As fans you take them for granted. They go about each game, contorting themselves and willfully standing in front of shots that most sane people would avoid at all costs. Goaltenders are crucially important and like a quality starting pitcher in baseball they can turn a good team into a great one. Or they can be a source of weakness and instability. Philadelphia has been searching for a solid #1 goaltender for the last 15 years and earlier this week traded for the rights to negotiate with Phoenix’s Ilya Bryzgalov. The Ottawa Senators have been also in a near-constant search for stability in the crease since the departure of Dominik Hasek at the end of the 2006 season. Fans usually do not care how a goaltender stops pucks, but if the goaltender brings about victories they can become franchise stalwarts for years and instant fan favorites. I personally have never quite understood that fascination but its undeniable that for a certain segment of fans its all about the goalie.
There is an old hockey draft saying that goes you never draft a goaltender in the 1st round. For the Minnesota Wild they’ve done pretty well by sticking to that saying. The Wild have never drafted a goaltender with its 1st round pick in its 11-year franchise history. Instead the team has opted to draft goaltenders in the later rounds and by all accounts has had a pretty reasonable measure of success. Goaltenders like Josh Harding (2nd round, 38th Overall in 2002), the unorthodox and athletic Anton Khudobin (7th round, 206th Overall in 2004), Matthew Hackett (3rd round, 77th Overall in 2009) and this year’s WHL goaltender of the year Darcy Kuemper (6th round, 161st Overall in 2009) are solid examples of quality talent acquired through the draft. The team has had a few failures in this regard in Miroslav Kopriva (6th round, 187th Overall in 2003), Kristofer Westblom (3rd round, 65th Overall in 2005), and 6’7″ Finnish giant Niko Hovinen (5th round, 132nd Overall in 2006), but it hasn’t been enough to prevent the team from having quality talent in the team’s prospect pool. The team has also done well by acquiring effective goaltending talent via free agency. Dwayne Roloson, current #1 goaltender Niklas Backstrom and Jose Theodore were all effective free agent signings which has kept the organization’s play between the pipes to be a franchise strength. Another one of these free agents, German-born netminder Dennis Endras is another goaltender with great potential after two excellent performances at the IIHF World Championships in back-to-back years. Endras is expected to make his way to North America where he may end up Houston, the Wild’s AHL affiliate or perhaps surprise everyone and be with the big club. Endras will certainly have competition after a breakthrough performance by Matthew Hackett as he guided the Aeros to the Calder Cup Finals as a rookie. Hackett’s respectable 14-10 record, 2.50 goals against average and .903% save percentage has made some believe he is the organization’s future #1 goalie. With all of this goaltending depth readily apparent, it is logical that it is not very likely that the team will select a goalie in the first round but as another hockey saying goes, you can never have enough good goaltenders the Wild still may draft one.
Again, working with Bruce, better known as wild.com’s KISSArmyMan we will identify 5 goaltenders that we feel the club should consider albeit probably not with their 1st round selection. Using scouting report material from the Hockey News, International Scouting Services and HockeyProspect.com we will show you who we think are the best goaltenders available in this year’s draft. You can see what my rankings were for last year’s goalies, here.
Click on “Read More” to see the rest of the article…
1. John Gibson ~ U.S. National Development Team (USHL)
Height: 6’3″ Weight: 205lbs Catches: Left
2010-11 Stats: 9-4-3 2.38GAA .926%SP
Talent Analysis: John Gibson is your prototypical big-bodied athletic goaltender who uses his big frame to give shooters little to nothing to look at. As the picture indicates, even on his pads he covers up most of the net which really has become the vogue for goaltending prospects over the last decade. The product of the Pittsburgh Hornets junior system, Gibson is not a flashy goaltender but is positionally sound and does not give up many soft goals. He has worked hard to hone his positioning and his athleticism allows him to work efficiently in his crease he is not the kind of goaltender that seems to steal games or stands on his head. A Pittsburgh Penguins fan growing up, Gibson is simply a solid goaltending prospect with few holes to his game.
Why the Wild should draft him: If the Wild want to draft a prospect it can allow to steadily develop his game its John Gibson. Gibson doesn’t have the flash of other goaltenders but he has the most solid base skill set of them all which makes him the type of prospect that can be molded by whoever drafts him. I have no doubt Wild goaltending coach Bob Mason would love to work with a talented young player like that. ISS projects Gibson to be picked in the 2nd round, so unless the team trades for a 2nd round pick he very likely will not be available with their 3rd round selection.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=UhfnYhZ6rZQ
2. Christopher Gibson ~ Chicoutimi Sagueneens (QMJHL)
Height: 6’1″ Weight: 193lbs Catches: Left
2010-11 Stats: 14-15-5 2.42GAA .920%SP
Talent Analysis: If you’ve watched the NHL Network for any length of time you’ve probably seen one of their “Hockey is for Everyone” commercials which highlight’s the league’s diversity program. I am all for more diversity in hockey but the fact they have just one commercial and it runs over again and again (as does their Bosley Hair ads and various exercise gadget ads) it gets kind of annoying but they will soon have a new face in perhaps one of the best stories of the draft in goaltender Christopher Gibson. Gibson is the son of a English mother and a Finnish father and was raised just outside of Helsinki. Gibson decided to take his hockey to North America and he voyaged to Saskatchewan where he played for the hockey factory that is the Notre Dame Hounds. After playing well there he was drafted into the QMJHL’s Chicoutimi Sagueneens. With absolutely no relation to aforementioned prospect John Gibson, Christopher Gibson is another big bodied hybrid butterfly style goaltender. His movements are very well controlled and he never seems to panic in the crease. Gibson absorbs rebounds and communicates well with his defense which was a challenge considering he had to learn French as well. His quick feet make him nearly impossible to score on low and has the potential to be a starting goaltender in the future.
