Giants in the Crease 2020 NHL Draft Goalie Rankings
It’s certainly been a year and a bit but we’re here now. Despite a very long wait we’re finally at the draft. Whether you’re one of many draft eligible goalies, one of their family members, or just a hockey fan the wait is over. Unfortunately there are many that are no longer with us at this time from the hockey community and outside of the hockey community as well. It’s a happy moment we’ve gotten here but also sad knowing there should be others still here. We can enjoy the moment when +200 players finally hear their names called, however we will remember all of those lost and fighting to stay here. The draft is a form of renewal for teams, a time of hope and optimism which is needed when our normal lives have been thrown for a massive spin. So without any more of an introduction let's get to the goalies that will be providing their future NHL teams with the promise of hope and renewal.Who will be the next names we see earning their time in the spotlight? Here’s fifteen names that you should be keeping an eye on moving forward.
1. Yaroslav Askarov
Team: SKA-Neva St. Petersburg
League: VHL
DOB: June 16, 2002
Height: 6’ 3”
Weight: 176 lbs
Nationality: Russia
If you’re trying to find a better goalie for the 2020 NHL Draft they just don’t exist. Sure another goalie could end up being better in the long run just like the first forward or defender taken can end up not being the best one in their position out of the draft. However the draft is about taking the player/goalie with the best chance and what Yaroslav Askarov gives you is one of the best chances at an elite goalie that you’re going to get. Askarov grabbed the top goalie spot in this draft last season and hasn’t let go of his stranglehold on the position. He’s a goalie that’s become continually better. There’s no slowing him down, every success is more proof of the high level play he delivers currently and every struggle he manages to learn from ending up better in the long run. At the very least he’s one year ahead of his peers development wise and looks as though he can continue to widen that gap.
The biggest strength that Askarov brings to the table is his intelligence. There are goalies that get close but Askarov holds the edge over all of them in this draft class along with many already drafted goalies. He understands that his other elite aspects of the game such as his agility, movement speed, edge control, etc. are to be used as tools that further his goal of stopping every puck rather than to be used as a crutch. Now mind you no goalie is perfect so there will be a few moments through a season where Askarov will rely on his physical gifts thereby ending up in scramble mode abandoning his edges but those moments are few and far between. He understands the game as whole and what he needs to do to ensure his team is successful. His ability to read the play and process every situation then come to the conclusion as to what most benefits his team no matter the situation is impressive. He already has a pro’s level understanding of what works, what doesn’t and how best to apply it in-game. This is evident in his positioning as he could be playing aggressively knowing his physical skills will save him but he avoids that through smart positioning in the crease that gives him the best chance to react to no matter what the situation turns out to be whether it’s a shot, pass, or deflection.
As mentioned above Askarov is about as physically talented as one could hope from a goalie and naturally draws comparable to Ilya Samsonov as well as Andrei Vasilevskiy. He has the height that every NHL team loves and is in the nice spot of not too tall that creates holes in the body while not being too short which creates room around the body. Where Askarov will need to grow is just in his frame. He’s certainly on the lanky side and considering how much weight one loses in a NHL season Askarov will need to add some. Not a major concern as if it’s done correctly it will affect no other part of his game negatively just something that will happen as Askarov physically matures. Overall in his movement Askarov just excels everywhere. If he’s on his feet he’s using his shuffles and t-pushes to stay on his feet, beating passes, and being able to get set effectively. It’s difficult to score on such a large goalie (or any really) when they are able to stay on their feet for a long time.When using his edges Askarov is even better. He’s able to hold his edges until he needs to drop or needs to slide. He derives a lot of his power, control, and quickness from his edges which then allows him to continue being very quick even when he’s dropped to his knees.
This is where his movement mechanics come into play allowing him to adjust and whatever body part needs to be used to ensure his movement doesn’t take him out of position. This makes him dangerous as even if he loses his positioning and needs to recover he can do so with minimal time wasted with the added bonus of achieving optimal positioning quickly. He doesn’t leave you with many or long opportunities to take advantage of any movement or positioning miscues. Now as mentioned previously as any young goalie with a superior amount of talent in any aspect of their game that talent can be used as a crutch. As Askarov continues to mature he’ll need to continue putting more trust in his reads to prevent these crutch moments. Another aspect Askarov will look to improve upon is he has jittery legs. He does well enough that he’s able to stay calm and allow the puck carrier to make the first move but he rides the line between waiting and wanting to make the first move. As the pace and level of the game gets higher Askarov will need to avoid the continued temptation to make the first move.
Askarov tracks the puck the way more modern goalies are turning to adopt where he is in a relaxed/semi-relaxed stance allowing him to use his full height to better see over all the bodies in front. While this is the more preferred way of Askarov to track the puck he’s quite capable in tracking the puck through bodies. With his ability to read the play, find the puck on the ice, and quickly process the puck trajectory it’s rare for Askarov to lose sight of it or to just not know where it is. This applies to his shot tracking as well. If he sees the puck coming off the stick he’s not only able to know where it’s going even if he loses sight of it but even in tough situations move the puck into non-dangerous areas. Shot tracking can be difficult though and any loss in focus can cause mistimings on saves creating either bad rebounds or bad goals which is what Askarov suffered through in the World Junior Championships. So while it is something that can happen Askarov showed he can bounce back regaining that focus becoming dominant once again.
