Brick Wahl Biography

[Advantage 2,891]

 

Name: Brick Wahl

Age: 22

Position: Goalie

Birthplace: Red Deer, Alberta

VHL Status: Signed to the New York Americans

 

Pre-WHL

 

 

Growing up in Red Deer, Alberta, Brick Wahl was very lucky to play his entire pre-VHLM career in his hometown.  After playing AAA hockey for much of his young career, the young goalie would join the Red Deer Optimist Chiefs up the Alberta Minor Hockey League.  As a part of the AAA program in Red Deer, Wahl would record very solid statistics in his first season with a save percentage over .910 and fourteen wins which was the most by a player his age.  His sophomore season would be his real breakout moment in AAA as he recorded the most wins and the best goals-against-average and save percentage in the entire Alberta Minor Hockey League.  His great numbers on a solid Chiefs team were enough to give him a lot of attention by the WHL.  Sure enough, Wahl would be fortunate enough to be drafted by his hometown Red Deer Rebels of the WHL, in the second round at twenty-second overall. 

 

WHL

 

 

Brick Wahl was considered the future of the Red Deer Rebels as they were just getting out of a rebuild.  In his first season, Wahl was going to be splitting time with the other goaltender, Darcy Kuemper.  Brick Wahl performed decently well given his age and finished with a 17-18-4 record, a 3.02 goals-against-average and a .903 save percentage.  Kuemper recorded similar numbers and with both improving quickly, the Rebels were forced to move one of them so that the other could start.  Kuemper would eventually be traded for two second round picks in future drafts. 

 

With the starting job on ice, Brick Wahl really took some huge steps in his sophomore season in the Western Hockey League.  Wahl moved into the top ten in save percentage (.910) and finished with nine more wins (25), as he was a big factor in the Rebels making the playoffs for the first time in three seasons.  Wahl would gain a backup position on the Under-18 team for Canada as they would go on to win the Silver Medal.  His play and expected potential would lead to Wahl being selected in the fifth round of the National Hockey League Entry Draft by the Minnesota Wild.  The Rebels were about to take some huge steps with Alex Petrovic, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and others making substantial improvements in their game.  Brick Wahl was just another one of those guys who was about to take that next step.

 

Wahl’s third season was easily his best to date.  Finishing with the third best save percentage in the league (.921), fourth best goals-against-average (2.38) and the third most wins (38), Wahl would help the team to a third place finish in the Conference and home-ice advantage in their first round playoff matchup.  Wahl performed admirably in the playoffs with a .925 save percentage but the team’s offensive struggles would peak during the Conference finals as they were eliminated in seven games.

 

Brick Wahl’s final season in the Western Hockey League was very much like his third one.  With the team losing Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, they needed a lot of other players to step up and fill the void.  Wahl would finish third in save percentage (.924), fifth in goals-against-average (2.42) and fourth in wins (35) as the Rebels would have a very solid defensive season that would conclude with a fourth place finish in their very tough Conference.  Unfortunately, Wahl would hurt his groin in the opening game of the playoffs and the Rebels would lose in five as their backup goalie was unable to fill his position effectively. 

 

VHLM

 

 

The Minnesota Wild would express concerns over Brick Wahl’s lack of improvement in his last season and in his attitude throughout his time in the Western Hockey League.  While his mental side of the game was strong, there were many moments where Wahl would get himself in trouble with things he would say off the ice and do on the ice.  All of this, along with the goaltending depth in the Wild’s system would lead to them not signing him to a contract.

 

Brick Wahl would move on with things to learn and get drafted by the Saskatoon Wild of the VHLM second overall.  It was expected that if he developed as well as many felt he could, Brick Wahl could see himself up with a VHL team in just one season’s time.  Wahl would have an excellent year for the Wild, recording the second best save percentage in the league (.909) and over forty wins in just seventy-two games. 

 

The Wild would make the playoffs and win their first series, but would fall victim to the stacked Ottawa Lynx squad that would eventually go on to win the Founders Cup.  Brick Wahl would lead the playoffs in save percentage by several points, and also finished with the most shutouts in the post-season. 

 

Future

 

 

Brick Wahl is coming into his own as a young goalie and it is clear that the New York Americans see a ton of potential in him.  After bypassing the draft to gain the rights to negotiate with New York, Wahl signed a three year entry level contract worth a total of seven million dollars.  The contract will take him right to his first year of eligibility for Unrestricted Free Agency.  However, New York sees him as a goalie that will spend his entire career there as the franchise goaltender. 

