Who is the best goalie in the 2017 draft?
By Lowetide
6 years agoI believe goalies are voodoo. Just as getting the lid off the pickle jar or finding a way to open those blasted plastic bags in the grocery aisle are mysteries of life, grading goalies requires something beyond the normal. Eye of newt? A slice of Earl Camembert? Ask the Predators.
The Edmonton Oilers often avoid the position entirely, perhaps picking a goalie late so their prospects will have someone to shoot at during rookie camp the following week. Last year, the club hit in the fifth round with Dylan Wells, who had a terrific season with the Peterborough Petes. The club signed him and perhaps Edmonton’s brand of voodoo will produce another goalie from the draft who will play more than 100 NHL games. If Wells does it, he’ll join Grant Fuhr, Andy Moog, Devan Dubnyk and Jussi Markanen. That’s it, that’ all, in almost 40 years at the draft table.
Last season, the top goalies (as rated by Bob McKenzie) were:
- Filip Gustavsson (Ranked No. 44)
- Tyler Parsons (Ranked No. 48)
- Carter Hart (Ranked No. 57)
- Evan Fitzpatrick (Ranked No. 64)
- Source
A year ago, I wrote a post here at ON that named 29 possible goalies and ranked them by level (Euro pro, CHL, tier two leagues). It’s basically ranking goalies on save percentage and separating them by levels of competition. The rankings are haywire (always are) but the actual list of goalies selected is fascinating. Of the 29 names I listed a year ago, how many goalies were chosen?
- Carter Hart, chosen No. 48 by the Flyers
- Tyler Parsons, chosen No. 54 by the Flames
- Filip Gustavsson, chosen No. 55 by the Penguins
- Evan Fitzpatrick, chosen No. 59 by the Blues
- Joseph Woll, chosen No. 62 by the Leafs
- Jack Lafontaine, chosen No. 75 by the Hurricanes
- Wouter Peeters, chosen No. 83 by the Blackhawks
- Connor Ingram, chosen No. 88 by the Lightning
- Evan Cormier, chosen No. 105 by the Devils
- Dylan Wells, chosen No. 123 by the Oilers
- Colton Point, chosen No. 128 by the Stars
- Adam Werner, chosen No. 131 by the Avalanche
- Jeremy Helvig, chosen No. 134 by the Hurricanes
- Peter Thome, chosen No. 155 by the Blue Jackets
- Mikhail Berdin, chosen No. 157 by the Jets
- Filip Larsson, chosen No. 167 by the Red Wings
- Konstantin Volkov, chosen No. 168 by the Predators
- Tyler Wall, chosen No. 174 by the Rangers
I had 12 of the 18 on my list of 29. Voodoo! Why did these men get selected in front of the fellows I had on my list? There are six guys I missed. Why? What do these names have in common? Wells, Hart and Gustavsson all played well at the Ivan Hlinka Tournament. There were 11 men on Central Scouting’s North American goalie list who were drafted, four on the Euro list. The Russian Volkov, Thome (a USHL goalie) and overager Adam Werner were theoutliers.
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
Voodoo. That said, I’m going to try again, using the Central scouting list and save percentage. It’s a strong year for goalies, and the save percentages are grand, so we’ll see how this rolls. I’m also factoring in size, small goalies get punished a little (except DiPietro, that guy is filthy).
- Jake Oettinger, Boston University (NCAA). 35gp, 2.11 .927. 6.04, 205.
- Mike DiPietro, Windsor Spitfires (OHL). 51gp, 2.35 .917. 6.00, 200.
- Olle Eriksson Ek, Farjestads (SuperElite). 30gp, 2.16 .924. 6.02, 187.
- Keith Petruzzeli, Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL). 35gp, 2.40 .918. 6.05, 180.
- Daniil Tarasov, Ufa (MHL). 9gp 2.55 .918. 6.04, 181.
- Maxim Zhukov, Green Bay Gamblers (USHL). 31gp, 2.25 .913. 6.02, 187.
- Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, HPK (Jr. Sm-Liiga). 35gp, 1.78 .917. 6.04, 196.
- Alexander Samoilov, Armiya Moskva (MHL). 33gp, 1.84 .928. 6.02, 179.
- Matt Villalta, SSM Greyhounds (OHL). 33gp, 2.41 .918. 6.02, 165.
- Kirill Ustimenko, St. Petersburg (MHL). 27gp, 1.74 .938. 6.03, 179.
- Jiri Patera, HC Ceske (Czech U20). 38gp, 2.61 .933. 6.02, 209.
- Stuart Skinner, Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL). 60gp, 3.26 .905. 6.03, 205.
- Ian Scott, Prince Albert Raiders (WHL). 50gp, 3.69 .895. 6.03, 172.
- Lassi Lehtinen, Luuko (Jr. Sm-Liiga). 36gp, 1.91 .936. 5.11, 161.
- Dylan Ferguson, Kamloops Blazers (WHL). 31gp, 2.74 .922. 6.01, 192.
- Tomas Vomacka, Corpus Christi (NAHL). 41gp, 2.43 .923. 6.03, 165.
- Alex D’Orio, Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL). 28gp, 2.40 .903. 6.03, 204.
- Adam Ahman, HV71 (SuperElite). 34gp, 2.30 .927. 6.00, 163.
- Dayton Rasmussen, Chicago Steel (USHL). 10gp, 2.31 .915. 6.02, 203.
- Jeremy Swayman, Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL) 32gp, 2.90 .914. 6.02, 187. 6.02, 183.
- Jordan Hollett, Regina Pats (WHL). 19gp, 2.83 .901. 6.04, 194.
- Cayden Primeau, Lincoln Stars (USHL). 30gp, 3.16 .895. 6.03, 181.
There is real talent this year just based on the numbers. Several giants and most of these kids are 1999’s meaning there is plenty of room to grow and progress. Is there an impact goalie in here? More than one?
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