The potential with Askarov is enormous as you’re talking about a goalie that has everything you need to succeed in the NHL with. He’s a goalie that will probably spend ~15 years in your organization providing top 10 goaltending for the majority of that time. Timeline wise he will most likely make the NHL in his DY+4, at the latest his DY+5 barring obviously anything that throws him off that timeline (injury, stunted development, etc).
2. Drew Commesso
Team: US NTDP U18
League: USHL
DOB: July 19, 2002
Height: 6’ 2”
Weight: 181 lbs
Nationality: USA
If you’re looking for Yaroslav Askarov but don’t have the ability to grab him because he goes crazy early in the 1st round you’ll certainly get two opportunities to grab a goalie close to his level of play in Drew Commesso and Joel Blomqvist. For the no. 2 spot on this draft ranking though Commesso just edges out Blomqvist for this spot. Last year’s USA NTDP was a powerhouse that included Spencer Knight and tore up essentially everywhere they played. One of the concerns with Knight was that it was hard to tell how good he was when the team in front played so well. Commesso didn’t have that issue this year as the team up front certainly wasn’t as strong as last years but numbers wise Commesso outdid what Knight did last year. For such a successful season it feels weird that Commesso is essentially without any fanfare but give him some time and there will be plenty soon. Commesso is set to play at Boston University this coming season where he should be earning the starting position out of the gate and potentially be backing up Knight at the WJC.
USA Hockey has been churning out goalies on both the men’s and women’s side with consistent success that have a lot in common. In regards to Commesso he fits the profile of what USA Hockey has been building in net and its what modern goaltending has been moving towards in terms of movement, positioning, technique, and intelligence. Like Askarov, Commesso possesses all the pro tools you could ask for from a young goalie. Commesso reads the play very well allowing him to deploy his other tools with precision and a high level of effectiveness. He plays a very calm game in net as he continuously processes the action in front, knowing how best to set himself up to react to whatever happens next. With how calm and effective he is at reading the play, Commesso gives off the impression that he knows what the puck carrier is going to do before it even happens. He doesn’t need to panic or scramble because of where he positions himself in the crease. He’s always squared up or about to be and ensures he’s ready to make a push if he needs to. While he does have the positioning and technique at a high level he’s not a robot. Commesso isn’t afraid to lose the perfect technique and positioning if the situation calls for it. He understands at the end of the day the job is to stop pucks even if that means the process isn’t always ideal.
An important part in how Commesso is able to trust his reads and be calm is knowing that he has an impressive physical skill set that’ll help him out even in the toughest of situations. Now he doesn’t have the same level of physical skill as Askarov but he’s not far behind in his overall movement. Frame wise Commesso only loses an inch to Askarov but his body is a bit more filled out. Commesso’s top end speed and explosiveness is about half a step behind what Askarov can do which means Commesso can still move quite quickly around the net. Commesso isn’t an undersized goalie so his ability to get his frame around the crease quickly makes him a frustrating goalie to play against. His edge manipulation is top notch and ensures he’s able to quickly move in whatever direction he needs to go in. And it’s just not top level when it comes to the push but also when it comes to stopping. He’s very smooth in entering a slide and completing it properly ensuring he gets to where he needs to be with no need to re-adjust his positioning once he gets there. Even when he’s on his feet he makes it very difficult for the opposing team to beat him. Commesso knows when and how best to employ either shuffling or t-pushes taking away many vulnerabilities. He’s hard to beat through just sheer quickness because of how well he moves on his feet and on his knees ensuring that he’s always giving himself a chance at saving the puck.
What helps Commesso be such a smooth moving goalie in net is how he moves. What USA Hockey has helped Commesso develop is the mechanics required to get from Point A to Point B without having parts of his body dragging behind him. His upper body is quiet when he moves allowing his lower body to activate the proper parts that are needed to get Commesso to where he’s going with very few issues. There’s no wasted movement allowing Commesso to use whatever power he needs to push and stop without having to worry about if he needs to compensate for other parts of his body throwing him off. What all this results in other than just very good movement is he doesn’t allow additional holes to open up when he moves. So even when he’s moving around he still makes it difficult to score on him because you still need to shoot around him rather than through him for the best chance of scoring a goal. Combine that with the fact that when he gets to where he wants to be on his feet he gets there set and in position already eliminating further opportunity to catch him off guard.
In terms of tracking the puck Commesso does quite well. It’s an important part of why he’s able to play the way he does because he knows where the puck is. Knowing where the puck is at all times allows Commesso to process where it could go, therefore feeding into his abilities described above which is where he finds his success. He does track the puck the same way as many other goalies are trending right now by using a relaxed/semi-relaxed stance to see over bodies as much as possible with minimal issues seeing through screens. Where Commesso can potentially run into trouble is when he gets low to track through bodies he needs to pop back up leaving some vulnerable moments as he switches his stance. His calmness extends to his tracking as he prefers to be more passive than active. He’ll do some fighting to see the puck but generally likes to pick a sightline and stick to it. It works well for him and positively impacts his rebound control allowing him to make minimal effort in directing the puck into non-dangerous areas at a good rate.
