Post by countryboy on Jun 11, 2023 23:01:13 GMT -4
We've been lamenting our goaltending since Jack Flanagan faltered in the first half and we had to scramble to come up with a solution in the second half.
In the interview on Islanders social media, Jim Hulton was asked about selecting three goaltenders in the draft this past weekend and he made mention of the variability in the quality of goaltending at the major junior level in recent times. He made mention that none of the top four teams this year had a goaltender who was a high selection in their draft year. He looked at the drafting of three goaltenders this year being something of buying a lottery ticket and hoping that it cashes.
When you look at the goaltenders for the top 8 teams in the Q this past year.
-William Rousseau was a 5th round pick by Quebec in 2019. As a 16 y/o he played in MAAA. At 17 he was backup to Thomas Sigouin and played 8 games (covid shortened year). At 18 he split games with Fabio Iacobo. By 19 he was the starter.
-Mathis Rousseau was a 4th round pick by Halifax in 2020. As a 16 y/o he did not play as the Quebec MAAA league did not see action that year. At 17 he was a promising backup to Brady James. At 18 he took over the #1 job from James.
-For Sherbrooke, we'll look at all three goaltenders they used this year, since the paid to upgrade at the deadline
Olivier Adam was 6th round pick by Blainville in 2018. At 16 he played MAAA with Magog and got into 2 Q games. At 17 he backed up Emile Samson in Blainville. At 18 18 he was the #1 in Blainville. At 19 he was traded to Baie-Comeau and was their #1. In his 20 y/o season he was traded to Sherbrooke to be their #1 for their playoff run.
Prior to acquiring Adam they were running Samuel St-Hilaire and Jakob Robillard. St-Hilaire was drafted in the 9th round by Sherbrooke in 2020. In his 16 y/o season he did not play as the Quebec MAAA league did not play. At 17 he played MAAA with Levis. At 18 he made his QMJHL debut with Sherbrooke.
Robillard was a 13th round pick in the 2018 OHL draft. At 16 he was back to MAAA. At 17 he was a backup in Jr. A (played only 10 games). At 18 his Jr. A league did not play and he signed on with Sherbrooke and played 2 games. At 19 he split duties with Ivan Zhigalov in Sherbrooke.
-Frankie Lapenna was a 4th round pick by Val-d'Or in 2018. At 16 he was back to MAAA. At 17, he debuted with Val-d'Or and was traded to Drummondville at midseason. In VD he backed up Jonathan Lemieux. In Drum he played behind Anthony Morrone. At 18 he was Drummondville's starter in their Covid season. At 19 he was their #1 and was shipped off to us for our playoff run. Then at 20 he started with us and was moved to Gatineau at the deadline.
Prior to joining Gatineau, their goaltending was held together by Tye Austin, Emerik Despaite, and Kaiden Kirkwood. Despatie was the most experienced of the group. He was drafted in the 2nd round by Quebec in 2019. He jumped to the Q at 16 and was a backup in Quebec. At 17 he was moved to Gatineau and was backup in their Covid shortened season. At 18 he split duties in Gatineau with Remi Poirier. By 19 he was the de facto starter until they traded for Lapenna at mid-season and then he filled the backup role.
Austin joined the Olympiques from the OHL. He was a 3rd round pick by Peterborough in 2018. He was backup in Peterborough as a 16 y/o player. At 17 he was backup again. At 18 the OHL didn't play so he was out of action. At 19 he found himself backup in Peterborough again. At 20 he landed a FA spot in Gatineau until he was dealt to Charlottetown and was promptly cut loose following the trade. Gatineau also used FA Kaiden Kirkwood for 11 games this season. Kirkwood was undrafted to the WHL and made his major junior debut as an 18 y/o with Gatineau. After the Lapenna trade he stuck around Gatineau but only saw action in 2 games... one in January and one in March.
-Victoriaville used Nathan Darveau as their #1. Darveau was an 11th round pick by Victoriaville in 2019. At 16 he was back to MAAA in Amos. AT 17, when leagues were shut down he did not play. At 18 he joined Victoriaville, backed up Nikolas Hurtubise until Hurtubise was dealt to Saint John. Then at 19 Darveau became the Tigres' #1 and was backed up by promising Gabriel D'Aigle.
-Rouyn-Noranda used Thomas Couture as their #1. Couture was picked in the 4th round by Rimouski in 2019 after his 16 y/o season. At 17 he played MAAA in Levis. In his 18 y/o season, with no hockey in Quebec he played some Jr. A in Manitoba and Alberta. At 19 he'd been traded to Moncton and at mid-season he'd been dealt to Saint John. In Saint John he was to be backup to Hurtubise but they split and Couture was the goalie of record in their opening round playoff loss. They went back to Hurtubise in the Memorial Cup. At 20 he'd become the starter in Rouyn-Noranda.
