Jean-Pierre Camus - Prospect Scouting Report

[solas 1,951]

JEAN-PIERRE CAMUS - PROSPECT SCOUTING REPORT

 

As the playoffs go on, the Season 73 draft gets closer, and with it comes a whole host of interesting possibilities.  This draft class appears to have produced a higher number of feasible goalie prospects than usual, and that will make things especially interesting considering the fact that four new expansion teams will be inserted into the mix.  One of these goalies is the French-Canadian Jean-Pierre Camus.  Camus’ stock seems to have been on the rise during the latter half of this season, in part thanks to his great performances with the Yukon Rush in the VHLM, but he finds himself in an interesting position as draft day approaches.  He is currently ranked as the third-best goaltender in the class, behind Jacob Tonn and Grekkark Gyrfalcon.  So while “JPC” may be a mid-first round prospect (most rankings have him as the 7th best in the draft), he could very well have one of the most volatile draft stocks in the class.  This may also be affected by his agency - Camus is represented by a relatively successful agency that will have a good relationship (and reputation) with some front offices, but others might have concern due to the agency’s less successful recent players such as Ivan Morozov and Aron Nielsen.  

 

In this article, we’ll be looking at the pros and cons of Jean-Pierre Camus as a prospect to understand how good of a player he can be as well as what could hold him back at the next level.

 

PROS
Size - One thing that sets Camus apart from the rest of the draft class is his size.  At 6’8” and 250 lbs, Camus looms very large in the net.  And he certainly knows how to use that size too.  He’s shown to be incredibly astute in his positioning, getting to shots that many other goaltenders couldn’t, and is exceptional at cutting down his angles.

 

Reaction Time/Hand Speed - Another part of what gives Camus his incredible raw potential (and what makes him such an entertaining goaltender to watch) is his lightning-quick combination of reaction time and hand speed.  He’s incredible at reading the shots that are coming towards him, and is rarely too late to respond.

 

Rebound Control - A good part of what has made Jean-Pierre Camus’ draft stock rise like it did was his incredible performance with the Yukon Rush in S72.  In a season that surely establishes him as a contender for the VHLM’s Benoit Devereux Trophy, he put up a league-leading .906 save percentage despite facing nearly 2,847 shots (second most in the league, and over 1,000 more than anyone else with a save percentage over .900).  And a major key in limiting the goals he allowed despite facing such a high number of shots was rebound control.  Camus showed a great ability to limit rebounds, and therefore prevent high-quality scoring opportunities.

 

CONS
Athleticism (Skating/Agility) - Camus has passable skating ability, but if he wants to be a starting goaltender in the VHL - especially an elite one - he’ll have to improve.  He’s so used to relying on his positioning and reaction time that he often struggles to recover on the occasions when he’s caught out of position.  This is one of the things that makes Camus such a raw prospect when compared to his more developed peers that will likely be drafted ahead of him.  It’s something that will certainly be a focus if he wants to improve, but for the time being he isn’t athletic enough to be an upper-echelon goaltender.

 

Stopping Breakaways - We’ve spoken about Camus’ strength when being peppered by shots, his ability to read the game and react well.  But something that holds him back is his trouble when faced with breakaway, one-on-one situations. The 19-year-old is impatient and tends to bite early, often leaving the goal wide open.  This is demonstrated by penalty shot save percentage of .562, a disappointing stat when compared with those who faced a similar (or higher) number of penalty shots.  This kind of thing will likely be an issue when he has to face the VHL’s best forwards.