Even if Commesso doesn’t have the high chance to reach the ceiling that is available to Askarov, Commesso is going to have a good chance at becoming a starter for ~10 years with a chance at following the Carter Hart development path. The biggest task for Commesso will generally be adjusting mentally to every level.
3. Joel Blomqvist
Team: Kärpät U20
League: Jr. A SM-liiga
DOB: January 10, 2002
Height: 6’ 1”
Weight: 205 lbs
Nationality: Finland
As mentioned in the Drew Commesso profile there are two goalies with the best chance (remember best is a relative word) at getting close or surpassing Yaroslav Askarov over their careers in this draft. This profile is about the second goalie with that chance and it’s Finland’s Joel Blomqvist. He just gets edged out by Commesso but both goalies are good 2nd round targets for teams that missed on Askarov but want that goalie that isn’t overly far off. Blomqvist like Commesso dominated for his team earning Blomqvist the honour of being named the Jr. A SM-liiga Top Goalie as well as earning a spot on the 1st All-Star team. Blomqvist has been rewarded for his excellent play with very good results and this season will see him in the Mestis while also probably being the starting goalie for Finland at the WJC.
Blomqvist follows in the steps of fellow Karpat developed goalie Justus Annunen where there is an emphasis on understanding optimal positioning and how best to implement advanced goaltending techniques ensuring he has high end tools at his disposal. He’s smart in how he plays, turning his average frame into a non-factor, turning every goal more into a question of skill rather than if just being bigger is the answer. His ability to combine his technical abilities and reading the play makes every save look a bit easier at least than it usually would. He understands he needs to be set for the shot as often as the situation allows for. He’s almost always square with the puck making it difficult for the puck carrier to find holes forcing the need to go for a more risky play or have the shot end up as an easy save. Really like how well he controls his depth knowing when he needs to make himself big and when he needs to retreat to counteract any puck movement that could leave him vulnerable backdoor. His overall positioning essentially forces the puck carrier to risk an easy save or go for the more risky play whether it’s hoping for a crazy bounce, a snipe inside the post, or a perfect pass and one-timer. When Blomqvist starts advancing to the higher levels of hockey especially when it comes to the AHL/NHL he'll need to learn that he can abandon his technique/process to make saves. Right now he’s a bit more on the robotic side which can be an issue when there are breakdowns and less space/time to react to situations which is a problem goalies run into at the AHL/NHL levels.
Now where Blomqvist loses ground compared to Askarov and Commesso is he isn’t quite as quick or agile as the two of them. Blomqvist is still above average in his overall movement though and isn’t slow by any means. He’s able to load and push with a good level of quickness as well as strength so his slides are able to give him a chance on even the toughest of passes. He uses his edges well giving him that necessary control that lets him achieve that high level of positioning where he stops and gets set with very few issues. Continuous movement through the use of his edges will eventually see him end up behind the play as he doesn’t quite have that high level of edge control that allows him to move with consistently high quickness. Where he excels is when he’s on his feet and it’s something that he needs to start doing more of. He’s almost too comfortable staying on his knees using his edges to keep up with the play but without continued improvement in terms of his quickness and honestly when you’re 6’ 1” and on your knees you’re giving up a fair amount of net. He is quite good when moving via shuffles or t-pushes ensuring he’s able to stay with passes while on his feet and so that should lessen the need for slides/heavy edge work.
Where Blomqvist is able to make up for his above average quickness/speed and bring it up another half a step is through his very smooth movement. His movement mechanics are quite good ensuring there’s no wasted movement. His control is also very good knowing how much power he needs to push off with, how quickly he needs his movement to end, and where it needs to end. When he gets to where he needs to be there’s no need to re-adjust his feet because his feet are where they need to be. His upper body is quiet when he moves so as not to throw off his lower body mechanics and allow him to react to high shots even while he’s moving. He picks the best movement paths so there’s very little need to stretch his body out thereby preventing holes from being created in his form. When he moves it’s as one unit rather than multiple limbs doing what they want. Something that Blomqvist will need to work on is finding the best way to retreat to his posts as currently it’s something he struggles doing as smoothly as all his other movements. He does well sealing the bottom of the net further making it difficult to score down low on him because he’s able to keep the bottom of the net sealed even when he’s moving on his knees. He knows just how much his pad needs to come up to make use of his edges without leaving a large hole underneath the pad.
In terms of tracking Blomqvist continues his calm type of play into this aspect of his game. When he gets a sightline on the puck he doesn’t like to move a whole lot. Would prefer the puck come to him and be in the proper position to make the easier save putting the puck into a non-dangerous area. He is very good at tracking the puck this way at this level and finds regular success as he lessens the amount his head moves and therefore is able to keep his eye always on the puck. There is some concern though with just how passive he can be in tracking the puck. Blomqvist knows how good his positioning is and understands when the shot is taken where the puck is going. There’s such a focus on keeping his head calm that he doesn’t always fight a lot through screens, even minimal ones, which can cause concern on long-range shots where he gets into this very passive mindset creating either bad rebounds or bad goals. This also applies to when the puck is behind the net and Blomqvist is trying not to move a whole lot but by virtue of the puck being behind the net he will have to sacrifice that sightline to be more active in tracking the puck behind the net and trust he has the positioning.