-In Moncton, they had two 18 y/o goalies in Vincent Filion, but Filion lost his starting job to Jacob Steinman mid-season. Filion was drafted 6th overall by VD in 2020. There was no MAAA during his 16 y/o season but he was traded to Moncton and joined the Wildcats for 6 games. At 17 he played behind each of Thomas Couture and Jonathan Lemieux in Moncton. At 18 he'd lost his starting job to Steinman. He was recently traded to Rimouski where he will start for them as a 19 y/o player.
Steinman came to Moncton as an undrafted FA out of Ontario. At 16 he was playing minor hockey. At 17 he played in the GOJHL.
-Charles-Antoine Lavallee was the started in Chicoutimi. At 16 he was drafted in the 3rd round by Moncton in 2018. He joined the Wildcats that season and was backup. At 17 he was traded to Shawinigan mid-season and was backup to Antoine Coulombe. At 18 he and Coulombe split duties for the Cataractes. At 19, he and Coulombe were still the due in Shawinigan, with Coulombe taking the lead in the playoffs and Memorial Cup. At 20 he was dealt to the Sags.
The road for a #1 netminder is long and meandering. To a certain extent, the shutdown of most hockey in 20-21 has been impactful on players development. But there's a real element of "slow play" in bringing many of these goalies along.
#1. Each of our goalies drafted this weekend hold some promise. You don't have to be drafted early to make an impact between the pipes. Each of Donald Hickey, Jack Carter, and Hudson Bradley may have opportunity to get a chance to play in the league at some point.
#2. While it is great if a goaltender can start of establish himself as a Q backup by 17, there are many cases where a guy might be 18 or 19 before he really becomes a QMJHL goalie. So even though Jack Flanagan had a very rough patch as a 17 y/o player, there's still lots of promise there that maybe he can pull it together and earn a role on the 2023-24 Islanders. I'll say the same for the other 18 y/o goaltender Dustin Riff. The opportunity is right now for 17 y/o Niko Boudreau. None of these three will be ready to carry the load as a starter for 2023-24, but hopefully one can find the on ramp to get their major junior career going this fall.
In the interview on Islanders social media, Jim Hulton was asked about selecting three goaltenders in the draft this past weekend and he made mention of the variability in the quality of goaltending at the major junior level in recent times. He made mention that none of the top four teams this year had a goaltender who was a high selection in their draft year. He looked at the drafting of three goaltenders this year being something of buying a lottery ticket and hoping that it cashes.
When you look at the goaltenders for the top 8 teams in the Q this past year.
-William Rousseau was a 5th round pick by Quebec in 2019. As a 16 y/o he played in MAAA. At 17 he was backup to Thomas Sigouin and played 8 games (covid shortened year). At 18 he split games with Fabio Iacobo. By 19 he was the starter.
-Mathis Rousseau was a 4th round pick by Halifax in 2020. As a 16 y/o he did not play as the Quebec MAAA league did not see action that year. At 17 he was a promising backup to Brady James. At 18 he took over the #1 job from James.
-For Sherbrooke, we'll look at all three goaltenders they used this year, since the paid to upgrade at the deadline
Olivier Adam was 6th round pick by Blainville in 2018. At 16 he played MAAA with Magog and got into 2 Q games. At 17 he backed up Emile Samson in Blainville. At 18 18 he was the #1 in Blainville. At 19 he was traded to Baie-Comeau and was their #1. In his 20 y/o season he was traded to Sherbrooke to be their #1 for their playoff run.
Prior to acquiring Adam they were running Samuel St-Hilaire and Jakob Robillard. St-Hilaire was drafted in the 9th round by Sherbrooke in 2020. In his 16 y/o season he did not play as the Quebec MAAA league did not play. At 17 he played MAAA with Levis. At 18 he made his QMJHL debut with Sherbrooke.
Robillard was a 13th round pick in the 2018 OHL draft. At 16 he was back to MAAA. At 17 he was a backup in Jr. A (played only 10 games). At 18 his Jr. A league did not play and he signed on with Sherbrooke and played 2 games. At 19 he split duties with Ivan Zhigalov in Sherbrooke.
