Some of you may remember that I wrote a piece a while back talking about how we are going to need to draft at least one goalie/pick up a young free agent goalie in order to deal with a serious lack of depth at the goalie position within the next two years. We have in total 5 goalies signed to the organisation: Kari Lethonen, Richard Bachman, Andrew Raycroft, Tyler Beskorowany and Jack Campbell. We have the joint lowest goalie depth in the entire league. I am certain that we will lose at least one goalie over the summer, most likely Andrew Raycroft as he is a UFA, in order to fit in Jack Campbell into the Texas Stars for the entirety of next season. In my opinion it would be a good idea to have another goalie in the juniors coming up in order to make sure we have enough depth.

Below are some of the prospects that I think could potentially be picked by the Dallas Stars. I have not listed those goalies that are likely to be picked between the first and mid second round. Some of those below are wildcards and others are sure to be picked between the late second and fifth rounds.

NOTE: Goaltender prospects are notoriously difficult to predict how well they will do. This is merely a guess on my part and as I am not a goalie expert so its likely that I could be wrong. However these are players that several goalie scouts I found online (Mostly the Goalie Guild) think will do well.

All names link to their Elite Prospects page. Each ranking is based on the NHL Central Scouting rankings.

Daniel Altshuller

Age: 17

Height: 6"2

Weight: 174lbs

Nationality: Canadian

Position: Goalie:

Catches: Left

Current Team: Oshawa Generals

Current League: OHL

Current Stats: 30 Games, 11 Wins, 16 Losses, 3 Tied, 3.55 GAA, .900 SVS%

Ranked: 7th In North America

Daniel Altshuller has the typical size of an NHL style goalie. These days goalies are preferred to be big in order to cover the largest amount of the net as possible. He has above average skating for a goaltender, is excellent at moving laterally and can be athletic. Scouts say that one of his advantages is that he has excellent mental strength rarely losing his cool, something important in a goaltender. He won the award for the best GAA average of any rookie this season. I would be surprised if Daniel Altshuller was drafted before the third round.

Chris Driedger

Age: 17

Height: 6"2

Weight: 172lbs

Nationality: Canadian

Position: Goalie

Catches: Left

Current Team: Calgary Hitmen

Current League: WHL

Current Stats: 44 Games, 24 Wins, 12 Losses, 3 Tied, 2.80GAA, .896SVS%

Ranked: 9th In North America

Chris Driedger is a very minimalistic goalie, preferring to use as little movement as possible and to remain in a good position and stay there. He doesn't play a flashy game, just a simple and reasonable effective one. He is another goaltender who is very calm in the net. He is another goalie that is unlikely to be drafted before the third round.

Michael Houser

Age: 19

Height: 6"1

Weight: 185lbs

Nationality: American

Position: Goalie

Catches: Left

Current Team: London Knights

Current League: OHL

Current Stats: 62 Games, 46 Wins, 15 Losses, 1 Tie, 2.47GAA, .925SVS%

Ranked: 19th in North America

Michael Houser has been an Iron Man for the London Knights this season playing all but 6 of there 68 games this season. He wasn't ever drafted in the OHL and last season seized the starting job away from a drafted goaltender. He was passed over in the previous draft but has been doing an incredibly good job, admittedly with a very good London Knights squad in front of him. His 46 wins tie the record number of wins held by any goaltender in the OHL. Houser's main issue was his skating ability, something he has had to work on due to having surgery on bilateral club feet when younger. Other than that his skill set are impressive. I'd be surprised if he wasn't drafted this year, if not he might end up signing as a free agent or on a tryout contract.

Joonas Korpisalo

Age: 17

Height: 6"2

Weight: 168lbs

Nationality: Finnish

Position: Goalie

Catches: Left

Current Team: Jokerit U20

Current League: Jr. A SM-Liiga

Current Stats: 38 Games, 2.04 GAA, .920SVS%

Ranked: 3rd In Europe

Joonas Korpisalo is an athletic and technically sound goaltender. He will probably be drafted between the late second round or as late as the fourth. He has impressed many scouts with his performance in the 5 nations. Joonas Korpisalo is a goalie that has the raw talent but would need to take his time to develop. Spending more time in the Finnish leagues would be needed before he was ready to play in North American.

Marek Langhamer

Age: 17

Height: 6"1

Weight: 181lbs

Nationality: Czech

Position: Goalie

Catches: Left

Current Team: HC Pardubice U20

Current League: Czech U20

Current Stats: 33 Games, 3.29GAA, .908SVS%

Ranked: 4th In Europe

Marek Langhamer is a very athletic and is positionally and technically sound. Playing in the Czech leagues he's known for being an impressive butterfly style goalie. He is the best goaltender coming out of the Czech Republic but has suffered from poor defence when playing on the world stage. This kind of experience is valuable for goalies to be able to assess how they would act under extreme pressure. Langhamer would also have to spend a lot of time in Europe refining his technique and skill set before being ready for North American.

Étienne Marcoux

Age: 18

Height: 5"11

Weight: 150lbs

Nationality: Canadian

Position: Goalie

Catches: Left

Current Team: Blainville-Boisbriand Armada

Current League: QMJHL

Current Stats: 43 Games, 28 Wins, 9 Losses, 3 Ties, 2.71 GAA, .912SVS%

Ranked: 13th In North America

Étienne Marcoux is a typical quebecian style goalie, quiet in the crease and yet also quite athletically skilled. He minimises wasted movement in order to maintain high energy levels and has good feet that enable him to position himself well. He is another goalie that will likely go between the third and fifth rounds. Though he will obviously need to have his lateral movement and puck-playing skills improved upon he has the basics to be a good goalie. One of the things that is noted is his consistency, something that is not hugely common amongst young goaltenders.

Collin Olson

Age: 17

Height: 6"3

Weight: 196lbs

Nationality: American

Position: Goalie

Catches: Left

Current Team: USNTDP Juniors

Current League: USHL

Current Stats: 16 Games, 7 Wins, 6 Losses, 1 Tie 2.55GAA, .898SVS%

Ranked: 9th In North America

Collin Olson is another goalie joining the growing trend of goalies being bigger and bigger. He is very good at keeping his shoulders to the shooter and preventing good shooting anglers. He also has some very quick reflexes. He has only played 16 games this season but this probably won't affect his draft status as someone who is likely to be drafted between the second and fourth rounds. I believe he is committed to play hockey at Ohio State.

Richard Ullberg

Age: 18

Height: 6"3

Weight: 185lbs

Nationality: Finnish

Position: Goalie

Catches: Left

Current Team: SaiPa

Current League: SM-Liiga

Current Stats: 23 Games, 2.36GAA, .901SVS%

Ranked: 7th In Europe

Richard Ullberg was passed over last year after a rough season. He was kicked off his previous team after a serious problem involving other people's property in the locker room and signed with SaiPa where he has developed over this year. He is a typical Finnish goaltender with a quiet style of play but very good ability. He is described as being a butterfly style goaltender. He has signed a two-year extension with SaiPa which will definitely help his development. It should be noted that his stats are very good considering that he is a rookie in the top Finnish league.

My thoughts:

I will admit that it is very hard to choose what goaltender prospects will end up being good NHL players. All of the above appear to have the skills but whether they are enough I don't know. I'm not an expert on goaltenders and stats can lie because it also reflects that team that they have in front of them. Out of the 8 listed above there are four who I like the look of. The four that I think, through researching on the Internet, have the skills to do very well are: Daniel Altshuller, Michael Houser, Joonas Korpisalo and Marek Langhamer. Richard Ullberg past history I think will hover over him for a long time and might put off NHL teams from drafting him.