What should we expect development wise from Blomqvist. Well the typical Finnish goalie from Finland to NHL path has typically been spending 3 years after you’ve been drafted in Finland with ideally two of those being in the Liiga. Spend that DY+4 in the AHL and from there you’ll be able to see how close he is to the NHL. For Blomqvist over the course of a potential NHL career he’ll probably be close to what Commesso can provide but might take him an extra season or so to earn that starting spot.
4. Nico Daws
Team: Guelph Storm
League: OHL
DOB: December 22, 2000
Height: 6’ 4”
Weight: 202 lbs
Nationality: Canada
Is there a goalie that came out of left field more than Nico Daws? Was passed over in last year's draft and then lit the CHL on fire giving the eventual CHL Goalie of the Year Dustin Wolf a run for his money. In Daws’ DY he had at best average numbers similar to Zachary Emond and Jordan Hollett. Come this year in his DY+1 Daws posts numbers on par with Michael Neuvirth, Tyler Parsons, Carter Hart, and Dustin Wolf. Even if you want to say that being a late b-day Daws should count as a DY+2 player he still blows away the competition where only Carter Hart and Mike Murphy had better numbers. Just like Pyotr Kochetkov last draft, Nico Daws has turned himself into quite the goalie and prospect earning himself a probable 3rd round selection if not a bit higher. What teams will like about Daws is he can be put in the AHL right away potentially cutting down on the development time compared to his peers in the draft.
Daws isn’t the all-around goalie prospect the goalies are in front of him as his weaknesses are more noticeable. Where Daws makes up some ground to earn him this 4th spot is in just how well he plays up his strengths and plays down his weaknesses. He’s well aware of how to play to make him successful not just now but in the future as well. It all starts with his large frame. He’s essentially a tank in net with how much room he takes up and while he obviously knows this he also knows not to rely on his size. There’s a fine line between reliance and proper usage and Daws finds himself on the proper usage side of the line the vast majority of the time. A large frame is useless if not properly deployed which is why Daws focuses on proper technique and positioning to ensure that his large frame is not going to waste. He knows where to set up in the crease that takes full advantage of his frame knowing that he can play a bit more conservatively because even when he goes to his knees he’s still not offering a lot for shooters to aim at. This also sets him up to cover his lack of quickness. There’s little need to commit to doing a full stretch of his body to make a save because he’s in a position to get there while still maintaining his form. His ability to read the game allows him to pick his spots when to be aggressive, when to retreat, and when to hold his ground which is very important because he can’t rely on high end mobility to cover up for poor positional decision making. Every spot that Daws moves to or stays in has to be smart not only for the current situation but for future ones as well and he has proven that he knows exactly where he needs to be and how to be best prepared for any situation that pops up.
Now as mentioned above Daws isn’t the most fleet of foot. If he possessed consistently average to above average quickness we’d be talking about Daws being closer to the 1st round than the 4th round. Now that’s not to say Daws moves at a snail’s pace. If he did he’d be further down the list. Overall his level of quickness is average and if he can find a way to get just a bit quicker a lot of those worries will go away making it close to a non-issue in the AHL/NHL. He does just fine when his movement is in one general direction as he’s able to get off strong pushes to move that large frame into position whether that’s through slides or just any movement on his feet. He can start and stop fine. Where his quickness/movement takes a hit is through consecutive movements especially if there’s any direction change needed or he’s forced to his feet. That’s the price you pay though for having a frame that’s like a tank, if you’re going to be forced into a high pace of play that includes multiple direction changes you can find space that a goalie like Daws isn’t currently occupying. Where Daws does possess above average quickness is in his reflexes. He’s very capable of reacting quickly especially in close which makes him quite frustrating to play against as he closes down the bottom half of the net. There’s just the issue that some of these reaction saves will put him in a position where he’ll need to recover because of how he stretched himself out. When he’s forced to recover from these situations is also where Daws starts to find himself noticeably behind the play. It’s not easy to get a 6’ 4” +200lbs frame back into proper positioning quickly and Daws has yet to find a way to do so.
When it comes to the actual mechanics of moving this is where Daws has done well positioning himself for the future. This past off-season he changed his diet and realized being a goalie at +220lbs is just too much mass to move around in a sport that is requiring goalies to become better at moving in the crease. It doesn’t matter how smart you are, if you can’t move the saves will be few and far between. What Daws’ has done is refined his movement so at the very least it’s efficient. He understands he’s not a speed demon in net but what he can be is efficient and have his body moving properly so whatever speed he loses because of his frame he makes up some ground on through knowing effectively how to get from Point A to Point B. He has a very solid base in terms of mechanics that can continue to be refined giving him the ability to one day play in the NHL and not be torn apart by the quick movement there. A part of this base is keeping his large frame together as one unit. He does well ensuring that his upper body isn’t dragging his lower body back. It’s intimidating to shooters because despite the long limbs there are rarely holes opening up to put the puck through him. Daws knows his movement limits and what he is physically capable of doing what he can to make sure he doesn’t need to overstretch those limits putting him at a significant disadvantage.
Daws is more of a passive puck tracker rather than being on the active side. He plays a patient, calm game and likes forcing the play through those aspects to come to him. He likes to frustrate opposing players into taking shots through his positioning that he achieves with having a good eye for where the puck is on the ice. You can’t play the way Daws does without knowing where the puck is which is why he is highly successful rather than struggling. He has no issues seeing over bodies even in a semi-relaxed stance and is capable of fighting through screens knowing that as long as he sees the shot release he’ll have the best positioning he can have. Where there were some questionable moments in his tracking is shots aimed at the blocker side with the timing of saves. Otherwise he’s above average at moving shots into non-dangerous areas at a good rate.
