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By Marty Hastings

IN THE WHL

Goaltenders Edmonstone, Kufterins competing for top job in Blazers’ crease

Sep 10, 2025 | 4:26 PM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops Blazers’ goaltender Logan Edmonstone said he is embracing the arrival of Ivans Kufterins.

“I was excited getting a new teammate and it’s always good to have some competition so we can push each other to be better every day,” said Edmonstone, a 5-foot-11, 172-pound goaltender from Saskatoon.

Edmonstone was pushing his way into the starting job by the end of the 2024-2025 WHL campaign, thanks in part to posting a .922 save percentage in his last 10 games.

The Blazers made it clear there will be competition in the crease when they selected Kufterins – a 6-foot-1, 165-pound backstop from Riga, Latvia – with the 13th overall pick in the CHL Import Draft this past summer.

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Both goalies are entering their 18-year-old campaigns and keen to earn the No. 1 job.

“Of course, me and Logan want to have the same thing,” Kufterins said. “It’s always good to have a good teammate, good goalie. Every time you compete, you’re getting better. So yeah, it’s good.”

Added Edmonstone: “We’re both friends and it’s just friendly competition.”

Kufterins had a memorable start to his WHL career, posting a 32-save shutout in his pre-season debut, a 6-0 victory over the Rockets on Sept. 5 in Kelowna.

The Latvian import said the early stages of the game were stressful and emotional, but he settled in and felt comfortable after he made a few stops and his club took the lead.

Kufterins celebrated the goose egg by tipping the net face down on the ice after the final horn sounded.

“It’s just my thing,” said Kufterins, who played last season against much older competition in the top Latvian pro league. “A lot of goalies do this. I put the net on the ice, drop it down.”

Edmonstone, who has posted an .848 save percentage in two pre-season games, allowed seven goals on 40 shots in a 7-1 road loss last weekend to Kelowna.

Clouston cautions against reading too much into those numbers.

“He played really well in Kelowna until it kind of got away from us a little bit,” Clouston said. “He held the group in long enough. The group just didn’t respond and push back.”

Edmonstone said he worked hard this past off-season, focusing heavily on improving his skating and side-to-side mobility.

“I think it really helped a lot,” Edmonstone said. “I worked hard, trained five days a week.”

Kufterins has joined the Utah Mammoth for the NHL club’s rookie camp and will not be available to the Blazers this weekend for their final two pre-season games.

The Blazers are scheduled to play the Cougars twice this weekend — on Friday in Kamloops and on Saturday in Quesnel.

Edmonstone is expected to start a minimum of one of those contests and might see action in both.

“I really want it badly,” Edmonstone said. “I’m going to work hard every day and just try and get better every day. And if that doesn’t happen [winning the starting job], I’ll just be a team guy and just keep pushing for it to happen.”