NHL Draft

Chasing An Exclusive Club

Posted on by HP Staff

 

In the history of the NHL, there have been 47 entry drafts and only 59 goalies have been chosen in the 1st round.   That’s an average of 1.25 per draft. 

Of those 59 goalies, 36 of them – or 61% – were drafted during a 13-year period between 1994 and 2006.

Recently, that average is even lower.  In the last 6 years, only 6 goaltenders were selected in the 1st round.   In 2012, it was Andrei Vasilevski (Tampa Bay, 19th) and Malcolm Subban (Boston, 26th) that joined that rare list.

Here’s a look at three CHL goaltenders that could be chosen in the 1st round in 2013.

 

 

Zachary Fucale, Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)

 

2011/12 – 32-18-6-2, 3.16 GAA, .892 SV%, 2 SO

Fucale was impressive in his rookie campaign.  Filling in for the injured Anthony Terenzio, he quickly became the number one netminder for Halifax and his numbers got better throughout the season.

In 17 playoff games, he posted a 2.88 GAA & .904 SV%, while leading the Mooseheads all the way to the league semi-final.

Fucale set a QMJHL record for wins by a 16-year-old and captured the Raymond-Lagace trophy as the league’s defensive rookie of the year.  In August, he led Canada’s Under-18 team to the gold medal at the Ivan Hlinka Tournament.

With Mackinnon & Drouin expected to go early in the 2013 draft, Halifax could have three 1st-round NHL picks for the first time in franchise history.

 

2012/13 Outlook:  Fucale will once again carry the load in net for Halifax, but expectations will be higher in his sophomore season.  He will most likely participate in the 2013 CHL Top Prospects game, where he will get a chance to showcase his skills in front of his home crowd.

 

Eric Comrie, Tri-City Americans (WHL)

 

2011/12 – 19-6-1-1, 2.67 GAA, .900 SV%, 3 SO

 

Comrie had a successful rookie year with Tri-City but didn’t get a chance to play in the post-season.  The Americans traded Ty Rimmer to Lethbridge in the summer in order to make Comrie the #1 backstop.

Comrie has some experience in international play.  He represented Team Pacific at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, finishing with a 2-1 record.  He then won a gold medal at this year’s Ivan Hlinka Tournament as a backup to Fucale.  Comrie played in one game in the preliminary round, a 3-2 win over Slovakia.

 

2012/13 Outlook:  Comrie will play 55-60 games this season, more than enough ice time to showcase his talents.

 

Spencer Martin, Mississauga Steelheads (OHL)

 

2011/12 – 2-7-1, 3.98 GAA, .885 SV%

 

Martin was selected 18th overall by Mississauga in the 2011 OHL Priority Selection.  He spent last season as a backup to JP Anderson and then Brandon Maxwell.

Despite only playing in 15 games, he showed that he is a technically sound goalie with great size that can stop plenty of pucks.  Martin faced an average of 34.8 shots per 60 minutes of play.

 

In January, he led Team Ontario to a bronze medal at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Windsor.  He finished the tournament with a 4-1 record, 1.95 GAA & .931 SV%.  He was also named to the OHL All-Rookie Team.

 

 

2012/13 Outlook:  Goaltending will be one of Mississauga’s strengths this season and Martin will play in the majority of games for the Steelheads.  Veteran netminder Tyson Teichmann will help push Martin to play better and the return of Stuart Percy to the defensive corps will no doubt help keep pucks out of the net.