Fansided

St. Louis Blues 2015 NHL Draft: What About The Goalies?

By A.P. Andes |

This is the last of a four-part series on the 2015 NHL draft prospects for the St. Louis Blues and our own 2015 NHL Mock Draft. The last article focused on forwards with elite skills, and this article will concentrate on goalies.

Goaltending in hockey may be the most mercurial and indefinable skill in all of professional sports. While stellar offensive players like Gretzky and Crosby inevitably come from storied pee wee and junior hockey beginnings, goalies often emerge out of nowhere—and their play frequently returns there far sooner than their coaches, teammates and fans were planning.

This year is a superb case in point. Maybe the biggest story in the NHL right now is the historic debut run of the Ottawa Senators’ netminder Andrew Hammond, who tied a 77-year-old record by Boston HOFer Frank Brimsek with 12 consecutive games giving up two goals or less to start an NHL career. As nhl.com writer Adam Kimelman reminded us this week, Hammon was a minor-league unknown, an undrafted AHL 27-year-old with a save percentage south of .900 in 25 games with a whopping 3.51 GAA until he was tapped to play backup for the injured backup.

Then there is the case of Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk, perhaps the second-biggest story in the second half of the 2014-15 season. On Wednesday, March 25, Dubnyk’s and the Wild’s 3-2 victory over the New York Islanders was Dubnyk’s 32d consecutive start. In his last 17 road games, Dubnyk is 14-1-1 with an other-worldly 1.48 GAA and a .952 save percentage. As nhl.com columnist Brian Compton wrote, “Not bad for a guy who is on his fifth team since the start of last season, including the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League.”

More from Prospects

All of this is simply to say that the long pedigree one often sees in top-drafted and NHL superstar forwards is frequently nowhere to be found with goalies. Which makes selecting one from the draft rather challenging. But the importance of this selection cannot be overstated.

In terms of a Stanley Cup contender, both the Blues’ goalies are essentially only good enough to be backups, and the organization lacks not only a solid starter with tested experience (someone, say, on the level of Corey Crawford), but anyone at all who can consistently play at or above a .900 clip. To say that the person they draft will likely take Allen’s place unless Allen starts to figure out top-tier playoff teams the way he has bottom-feeders is understating the matter.

The St. Louis Blues need someone not only to replace Allen, especially once Allen’s contract is up, but hopefully to be a starter and relegate Elliott to the backup position he is really made for.

His rebound control may be the very best in the draft class, absorbing pucks with ease from pretty much every angle.

The Blues’ fragile relationship with goaltending continues to mystify. Brian Elliott has his share of fans, and while he is fourth in the league as of Wednesday, March 25 in GAA at 2.16 with a respectable 24-12-3 record, his save percentage of .921 is the lowest of the top dozen goalies except the Los Angeles Kings’ Jonathan Quick at .917, ranked 11th. Fans who know the playoffs will demand far more are anxious about Elliott’s propensity to simply not see the puck every third game or so and let in 4 goals on 12 or 14 shots.

Next: Petteri Lindbohm Assigned To AHL, Spot Open For Shattenkirk

The process of development and mentorship for the Blues’ draft choice, whoever it may be, will likely take at least two years to play out by which time the Blues will have benefited from a full evaluation of both Elliott and Allen over that period.

And so, without further ado…

Daniel Vladar: “The Next Great Czech Goalie”?

DANIEL VLADAR

#1 NHL Central Scouting – 1 of 4 goalies given an “A” rating

HC KLADNO, CZE 2 PROF LEAGUE

6’5 185 | CATCHES LEFT | DOB: 08.20.97 | STATS (courtesy of Elite Prospects):

In 2013-14, for the Kladno Knights professional Czech under-18 (U18) team from the city of Kladno (a team sporting ownership under Jaromir Jagr’s family), Vladar had a 2.26 GAA and .926 save percentage in 31 games, and 3 playoff games with a 3.37 GAA and a .913 save percentage. He then played six games for the Kladno Knights under-20 team (U20), earning a 2.46 GAA and a .906 save percentage.

In the International Juniors that year, Vladar played in the U17 division for the Czech Republic in 11 games with a 2.89 GAA and .915 save percentage.

In 2014-15, still only 17, Vladar played for Kladno U20, earning a 2.88 GAA and a .929 save percentage in seven games, and then eight games in the Czech2 tournament with a 1.97 GAA and a .933 save percentage. In the International Juniors, Vladar played five games with the Czech Republic team, and his age likely caught up with him, as he wound up with a 3.33 GAA and a .889 save percentage.

Aside from the many accolades about this kid’s quickness, movement, and athleticism for his size, which can often be a deficit, one thing from an in-depth Penalty Box Radio prospect report by Steven Ellis leapt off the page and tagged me on the jaw as a St. Louis Blues fan:

“His rebound control may be the very best in the draft class, absorbing pucks with ease from pretty much every angle.”

I can almost hear a collective Well what are we waiting for, let’s sign him up!

