Double D
By Lowetide
13 years ago
Entering this season, Devan Dubnyk’s career progression could best be described as glacial. As the big man exits the 10-11 regular season it looks like the number one job in Edmonton is his to lose. And there’s very little competition in sight.
In the 2009-10 season, Devan Dubnyk played in 19 NHL games but did not impress. His boxcars (3.57 .889) were subpar, the worst of any rookie goalie who played 1,000 minutes or more. If you looked closely there were some underlying numbers that implied some good things (he enjoyed a .912 SP in his final 10 games last season) but little that suggested he’d emerge this year.
DOUBLE D
Dubnyk’s stats over the years (previous even to his draft day) suggested there was a chance he’d emerge as an NHL goalie. He was certainly outside the "elite" prospect group and as often happens with goalies he progressed by sundial. However, each season of his career saw him competitive in terms of save percentage:
- 2002-03: 26gp, 3.10, .907 2so (SP 8th OV in WHL)
- 2003-04: 44gp, 2.51, .917 6so (SP 10th OV in WHL)
- 2004-05: 65gp, 2.69, .912 6so (SP 12th OV in WHL)
- 2005-06: 54gp, 2.54, .912 1so (SP 12th OV in WHL).
- 2006-07: 43gp, 2.56, .921 2so (SP tied for 3rd OV in ECHL)
- 2007-08: 33gp, 3.12, .904 0so (SP 33rd OV in AHL)
- 2008-09: 62gp, 2.97 .906 3so (SP ties for 28th OV in AHL)
- 2009-10: 33gp, 3.02 .915 0so (SP ties for 14th OV in AHL)
- 2009-10: 19gp, 3.57 .889 0so (SP 72nd out of 83 goalies in NHL)
- 2010-11: 34gp, 2.72 .915 2so (SP 20th out of 44 qualifying in NHL)
Devan Dubnyk’s rookie season (he didn’t play enough to qualify a year ago) has gone unnoticed because of the three kids up front, Omark and Petry, but there it is and it looks very good.
The Oilers have been dismal at the draft since the Reagan years. After plucking Moog and Fuhr in the entry draft, the Oilers made like Barry Fraser on a Cancun weekend and made some cross-eyed selections. We shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves, but on a night when he shut out the Vancouver Canucks and beat them for the second time in a row, I believe Oiler fans can raise a glass to the big man and consider themselves fortunate he’s on our side.
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