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Year of the Goalie

VHL.com, 23/08

 

With the current season drawing to a close, the attention of many has already turned to the upcoming VHL Entry Draft. This season's class is a curious one, with as many as three netminders being widely regarded as solid first round picks. While it remains to be seen where and when each of these bright prospects will go, VHL.com takes a look at the goalies in question.

 

1. Greg Clegane (Yukon Rush)

Save %: .900
GAA: 1.56

Shutouts: 17

 

Probably the highest rated prospect in the entire draft class, Yukon goaltender Greg Clegane has had a rookie season to remember. Over 72 regular season games he played more minutes than any other goalie in the league, and his GAA of 1.56 ranked him at third in the league. While he is regarded by many as the best player in his class, his GAA was actually lower than that of either Weinstein or his brother Sandro.

 

2. Ariel Weinstein (Saskatoon Wild)

Save %: .910
GAA: 1.27

Shutouts: 24

 

Whilst the Clegane brothers have drawn plaudits for a variety of reasons, Saskatoon goaltender Ariel Weinstein looks set to end the season with both praise and silverware, as the Wild sit two games to the good in their VHLM Final series against the Oslo Storm. Weinstein led the league in regular season shutouts and GAA, and his performances have been such that even those who claim that any goaltender would succeed with Saskatoon would not deny his talent.

 

3. Sandro Clegane (Oslo Storm)

Save %: .916
GAA: 1.30

Shutouts: 21

 

Brother of Greg, Oslo goaltender Sandro Clegane has arguably had an even more memorable season than his sibling. While the Rush were eliminated by the Wild in the Conference Final, Sandro and his Storm teammates marched all the way to the Playoff Finals with a riveting 4–3 victory over the Bratislava Watchmen. Despite being thought of as the third best goaltender in the class at the beginning of the season, Clegane's performances with the Storm this season have been amongst the most impressive of all players in the league. Numerous were the games when Oslo relied upon his heroics, and no goalie in the league managed a better save percentage.

 

The Also-Rans

The other goalies up for selection in this season's draft will be the Bern Royals' Ryan Price, the Ottawa Lynx's Teuvo Rinne, and the Brampton Blades' Filip Lundqvist. Most impressive of these three during S44 was Rinne, who—despite facing more shots than any goaltender in the league (2446)—managed to put up a very respectable save percentage of .904. He also put up more shutouts (5) than either Price or Lundqvist (2), and in many regards was one of the shining lights of a miserable season for the Lynx.

 

Price lost 50 of the 59 games he played in, though he did manage to maintain a 100% record against penalty shots, albeit against only 5. As for Lundqvist, he played only 839 minutes during the regular season, but did win 9 of the 14 games in which he started. His draft stock will certainly be effected by his lack of ice time, and his true potential may not become apparent until S45.

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Content: 3/3 - Yeah, Lots of great goaltenders. Probably one of the reasons there was no one closer to 200 points like last season with TebowGow. Three really good goalie prospects is a lot for a draft class. Three teams are going to get great goalies for the future. 

Grammar: 2/2 - Good work

Appearance: 1/1 - Looks fine. That pretty bolding

Overall: 6/6

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