Mar 1, 2015; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; St. Louis Blues defenseman Petteri Lindbohm (48) knocks a loose puck down in front of the net of goaltender Jake Allen (34) during the second period against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

Certain skills lend themselves to being acquired over time with mentoring and experience, and some, sadly, do not. The same goalies known for giving up juicy rebounds today were doing it when they first joined the NHL and will still be doing it three or four years from now.

Another such innate skill involves quick reflexes. Ellis describes Vladar’s as cat-like and compares him to Dominik Hasek.

Ellis mentions, among a litany of stellar attributes, that Vladar’s positioning could stand to improve a tad, but this is one of the most teachable skills, one that will naturally develop over time and with experience.

Here is a sample of Ellis’ comments about what kind of a prospect Vladar is shaping up to be on the world stage in the next couple years:

“Just because he’s from overseas doesn’t mean you wont hear about him in the near future. There is a strong chance that Vladar could be one of the Czech goalies at the 2015 World Juniors in Canada this year, but he’ll need to outplay Washington Capitals prospect Vít Vaněče and experienced 19-year-old puckstopper René Svoboda). This may simply not be Vladar’s time to shine on the world stage, but that just means he will be ready to steal the spotlight in 2016 or 2017. Regardless what happens, Vladar is ranked as the top goaltender in the ISS Top 30 Draft Rankings for [the] December (update: his performance at the World Juniors moved him from first slot to second in the ISS Top 30), and will continue to prove himself with Kladno, where he will learn from the likes of veteran goaltender Chábera and fellow youngster Jan Lukáš.”

Despite the slight slip from first to second in the ISS Top 30, Vladar hardly played poorly. When your team does not score a goal, it is impossible to win. Plus, Svoboda shouldered part of the three goals given up, and the third was an empty-netter.

Vladar is also only seventeen.

Ellis discusses the lack of strong Czech goalies in the NHL system, and readily admits of the shortcomings in the Czech progam in terms of development, and this should probably not be lightly dismissed. Some older Blues fans (and I was among them) may be looking at this and thinking “Roman Turek,” who was 6’4 himself. That is not a good association. However, it is also worth noting that Ellis reckons Vladar “The next great Czech goalie.”

At some point the totality of an individual’s attributes needs to trump the vague, all-too-human fears of history repeating itself. This seems like such an opportunity.

The Hockey Writers’ Christopher Ralph, in his piece on the top five goalies in the 2015 NHL draft,  carried this comment on Vladar:

#1 G Daniel VladarProven ability to steal games at every level. Massive frame & presence. Moves exceptionally well. ISStop30.com

Ilya Samsonov: Getting Better With Age (At 18)

ILYA SAMSONOV

#1 NHL Central Scouting – EU Goalies, #29 McKeen’s Hockey

METALLURG MAGNITOGORSK

6’3 201 | CATCHES LEFT | DOB: 02.27.97 | STATS (courtesy of Elite Prospects):

During 2014-15 the young Russian’s stats transitioned from decent to eye-popping. After playing one game (in which he had a .500 save percentage) with the professional KHL team Metallurg Magnitogorsk, Samsonov went down to the team’s Minor Hockey League (MHL) affiliate, Stalnye Lisy, the “Stell Foxes.”

After the Ryan Miller debacle, Blues management may feel bringing a gifted prospect up from the minors makes more sense than trading prime cap space for an NHLer who allegedly walked on water for another team.

The MHL is Russia’s premier youth hockey league. Samsonov finished with a 2.66 GAA and a .918 save percentage in 18 games, and had two playoff games in which he had a 2.83 GAA with a far better .937 save percentage.

Then in the Russia U18 International-Jr. league, Samsonov played seven games in which he averaged a 1.87 GAA and a stellar .945 save percentage. In the Russia U19 2014-15 WJAC-19 Tournament, he played three games in which he yielded a minuscule 1.67 GAA and a .952 save percentage.

At 6’3, Samsonov has an inch on both Elliott and Allen, and would be an imposing obstacle to the back of the net.

Christopher Ralph, in his piece on the top five goalies in the 2015 NHL draft,  featured these comments on Samsonov:

“Never quit attitude, recovery & athleticism are incredible. Air of confidence between pipes.” ISS Hockey @ISShockey.“Last night #CanEast fell victim to a record-breaking 46 save shutout by Russian goalie Ilya Samsonov.” Andrew Foote @afooteCCHL

After the Ryan Miller debacle, Blues management may feel bringing a gifted prospect up from the minors makes more sense than trading prime cap space for an NHLer who allegedly walked on water for another team. I believe the Blues can pass on Samsonov and live to talk about it. Vladar, on the other hand, if he is available when the Blues are on the clock, should not be missed.

Got opinions on these prospects? Let us know your thoughts, Blues fans!

Next: Blues Kevin Shattenkirk Returns to Play Saturday

More from Bleedin' Blue

Home / Prospects