Why the Wild should draft him: This kid has a terrific head on his shoulders and its obvious he’s willing to do whatever it takes to be an NHL goaltender. A great athlete with excellent quickness and lateral movement this kid is the perfect blend of size and mobility.
3. Jordan Binnington ~ Owen Sound Attack (OHL)
Height: 6’2″ Weight: 160lbs Catches: Left
2010-11 Stats: 27-12-5 3.05GAA .899%SP
Talent Analysis: Binnington is a lanky goaltender who plays a traditional butterfly style. He is an aggressive goaltender who challenges shooters and he calculates his angles well and makes the most of his 6’2″ frame. It is this use of angles that make him an economical goaltender who does not have a lot of extra movement to his game; he simply squares up and lets his body stop the pucks. He makes good reads and tracks puck movement very well meaning he is not caught guessing like many junior goalies. Binnington did not have the best Memorial Cup tournament but a big part of that was the lack of support he had in front of him due to the Attack being so delapidated by injuries. Regardless, it was Binnington’s strong play between the pipes that allowed the Attack to win an OHL Championship which is no small feat. He certainly needs to add strength to his frame but overall he’s a very technically sound goaltending prospect.
Why the Wild should draft him: The OHL is an incredibly competitive league and this goaltender raised his game so the Attack could win a championship and have a shot at the Memorial Cup. With the Wild lacking a winning pedigree, Binnington’s big game experience may just be what Minnesota’s crease needs. Admittedly, the YouTube clip below is not the best, but it does give you a small insight into his personality as well as his trajectory as a prospect.
4. Matt Mahalak ~ Plymouth Whalers (OHL)
Height: 6’2″ Weight: 183lbs Catches: Left
2010-11 Stats: 8-8-4 3.08GAA .908%SP
Talent Analysis: You could almost say Matt Mahalak is a chip off current Wild goalie prospect Matt Hackett’s block as both are products of the goaltending factory that is the Plymouth Whalers. The Monroe, Michigan-native has many of the same traits as Hackett in being a big-bodied goalie with tremendous athleticism and technically sound game. He aggressively challenges shooters by moving out of the paint and closing down shooting angles. Mahalak is extremely focused and seems to always be ready to stop a shot on goal, and he has tremendous competitiveness to never give up and doing whatever it takes to stop the puck. The former USHL product is a non-stop worker he tirelessly works on the small movements necessary for his position so they become second nature. He is an excellent communicator and works well with his defenseman so they can help him thwart scoring chances or sweep away potential rebounds. CSS has Mahalak rated 8th but I think his potential makes him a great candidate to be one of the first goaltenders taken possibly in the 2nd or 3rd round.
Why the Wild should draft him: Another product of Plymouth, Mahalak would likely work very well with Hackett who appears at this point to be the heir apparent to Niklas Backstrom. It will be very interesting to see what Mahalak does once he has more time to show what he can do as the Whalers’ starting goaltender. This YouTube clip is a sort of a promotional video short for a goaltending camp that operates out of Michigan but does give you an ok idea of how he moves in his crease and handles traffic as well.
5. Samu Perhonen ~ JYP Jyvaskyla (Finnish Jr.A)
Height: 6’3″ Weight: 172lbs Catches: Right
2010-11 Stats: 29GP 2.71GAA .922%SP
Talent Analysis: I know I’ve said “butterfly goaltender” multiple times already but Samu Perhonen is the only one of them that can literally say he truly IS a butterfly goaltender as Perhonen literally means butterfly in Finnish. Perhonen is an incredibly gifted goaltender athletically and physically-speaking that is still very raw developmentally speaking. While he is not the Zamboni driver story that was Antti Niemi he is a goaltending prospect that many feel could perhaps be the goaltender with the most potential available in this draft. As one would expect with an unrefined talent his performances were inconsistent. He could steal games and he could also give them away but he still has many skills that have NHL scouts salivating. His inconsistency could be to the benefit of any team that decides to draft him as he’d likely be available as late as the 4th round. His game maybe rough but there is enough glimmer there to make one think you may have a true diamond on your hands.
Why the Wild should draft him: A high-risk / high-reward type of goaltending prospect Perhonen has many of the athletic traits one wants. If his talents can be honed correctly you may have the steal of the draft. He certainly should be available when the Wild have their 3rd round pick and possibly later as well.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
