NHL Draft Watch 2012: The Goaltenders

This is a piece on possible goaltenders that could be drafted by the Dallas Stars. Unlike the previous posts this one is focused on a broader spectrum beyond first round goalies. Each player’s name is linked to their Elite Prospects page. It should be noted that goalies are incredibly hard to predict when they will be drafted.

Why Am I Looking At the Goalies?

In my opinion it is likely that the Dallas Stars will be drafting a goaltender at the next draft. Some of you may think that this is a little crazy considering that Jack Campbell (we hope) will be a franchise goaltender for the Stars. This is true however I think that in the next couple of years, without acquiring or drafting new goalies, our goalie prospect cupboard is going to be bare and I think it’s vitally important that we maintain a reasonable number of goaltending prospects.

At the moment, according to http://thegoalieguild.com/ (An excellent website for those interested in the goalie side of things) the Dallas Stars have only 5 goaltenders signed. To put that into perspective: We are one of two teams with only 5 goaltenders (Dallas and Montreal), only one team has less than us (Ottawa). 6 teams have 6 goalies. The rest have either 7 or 8. In my opinion this will be a key reason for us drafting a goalie. I expect it would be in the later rounds but I think it’s a plausible possibility.

Why is the Goalie Cupboard going to be bare?

It is highly likely that Andrew Raycroft will not be staying with the organisation. He is a UFA at the end of the season and he will most likely be hoping to get back to the NHL. Jack Campbell will be moving up to the AHL next season, most likely as backup to Tyler Beskorowany (For ease of typing will now be referred to as Besko) It is possible that we will see Besko (Or even Bachman) being used as a trade piece if he proves himself to potentially be a NHL goalie. If that is the case we will end up in a situation with only 3 goalies on the team. Lethonen, Bachman/Besko and Campbell. Campbell will, in a few years be challenging for the backup position in Dallas if everything goes well with his development. With this being said there will be a significant lack of depth for us in the net. Depth in net in my opinion is needed for a successful team. This doesn’t mean we will pick a goalie early, in fact I think it is far more likely to be a 3rd/4th/5th pick being used on a goalie.

With the trade deadline coming up soon and fans feeling that the Stars should make a move for a top 6 forward its possible that Jack Campbell could also be traded. I’m not certain how likely this is but it is a possibility. Therefore a need for more goaltender depth could lead to us drafting a goaltender at some point in this next draft.

The Goalies:

Andrei Vasilevski

Age:17

Height: 6”3

Weight: 190lbs

Nationality: Russian

Shoots: Left

Current Team: Tolpar Ufa

Current League: MHL

Stats:

Tolpar Ufa

2010-2011: 14 Games, 1.81GAA, .937SV%

2011-2012: 14 Games, 2.52GAA, .920SV%

Russia U20 (WJC-20) 2011/2012

5 Games, 2.01GAA, .953SV%

CSS Midterm: 1st European Goaltender

Anyone who followed the WJC-20 Final will know Andrei Vasilevski. He was the giant in the Russian net keeping out everything that the Swedes threw at him until OT. He had a staggering .953SV% at the WJC-20 and has impressed a lot of people. The Goalie Guild believes that Andrei Vasilevski will be the first goaltender drafted in the draft. He has the kind of maturity and skill that they expect from a seasoned 24 year old goaltender. In my opinion we won’t draft him because we already have our potential franchise goaltender, also I have noticed that there is talk that he could become a top 10 pick and will probably be out of our range. It should be worth keeping an eye on him and who drafts him, as they will in the future have a goaltender that is going to be potentially one of the best in the NHL.

Malcolm Subban

Age: 18

Height: 6”0

Weight: 165lbs

Nationality: Canadian

Shoots: Left

Current Team: Belleville Bulls

Current League: OHL

Stats:

Belleville Bulls

2010-2011: 32 Games, 94 GAA, 844 SA, 3.16 GAA, .900 SV% 10 Wins, 17 Losses

2011-2012: 19 Games, 37 GAA, 561SA, 1.93GAA, .938SV%, 13Wins, 6 Losses

Canada U18, 2010 (WJC-18)

5 Games, 2.98GAA, .913SV%

CSS Midterm: 1st North American goaltender

Malcolm Subban (Brother of P.K Subban) is the top goaltender prospect in North America and is likely to be the second goaltender to be drafted. He is a potential franchise goaltender in the NHL and is at the very least going to be a very good goalie in the future. He will probably be drafted within the first two rounds of the draft, most likely mid to late first. I don’t think we will draft him as we already have the player we hope will be our top flight goaltender. So far this season he has shared goaltending duties with John Chartrand.