Daws will turn 20yo before 2021 which puts him in line to join the AHL in his DY+2. This is important for two reasons. The first being he just dominated the OHL and it’s time to move onto a new challenge which can either be provided in the AHL or ECHL. Preferably the AHL though. Secondly goalies that end up in the AHL in their DY+2 make the NHL 57% of the time which is a relatively high chance. Daws will certainly be tempting for a team looking to immediately add a quality prospect to the AHL.
5. Calle Clang
Team: Rogle BK J20
League: SuperElit
DOB: May 20, 2002
Height: 6’ 2”
Weight: 176 lbs
Nationality: Sweden
If Jesper Wallstedt didn’t exist Calle Clang would be getting quite the spotlight as Sweden’s newest hotshot goalie prospect. As it is though Clang shares a birth year with Wallstedt meaning he’s always behind the next potential Top 10 pick of the NHL Draft in every international tournament taking away the opportunity to shine in front of scouts. Despite that though Clang is a talented goalie in his own right earning the spot right behind Wallstedt in all of those tournaments as well as earning the fifth spot on these rankings. Even without the accolades in international tournaments Clang has had a successful season showing his talent and worth to be taken in the top 3 rounds of the draft.
Clang is another quality product of the Swedish goalie development system exemplifying the best aspects of it. He possesses the technical tools and understanding of the modern techniques of goalies. Despite having the quickness to be aggressive when he wants to be even when the situation might not necessarily call for it he avoids the temptation to overplay his depth. Depending on the pace of play he’ll toe the line between being active and passive as he has the know how to do both. When the pace of play is average/slow he finds it easy to calm and wait for the opposing team to make the first move. When the pace of play starts getting higher is when he starts to waver between trying to figure out if it's best to employ an active style of play or a passive style of play. This can lead to him being loose in how he plays opening up holes but when he employs his active style of play correctly he’s capable of making saves not possible being passive and hoping your technique is enough. What he’ll need to refine as he moves through his career is finding the balance between the two because he has the skills to do both. This is in part because of not completely trusting his reads which has him thinking he needs to be active when he can still employ a semi-active/passive style of play to face the threat. Becoming more consistent and trusting his reads will allow him to take better advantage of his good positioning and technical ability.
What lets Clang be successful despite some inconsistencies in how he reads/approaches the game he has his positioning to fall back on as well as his physical talents. He’s right there with Joel Blomqvist in terms of just overall quickness. Clang has very few issues with keeping up with the play if it’s a question of movement speed. He’s your typical Swedish quality goalie prospect as he possesses the ability to keep up with the play on his feet when he needs to. He’s also just as capable of getting low and putting a heavy usage on his edges to keep up with the play. If he needs to make a quick direction change he possesses the edge control necessary to stop, quickly load and then push to keep up with the puck movement. There’s very little to nitpick about Clang’s quickness and overall movement speed. He doesn’t possess the top end speed that Askarov and Commesso have but as long as he’s not getting crazy with his positioning he won’t need it.
What helps make Clang dangerous and be active or passive is he has highly developed mechanics. He’s just so smooth when doing any sort of movement in the crease. It looks effortless because he knows which body parts to use to make the most of his movement. He’s able to manipulate his edges to recover quickly because there’s no wasted movement. Even when he starts getting active he knows what his limits are and how to push his body to make the movements necessary to make any save even the more difficult ones. He gets the most out of his body turning that into efficient movement which helps to mask that he’s only above average in his quickness but makes it look like he’s a bit faster than he is because he doesn’t need to do anything extra to get to where he wants to be and set. His mechanics ensure that he doesn’t end up completely out of the play and is able to regain some sort of positioning in a good time span.
When he’s staying calm and trusting his ability to read the play it benefits his puck tracking. The less he has to fight to see the puck the better he does in keeping up with the play and keep his positioning. At this level he’s able to get away with some misreading of the play and have it be covered up by his physical skills but will need to refine it a bit more to take away the need for that reliance. On shot tracking he’s for the most part quite good turning away pucks into non-dangerous areas with ease. Still there are some noticeable moments where he’ll know where the puck is going but mistime the active save leading to some big rebounds. With some added calmness and trust in his game Clang can minimize that issue but it’s not always the easiest when you want to be active in net. The upside though is that he generally does well in reacting and tracking the rebound giving him at least a decent chance at making that 2nd save. He’s also quite the active goalie in identifying threats and being vocal in his communication to teammates. Definitely one aspect of his activeness that teams will hope he improves a lot on or just cuts out completely is when it comes to puck handling. He loves playing the puck but isn’t as good as he thinks he is leading to very risky situations.
There’s not quite the polish on Clang that there is on the goalies in front of him but he’s not far off. The Swedish goalie development program has shown it can help a lot in polishing a goalies game and Clang has all the tools there, just needs that extra help in refining them. His talent is already carrying him past the Superelit league and he’ll be spending the year with Kristianstads IK of the Allsvenskan league. If you trust in the Swedish development program he’s an easy goalie to take more than likely bringing him over to the AHL in his DY+4 and will be looking to make the jump not much longer after that, probably DY+6. Probably looking at a good tandem goalie or low end starter but of course there’s always the chance he exceeds or fails those expectations.