 

Wahl just finished off a solid Super Cup performance where he recorded a .916 save percentage and 2.92 goals against average despite playing on one of the two weakest teams in the tournament.  While it may be a stretch to say he is a favourite to win Rookie of the Year given the quality of his team, there is no question that he is one of the brightest young prospects in the league.  Expect Wahl to be a perennial Shaw candidate and a force to be reckoned with for quite some time to come.

 

Pros

 

Technically Sound – There are few goaltenders that are as technically sound as Brick Wahl.  He already has terrific positioning and rebound control to go along with a solid glove.   He may not have the flashiest style, but he gets it done and is easily one of the most complete young goalies in the world.  There is still some improvement to be made of course, but if he keeps his development up, he will be one of the best goalies technically in the league.

 

Strong Lateral Ability – For such a huge goaltender, Brick Wahl has shown to be very quick post to post.  The argument could be made that he is the best for his age when it comes to lateral ability.  His long legs and quick reflexes have helped him improve so far, and with more work to be put into his technical ability, it’s a huge asset for Wahl to have the ability to move side to side like he can. 

 

Confidence – Say what you want about a goalie’s technical ability, but he needs to have the mental side down pat as well.  Brick Wahl exudes confidence and not only plays like he belongs, but feels like he does as well.  This is the same goalie that stepped into the big time at the Super Cup and posted a .939 save percentage up until the last game of the tournament.  Those are elite numbers and given the quality of talent he faced, it’s pretty impressive.  The mental side is one thing that Brick Wahl does not need to work on.

 

 

Cons

 

Maturity – There are still some questions about Brick Wahl’s attitude.  He has always been a very cocky individual and believed he never needed the hardest work ethic to be a tremendous talent.  Given his age it shouldn’t be overly surprising that there are the steps that can be made to improve on this aspect.  However, New York will have to make sure to surround Wahl with the right personal to help him grow and mature going forward.

 

Puckhandling – One of the most significant issues in Wahl’s game is definitely his lack of ability when handling the puck.  Wahl doesn’t come out of his net very often, but when he does it can be quite an adventure.  Even if he develops just the basic skill of making quick decisions with the puck on his stick, Wahl should be fine in the future.

 

Pedigree – Unfortunately for Brick Wahl, he has never really had the opportunity to even be in a championship game at a respectable level.  The Red Deer Rebels never made it past the Western Conference Semi-finals and the Saskatoon Wild were knocked out in the North American Conference Finals last season.  A lot of questions will be asked about Wahl’s ability to play in must win games, and it will be up to him to answer them.

 

Statistics

 

2012-2013: Saskatoon Wild (VHLM) -> 41-22-9, 2.57 GAA, .909 SV%, 7 SO

2011-2012: Red Deer Rebels (WHL) -> 35-19-6, 2.42 GAA, .924 SV%, 6 SO

2010-2011: Red Deer Rebels (WHL) -> 37-17-5, 2.38 GAA, .921 SV%, 6 SO

2009-2010: Red Deer Rebels (WHL) -> 26-25-5, 2.96 GAA, .910 SV%, 4 SO

2008-2009: Red Deer Rebels (WHL) -> 17-18-4, 3.02 GAA, .903 SV%, 2 SO

2007-2008: Red Deer Optimist Chiefs (AMHL) -> 17-7-3, 2.07 GAA, .920 SV%, 3 SO

2006-2007: Red Deer Optimist Chiefs (AMHL) -> 14-10-2, 2.63 GAA, .911 SV%, 2 SO

[eaglesfan036 4,602]

Overview: 3/3 - The Red Deer Optimist Chiefs might be the coolest team name out there. I like how you put in your stats from all the way back in the minors to present day. It looks like Wahl will give the Americans a star goalie for years to come, and he will probably be competing with Mike Szatowski Jr. (Riga's goalie) throughout his career. 

 

Grammar: 2/2 - I couldn't find anything, great job!

 

Presentation: 1/1 - Looks good.

 

Pros: 2/2 - Over 200 words. Wrote some good stuff.

 

Cons: 2/2 - Over 200 words. Good stuff.

 

Overall: 10/10