St Laurent Rookie Profile [1/2]

[Frank 5,280]

 

Marcel St Laurent - Rookie Profile

 

 

Born: May 23, 2000 (Age 17)

POB: Gatineau, QC Canada

Jersey Number: 39

Current Team: Las Vegas Aces 

 

Early Career

Marcel St. Laurent was drafted in the third round as a 15 year old into the QMJHL by the Victoriaville Tigres. St Laurent continued to develop for his AAA bantam team in Gatineau, before being called up to play for the Tigres when he was 16. At the age of 16 Marcel stole the starters job from Lawrence Gardineau who would be out of the league by seasons end. Marcel posted a 2.65 GAA and a 915 SV PCT as a 16 year old in the highest scoring league in the CHL. Scouts from the NHL, KHL and VHL we're all following him closely during the season. Instead of entering a NHL or KHL draft he decided to sign with the Quebec City Meute of the VHL. As he wanted to stay in his home province. St. Laurent was recently selected 1st overall by the Las Vegas Aces in the S58 VHLM Dispersal Draft. 

 

St. Laurent in net for Victoriaville in a 3-1 victory over Halifax. 

 

PROS +

Skating/Puck Handling - Described as a young Marty Turco when handling the puck. St Laurent might be the best young goalie in the world when outside his own crease. He was awarded with 20 assists in his first and only QMJHL season. Many believe that a goalies strongest attribute should be his skating because if you can't skate you can't move quick enough to stop the puck. Although that is very much up for debate, what isn't however is St Laurents skating ability. He won fastest skater at the 2018 QMJHL all star game. 

Rebound Control -  "Swallowing up the puck" is the best way to describe how Marcel stops the puck. Whether it's absorbing shots into his chest or kicking pucks into the corner. His control of shots and what happens to the puck after it hits his body is uncanny. 

Agility - St Laurent is definitely a butterfly style goalie but he plays with the agility and flexibility that a Dominik Hasek would in his prime. His large but slender frame allows him to move quickly in the crease. 

Size - Standing at 6 foot 5, Marcel is one of the tallest 17 year olds in hockey. But he doesn't use his size to stop the puck it's just a nice bonus that he can cover more of the net. He relies more on his pure skill rather then positioning his big frame. 

 

CONS - 

 Style Control - Although he's described as a butterfly goalie his scrambly style is still very raw and will need to be ironed out by a professional goaltending coach. The potential is there to be the next Dominik Hasek or Dan Cloutier.  

Reaction Time - Though his agility is on par with some of the best in the game. At times we have seen mental lapses where a shot that should be an easy save just floats past. Which would account for his inconsistent game to game statistics. 

Penalty Shot - With a measly 150 SV PCT in the shootout over all leagues Marcel has played in. It's pretty clear he needs to work on his one on one skills with shooters. Some scouts I've talked to say he's so easy to score on in the shootout because of how deep he plays in the net. Others say it's just the luck of the shootout. So maybe we won't hold this stat against him too much. 

 

NHL Comparable: Dominik Hasek

 

VHL Ceiling and Prospect Rating:

Franchise Goalie/9.0B

[HellBillyXIII 61]

Review: Love it, well done, hit word count requirement,  love the hasek comparison, one of my all time favorites