6. Artur Akhtyamov
Team: Irbis Kazan
League: MHL
DOB: October 31, 2001
Height: 6’ 2”
Weight: 170 lbs
Nationality: Russia
If there’s a goalie in this draft with more raw potential than Artur Akhtyamov I’ve yet to see them play. If everything comes together for him he could very well be the 2nd best goalie to come out of this draft as he has that much talent ready to be refined and put to use. Being a late birthday you’d have a bit more hope that Akhtyamov would be more refined but he’s been consistent in his results where in his U18 season in the MHL he had a 0.921 SV% followed up with a 0.931 SV% last year. Now he’s in the VHL where in three starts he has a 0.974 SV%. Obviously unsustainable unless this is the last VHL action he sees all year but it goes to show that he’s continuing to find success and that his raw potential will win over someone sooner rather than later.
Where his rawness certainly shows up is in how he reads the play and his base understanding of the technical portions of the game. You can see in his play that while he’s processing the play he doesn’t quite know the best possible way to deal with every situation. There’s a definite reliance on his physical skill set as he knows if it starts going downhill or he makes a mistake in his positioning he can always fall back on what he does best. Generally he does fine getting himself squared up with the puck though where his positioning starts to become inconsistent is in his depth control. Likes getting aggressive in his challenges which leads to situations where even he can’t retreat back quick enough to repel a drive to the net or a lateral pass across the royal road. He knows where he needs to be in the crease, he just likes to get aggressive and really challenge the shooter to make a really good shot. The issue he’s going to run into the higher levels of hockey he gets is that the puck carrier is going to start either skating around him or making a pass catching him out of position. What provides additional hope is that he also has a good understanding of the techniques necessary to succeed at the higher levels of hockey. It’s just a question of applying them consistently and refining his implementation of them.
Where Akhtyamov earns this 6th spot in the rankings is in his physical skills. He surpasses everyone in this draft class except for Askarov and the majority of NHL goalie prospects in his movement abilities. He’s ridiculously quick in everything he does that involves him moving his body. Just like Askarov it’s almost unfair how Akhtyamov is able to get around the crease, react, and just in general move his body so quickly. Doesn’t even matter how he chooses to move around the net where it’s through shuffles, t-pushes, or slides. Even when he’s already on his knees he’s able to manipulate his edges to keep him quick. He’s the type of goalie that’s never really out of the play because he has long limbs on his 6’ 2” body and his quickness allows him to have a good chance of getting something in front of the puck in the most dire of situations. What goes along with his quickness that allows him to be so effective is his level of control. Specifically when he plays on his edges. He’s able to make those quick stops and direction changes with little wasted movement. He’s able to make quick and effective recoveries even if he’s putting himself a bit further out of the crease than he needs to. He’s able to have such a wide base in his stance when he’s getting set for the shot because he can either hold his edges or make the necessary movements to stay with the play.
In order to achieve these high heights in his movement he needs to have the mechanics to pull all of this off or else he’d be flopping around like an uncoordinated fish. It’s not refined to the point that other goalies on this list are at such pretty much every goalie in front of him but Akhtyamov isn’t bad in any sense of the word. The reason he’s able to control his edges so well is because he knows how to control his body. There is a certain amount of rawness in his game which is why there is the need for adjustment after moving every so often but even his adjustments are well done ensuring that the rest of his body that is in position isn’t disturbed. For someone that has the long limbs that he does he keeps them under control relatively well. They’ll be a point of improvement as he develops further as his hands/arms are a little bit too active at times when he’s moving. Reducing this will see him cut down also on the amount of time he needs to adjust his positioning once he’s reached the spot his movement has taken him to. There’s a good chance he’ll never be the excellent in precision, smoothness, quickness that Andrei Vasilevskiy has or Yaroslav Askarov is looking like he’s headed towards however he has the potential to get close and minimize the issue that it’ll have if he ever makes it to the NHL.
Like essentially every other part of Akhtyamov’s game his tracking is raw but there’s a lot there that is on the track to being refined into a fine weapon or at least something that can be minimized into an almost non-issue. He’s an active tracker which goes into his active style of play. He has very few issues with getting into his stance and moving himself/his head to keep an eye on the puck. Like any goalie being this active he’ll lose sight of it every so often but he always fights to regain sight of the puck and with how quick his body moves he’s able to readjust his positioning before any extra space is taken advantage of. Where his active tracking runs into issues is when it comes to shots. He can be too active in his tracking throwing off his hand placement and almost ends up waving his arms around trying to get them in place. This doesn’t happen every time but it happens a noticeable amount of times and will need to trust his shot tracking more to prevent those big rebounds or goals where he just misses it with his hands.
If you want a wild card goalie that could either provide your team with a surprisingly high level starter or never develop enough to leave the KHL than Akhtyamov is your guy. With the amount of success he’s had, the high end skills he already has, and the ability to develop the rest of his game he’s easily the most intriguing goalie of the draft. It’s almost to put a timeline on him but he’s probably a bit longer of a development project in the realm of an Ilya Sorokin where the payoff is worth it at the end.
