The Edmonton Oilers did something in the 2014 entry draft that has seemingly become a trend over the years, take multiple goaltenders in hopes of finding the man of the future. The club did this in 2011 with little success, and decided to take another crack at it this year. The first goalie taken by the team was their third overall pick, coming in the fourth round.
The Means Of Entry:
The Oilers selected Zach Nagelvoort with their third pick in this past June’s draft, a fourth round selection that checked in at number 111 overall. Nagelvoort is an interesting case, playing this past season in the NCAA for the University of Michigan, while spending the previous two seasons in the NAHL playing for four separate teams.
Nagelvoort has three more years of eligibility left at Michigan, and it’s more than likely he plays out the string, meaning Edmonton will have a little extra time to evaluate the player. Nagelvoort is already 20 years old, so he’s an overage player, one of many selected by Edmonton this past year.
The Boxcars:
Zach Nagelvoort was a relative unknown to Oiler fans before getting drafted, in fact many were wondering why the Oilers would take a goalie so high. The reasoning may in fact be in the boxcars, which are extremely impressive for a goalie regardless of the league. Nagelvoort played in the NAHL in 2011-12 for both the Kalamazoo Jr. Wings and the Traverse City North Stars, where he posted a collective .921 save percentage.
In 2012-13, Nagelvoort played for two more clubs, the Soo Eagles and the Aberdeen Wings. With the Eagles, Nagelvoort posted a .927 Sv% in 18 games, and with the Wings he posted an extremely impressive .949 Sv%, putting him over .930 for the season.
Last year, he took a step up in terms of competition, leaving the NAHL for the NCAA, joining Michigan in the Big-10 conference. The freshman was extremely solid for the team, taking the reigns as the starter and posting a highly impressive .929 Sv%, including a sensational record breaking 63-save performance against Penn State.
The Player:
Nagelvoort, already 20, is a decent sized goaltender, standing in at 6’2” and 190 pounds. He’s a tall guy, and that can really help in between the pipes. We saw that with Devan Dubnyk prior to his collapse at the start of this past season. While he’s not huge, 190 is a solid weight for a netminder, and he’s already close to the ideal size for a pro goalie.
His playing style isn’t exactly something too in-depth, but it’s solid. He’s a guy that sees the puck well, and has the ability to stop a lot of rubber, evident by his high save percentage numbers the last three seasons. He hasn’t been below .920 in that regard, which is impressive no matter what league you are playing in.
Nagelvoort is also skilled with the puck as well, a rare skill for a goaltender. Like some NHL greats before him, Nagelvoort isn’t afraid to play the puck and has the ability to launch it down the ice, and even can make a few nice passes. Obviously you don’t want you’re goalie handling the puck too often, but it’s a nice little insurance policy to have, and a good skill to sprinkle in.
Nagelvoort wasn’t drafted until his third time around, indicating that there are warts here, but this may just be the case of a player slipping through the cracks in a league that is seen as lesser, after all, the NAHL isn’t exactly known for producing a ton of NHL talent.
The 2014-15 Outlook:
Nagelvoort has three more years in college, and will likely play out the remainder of that eligibility. This gives him more time to develop in a strong league and mature as a player. Goaltenders take time, so three more years in the NCAA could prove to be quite helpful for the 20 year old.
The expectation for Nagelvoort for the upcoming season should be relatively simple, another solid season at Michigan where he continues to post solid numbers. That would go a long way towards cementing his status as a prospect of note. Considering his freshman season, expecting another high .920’s SV% season shouldn’t be out of the question here.
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