Oscar Dansk

Age: 17

Height: 6”2

Weight: 187lbs

Nationality: Swedish

Shoots: Left

Current Team: Brynäs J18/ Brynäs J20

Current League: J18 Elit, SuperElit

Stats:

Brynäs J18:

2010-2011: 10 Games, 1.10GAA, .947SV%

2011-2012: 2 Games, 1.98 GAA, .913SV%

Brynäs J20

2010-2011: 21 Games, 2.70GAA, .911SV%

2011-2012: 14 Games, 2.82 GAA, .906SV%

Sweden U18/U19 (WJAC-19)

2 Games, 0.98GAA, .971SA%

CSS Midterm: 2nd European Goaltender

Oscar Dansk was considered the best goaltender prospect coming out of Europe until the sudden rise of Andrei Vasilevski. He has previous played in north America (2007-2009) so has experience playing on smaller ice. He is a good goaltender and will likely be drafted before or during the third round. Oscar Dansk is a possibility to draft but I have a feeling any goaltender that will be drafted by the Stars will be in a later round. However I would not have any complaints if they managed to get hold of Oscar Dansk. He also has done exceptionally well on the international stage.

The Goalie Guild’s ‘Hidden Gems’

I won’t lie, I had never heard of the next two goaltenders until I read the reviews of them by the Goalie Guild. The person who writes the reviews clearly thinks very highly of them but most of the scouting rankings are very low on them.

If you are interested in reading their views on some of the Goaltender Prospects this is the link, http://thegoalieguild.com/prospects/draftreport/

Michael Houser

Age: 19

Height: 6”1

Weight: 185lbs

Nationality: American

Shoots: Left

Current Team: London Knights

Current League: OHL

Stats:

London Knights

2010-2011: 54 Games, 3.32 GAA, .904SV% 30 Wins, 19 Losses, 5 Ties

2011-2012: 42 Games, 2.43GAA, .927SV%, 33 Wins, 8 Losses, 1 Tie

CSS Midterm: 22nd in North American Goaltenders

It appears that Michael Houser has been passed over in his first eligible draft, however looking at his current stats he is having a very good year. He has the 4th highest SV% in the OHL and has played the most games out of the top 10 goaltenders as the starting goaltender for the London Knights. (For comparisons Jack Campbell is current around .902SV% and has played 28 games) He has a stable nature and a good work ethic. He clearly has decent stamina considering he has played 42 of the London Knights 44 Games this season. He will likely be drafted (if drafted at all) in the later rounds. Clearly a low risk high potential goaltender prospect. He was invited over the summer to attend a Philadelphia Flyers camp and the Vancouver Canucks as a free agent. His one weakness, which he is working on, is his skating having needed surgery to fix his bilateral club feet. His pad work however is excellent.

Here is a copy of his game by game/month by month stats:

http://ontariohockeyleague.com/roster/gameByGame/id/1286/ls_season/44

Anthony Stolarz

Age: 18

Height: 6”3

Weight: 185lbs

Nationality: American

Shoots: Left

Current Team: Corpus Christi IceRays

Current League: NAHL

Stats:

2011-2012: 29 Games, 2.42GAA, .928SV%, 15 Wins, 11 Losses, 2 Ties

CSS Midterm: 21st in North American Goaltenders

Anthony Stolarz is committed to the university of Nebraska-Omaha and has spent his previous years playing in the lower juniors which has given him plenty of time and experience on the ice. The Goalie Guild puts him at 6”5 and 200lbs but no matter he is a big goaltender. In his first year in the NAHL he has the 6th highest SV% in the league. He is certainly an interesting prospect and if drafted will be drafted in the later rounds. Another low risk high potential goaltender prospect.

My Thoughts:

I personally don’t believe we will be drafting a goaltender within the first three rounds, something that rules out Andrei Vasilevski, Malcolm Subban and Oscar Dansk. Though they would be good players I believe that we have a goaltender in Jack Campbell that will be the franchise goaltender for the Dallas Stars.

My personal opinion is that out of those I’ve listed above Michael Houser is the best bet. He is completely off the radar of the CSS while posting some very impressive numbers. Though looking at his game to game stats he can vary dramatically it is possible to put that to all goaltenders having off nights. Plus he is still only 19 and a starting goaltender for a team on top of their division and top of the OHL. He has started all but two of the 44 games for the London Knights and still has a very high save percentage. Considering that he was thought to be reduced to a backup role when the London Knights brought in another goaltender in the off season he has seized the net rights and is determined not to let go of them. He is probably a big reason why the London Knights are top of the OHL at the moment. Though his numbers could be down to the defence only two have been drafted (22nd, 55th) while the rest are either eligible for 2012 or 2013 or are undrafted.

With him being unrecognised (22nd on the CSS North America rankings, though I would be shocked if he didn’t move up before the final rankings) he could be a perfect steal for the Dallas Stars in a later round. He was undrafted in both the OHL draft and his first attempt of the NHL draft. I have to wonder whether we might put either our 4th, or one of our 5th into drafting him. That is if the Dallas Stars scouts have noticed this potential dark horse goaltender.