7. Jan Bednar
Team: HC Banik Sokolov
League: Czech2
DOB: August 26, 2002
Height: 6’ 4”
Weight: 196 lbs
Nationality: Czechia
Maybe one of the more difficult goalies to get a grasp on in this draft is Jan Bednar. Has all the size and physical skills you could want in a goalie but the inconsistency is concerning. Following in the footsteps of Lukas Dostal and Jakub Skarek, Bendar spent his U18 season in the Czech 2nd league with some more time in the top Czech league. Numbers wise it was unimpressive with under 0.890 SV% in both leagues. Considering how Bednar plays and how raw he is it’s not exactly surprising though. Somewhat following fellow countryman (and pretty comparable size/style) Dan Vladar, Bednar is heading to North America though instead of the USHL it’ll be the QMJHL with the Acadie-Bathurst Titans where he’ll be working with first time QMJHL goalie coach Adrien Lemay. With Bednar we’re definitely moving into more wild card territory with the hope that despite being able to probably have a dominant season through his physical skills he’ll be able to develop the other weaknesses in his game to better prepare himself for the rigours of the AHL/NHL.
He's very aware of what makes him successful and almost too aware at times leading to overreliance. He knows that he's a physically gifted goalie with a large frame and likes to use it as much as possible. This leads to Bednar getting too aggressive on a consistent basis which is exploited by the smarter players he faces. He loves giving shooters his large frame to try and pick corners on as he knows if there’s a 6’ 4” ~200lbs body covering the net that shooter is going to have a difficult time picking their spot. So he has a good base of understanding of positioning he just needs to consistently trust that staying a bit further back won’t hurt because he’ll still be covering a lot of net. Does well enough on his reads that they don’t hurt him the majority of the time. Being a wound up spring though ready to react to anything there are a few noticeable moments each game where he reacts to a pass as if it’s a shot and drops. Hopefully being in the QMJHL Bednar will develop a more helpful level of calmness trusting his reads rather than being completely reactive. What you won’t have to worry about with Bednar is he’s perfectly fine with being creative in his save selection. He gets the technical part of the game enough that it can be developed further but his main goal is just stop the puck and worry about the rebound when it happens.
As mentioned above Bednar is quite talented in the physical skill set area of the game. It’s impressive just how quick he’s able to move such a large frame in a short span of time. His best asset is his edge manipulation. He does very well pushing off his edges to get across the net among the best of his fellow draft eligible goalie prospects. Does even quite well at stopping himself where he wants to stop. There’s very little over sliding or missing of his positional target. A personal favourite of his of course is using his edges to get out to the top of his crease to challenge the shooter taking them by surprise to see the whole net just gone. His core strength allows him quick movement from his stance to his knees and back up again ensuring both halves of the net are properly protected. His reactions are quick. He’s perfectly capable of throwing a limb or any part of his body in front of the puck in a rush if he has to. Or just using his edges to get his frame back in position after a puck direction change. Having such a large frame though does have some effect on his movement specifically when it comes to his shuffles and t-pushes. To put it simply it’s clunky movement. He’s able to power through it so it’s good enough for the current level of play however if there’s no improvement he’ll find himself at a disadvantage the higher he goes. He’s obviously aware of the discrepancies between his edges and footwork which is why he prefers to slide whenever he can.
As just mentioned Bednar struggles to get his body to work smoothly when performing simple shuffles and t-pushes. His whole body is noticeably more loud when compared to when he’s sliding. He’s going to have to work on refining those mechanics because consistently giving up the top portion of the net due to sliding so much is going to hurt him the more talented of shooters he faces. When you’re arriving in position on your feet the way Bednar does you’re either sacrificing your overall positioning or sacrificing speed. Bednar leans on the side of sacrificing positioning taking the chance he’s big enough to just make saves with his body. When it comes to his slides though that’s where Bednar is at his best in using his body to execute smooth movement. There’s very little improvement needed with how he’s able to into a slide and either come out of it or stop when he’s still in the slide. An area where there will need to be some improvement is in his post play in terms of integrating into the post and moving off of it as well.
Without his tracking Bednar would be further down this ranking because without it he’d just be a big body that moves quickly. Bednar has a good eye for tracking the puck. It’s rare he loses track of the puck and is a big reason why he’s able to use his large frame effectively. He always knows where the puck is so he’s always able to get squared up enough at least with it. As the shooter about to get the puck you’re essentially just hoping a hole opens up in his body or you can put it over him as the puck reaches your stick. Shot tracking is usually good but noticeably struggles on screens sometimes not even seeing the shot along with a few bad rebounds here and there. Though those can sometimes just be attributed to overreliance on size or throwing out technique and trusting he can get in front of the rebound.
Bednar is a tough one to get a good read on. This upcoming season will show a lot about where Bednar is headed. As we’ve seen with a goalie with comparable talents to Bednar in Dan Vladar he’s going to be a long term project. If a team has the patience and Bednar is open to learning about how to make himself more effective you’ll get something good out of him.