-Frankie Lapenna was a 4th round pick by Val-d'Or in 2018. At 16 he was back to MAAA. At 17, he debuted with Val-d'Or and was traded to Drummondville at midseason. In VD he backed up Jonathan Lemieux. In Drum he played behind Anthony Morrone. At 18 he was Drummondville's starter in their Covid season. At 19 he was their #1 and was shipped off to us for our playoff run. Then at 20 he started with us and was moved to Gatineau at the deadline.
Prior to joining Gatineau, their goaltending was held together by Tye Austin, Emerik Despaite, and Kaiden Kirkwood. Despatie was the most experienced of the group. He was drafted in the 2nd round by Quebec in 2019. He jumped to the Q at 16 and was a backup in Quebec. At 17 he was moved to Gatineau and was backup in their Covid shortened season. At 18 he split duties in Gatineau with Remi Poirier. By 19 he was the de facto starter until they traded for Lapenna at mid-season and then he filled the backup role.
Austin joined the Olympiques from the OHL. He was a 3rd round pick by Peterborough in 2018. He was backup in Peterborough as a 16 y/o player. At 17 he was backup again. At 18 the OHL didn't play so he was out of action. At 19 he found himself backup in Peterborough again. At 20 he landed a FA spot in Gatineau until he was dealt to Charlottetown and was promptly cut loose following the trade. Gatineau also used FA Kaiden Kirkwood for 11 games this season. Kirkwood was undrafted to the WHL and made his major junior debut as an 18 y/o with Gatineau. After the Lapenna trade he stuck around Gatineau but only saw action in 2 games... one in January and one in March.
-Victoriaville used Nathan Darveau as their #1. Darveau was an 11th round pick by Victoriaville in 2019. At 16 he was back to MAAA in Amos. AT 17, when leagues were shut down he did not play. At 18 he joined Victoriaville, backed up Nikolas Hurtubise until Hurtubise was dealt to Saint John. Then at 19 Darveau became the Tigres' #1 and was backed up by promising Gabriel D'Aigle.
-Rouyn-Noranda used Thomas Couture as their #1. Couture was picked in the 4th round by Rimouski in 2019 after his 16 y/o season. At 17 he played MAAA in Levis. In his 18 y/o season, with no hockey in Quebec he played some Jr. A in Manitoba and Alberta. At 19 he'd been traded to Moncton and at mid-season he'd been dealt to Saint John. In Saint John he was to be backup to Hurtubise but they split and Couture was the goalie of record in their opening round playoff loss. They went back to Hurtubise in the Memorial Cup. At 20 he'd become the starter in Rouyn-Noranda.
-In Moncton, they had two 18 y/o goalies in Vincent Filion, but Filion lost his starting job to Jacob Steinman mid-season. Filion was drafted 6th overall by VD in 2020. There was no MAAA during his 16 y/o season but he was traded to Moncton and joined the Wildcats for 6 games. At 17 he played behind each of Thomas Couture and Jonathan Lemieux in Moncton. At 18 he'd lost his starting job to Steinman. He was recently traded to Rimouski where he will start for them as a 19 y/o player.
Steinman came to Moncton as an undrafted FA out of Ontario. At 16 he was playing minor hockey. At 17 he played in the GOJHL.
-Charles-Antoine Lavallee was the started in Chicoutimi. At 16 he was drafted in the 3rd round by Moncton in 2018. He joined the Wildcats that season and was backup. At 17 he was traded to Shawinigan mid-season and was backup to Antoine Coulombe. At 18 he and Coulombe split duties for the Cataractes. At 19, he and Coulombe were still the due in Shawinigan, with Coulombe taking the lead in the playoffs and Memorial Cup. At 20 he was dealt to the Sags.
The road for a #1 netminder is long and meandering. To a certain extent, the shutdown of most hockey in 20-21 has been impactful on players development. But there's a real element of "slow play" in bringing many of these goalies along.
#1. Each of our goalies drafted this weekend hold some promise. You don't have to be drafted early to make an impact between the pipes. Each of Donald Hickey, Jack Carter, and Hudson Bradley may have opportunity to get a chance to play in the league at some point.
#2. While it is great if a goaltender can start of establish himself as a Q backup by 17, there are many cases where a guy might be 18 or 19 before he really becomes a QMJHL goalie. So even though Jack Flanagan had a very rough patch as a 17 y/o player, there's still lots of promise there that maybe he can pull it together and earn a role on the 2023-24 Islanders. I'll say the same for the other 18 y/o goaltender Dustin Riff. The opportunity is right now for 17 y/o Niko Boudreau. None of these three will be ready to carry the load as a starter for 2023-24, but hopefully one can find the on ramp to get their major junior career going this fall.
