight, improvement over his WHL career. His WHL career completed with a 2024-2025 line of 22-15-13 with a 2.93 GAA and .913 save percentage, good for 14th overall in GAA and 4th in save percentage by goalies with 10 games played.

Bjarnason will move to Lehigh Valley of the AHL to continue his development. The Flyers have long been waiting for a goalie to grab the crease and patrol it with consistency. Much has been made of the potential of his peers ahead of him on the depth chart- Samuel Ersson, Ivan Fedotov, Alexei Kolosov et al- but no one has been able to establish themselves as the go-to guy. The Flyers signed veteran Dan Vladar who as the most experienced netminder in the stable could end up the de facto ‘1A’ as the youngsters jockey for the sidecar of the platoon. Bjarnason, at just 20 years old and 6-4, will be able to take his time in the minors, develop his reads, and challenge for his chance at the crease in two to three seasons.

Bjarnason was selected 51st overall by the Flyers.

Bjarnason had an exceptionally hot start to the season, earning him an “A” grade from NHL Central Scouting in their first list of the year. He has since regressed, carrying a .909 save percentage through 22 games playing behind a struggling Brandon Wheat Kings team. Despite his team’s struggles, Bjarnason currently has a record above .500, having been the goalie of record for all but one of Brandon’s wins thus far. As a goalie, Bjarnason offers an enticing package of composure, anticipatory ability, size, and athleticism, and will likely be one of the first goalies selected this summer.

Playing behind a defense that surrenders a high volume of high and medium danger chances, Bjarnason has looked calm and composed. His ability to identify shooting and passing threats and then vary his positioning accordingly, along with strong instincts and tidy technical ability, allow Bjarnason to put himself in a strong position for essentially every shot. His footwork is relatively clean, and he tends to set his feet well pre-shot, allowing for strong save mechanics. While he isn’t massive at 6-3, he uses his frame effectively to shift into shots and extend into rebound opportunities. He can be explosive in his movement when he needs to be, facilitating athletic saves from time to time. My biggest criticism of his game at this time is that he can fall into the trap of being overly robotic. He will occasionally overuse techniques like the RVH and position himself and his hands too passively on medium danger chances. Further, I would like to see him battle harder to track pucks through screens.