8. Jesper Vikman
Team: AIK J20
League: SuperElit
DOB: March 11, 2002
Height: 6’ 3”
Weight: 176 lbs
Nationality: Sweden
So here’s where we start moving off what are considered the consensus goalies of the 2020 NHL Draft and it begins with Jesper Vikman. The Swedish goalie had a respectable 2019/20 campaign in the SuperElit league and when he was called up to the Allsvenskan he had a decent call up getting three starts. Barring injuries Vikman will spend the next season back in the U20 Nationell (formerly SuperElit) league which is ideal for his development. As with every goalie at this point in the rankings you’re more than likely looking at a longer development path due to the flaws they’ll have to fix in their games. Vikman is not different but the talent level he possesses makes him a very tempting target starting in the 4th round range.
What immediately stands out about Vikman’s game is how well he’s taken to Swedish goalie coaching. He’s quite well versed and implements these techniques quite well. He’s ahead of the curve compared to his age group and in among some of the better goalies. His positioning is smart in terms of how he approaches every situation on the ice. Every time he moves to get into position to deal with whatever threat is coming into the zone or when he’s following each threat around the ice you know for the most part that you won’t have to worry about a goal being scored because he’s out of position. He reads, processes and then reacts with a high rate of success in getting himself where he needs to be or preparing himself for whatever situation unfolds. Vikman is also the epitome of being a young goalie with a lack of confidence in his abilities and the inconsistencies that follow. This is apparent when he leans on the wrong side of a screen putting himself at a significant disadvantage or when he’s second guessing his positioning causing him to adjust then need to readjust giving shooters some extra space to make their shots. There’s also the issue of him of when he’s in the RVH he typically likes to stay in the position longer than necessary. He has all the tools to great positioning as he knows where he needs to be in the crease and what a players options are with the puck, he just finds himself in trouble when he loses confidence in his process.
Another Swedish goalie development aspect Vikman has taken to heart is his level of movement. While his frame will be maturing to add a bit more weight on so he’s not so lanky he’s still 6’ 3” and as long as he doesn’t go overboard in adding muscle Vikman will still possess a good level of quickness when he reaches physical maturity. In terms of explosiveness Vikman does struggle in getting off those extremely powerful pushes. He makes up for though in just being consistently quick. He’s fully capable of keeping up with the play when he stays on his feet and by being this quick on his feet he eliminates the need to slide often keeping the top of the net well covered. He does just as well on his edges as he does in his footwork. Possesses good control that lets him be quick in his slides and stop where he needs to. When he’s down on his knees he’s still able to keep up with the play through the use of his edges. Those attributes will need improvement though they aren’t a major concern, just the typical refinement needed from a goalie his age. His ability to hold his edges prevents the need for scrambling and even when he’s forced to scramble he’s still able to use his edges to give him a chance at making that next save.
What makes Vikman’s movement look quicker than it is, is through the usage of his mechanics and smart movement lanes. He cuts down on the time it takes him to get from Point A to Point B because he usually has the optimal path already figured out so the time spent moving is minimal. His mechanics add a boost through smooth movement. There’s little to no wasted movement when Vikman is preparing to move, while he’s moving, and when he’s stopping. This also has the added bonus of frustrating shooters because even in transition Vikman keeps his body quiet and together. It looks effortless as he moves around the net and even through consecutive movements he manages to keep his body together. He’s developed his body to the point where it’s instinct on the best way to transition his body from one type of positioning to another with the only issue popping up is the young goalie inconsistency issue though it’s rare.
His puck tracking is quite good. He doesn’t have the type of positioning he has without having a good eye for the puck. He’s able to use all his physical tools to take advantage of his tracking to ensure he sticks with the puck and whatever movement it makes. When it comes to his shot tracking that is where there will need to be definite improvement. He’s usually active in his save selection as he likes to move pucks into non-dangerous areas. When you choose to play this way though you have to make sure you’re watching the puck all the way to your body and get the timing down right. Otherwise you end up with the issue of mistimed saves leading to goals that should have been saved or rebounds that end up in dangerous areas. This is an issue that Vikman does struggle with. The saving grace for Vikman at this level at least is that he’s very quick at picking up on the rebound and getting positioning on it. As he moves up though there may not be the time to react to those rebounds properly and will need to be better in putting them in areas where the opposing team can’t get them.
At this point of the draft you’re pretty much looking at every goalie having a long development path. In the case of Vikman if you’re happy with how he’s taken to the Swedish goalie development model so far and have faith in the development model past the U20 stage Vikman is a decent goalie to put your bets on. There’s a lot of skill there but also needs a lot of maturing and refining.
9. Nick Malik
Team: Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds
League: OHL
DOB: April 26, 2002
Height: 6’ 0”
Weight: 174 lbs
Nationality: Czechia
If you’re looking for the 2020 NHL Draft’s version of Dustin Wolf, Nick Malik is probably the goalie closest to him though obviously not the same as last year we had Dustin Wolf ranked 5th while Malik is 9th. A lot of that has to do with the fact that Malik didn’t really get a lot of opportunity to showcase himself. He spent the ⅔’s of the season in the 2nd Czech league and while he posted a 0.927 SV% he was only given 19 games. Looking for more consistent ice time Malik crossed over to join the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds in the OHL. Had a bit of rocky start getting used to the angles, the style of play, and the fact the Greyhounds leaked scoring chances against at a high rate. Malik finished strong in his last 4 games (Sarnia/London/Sudbury/Flint) to give himself a final stat line of 14 starts, 32.99 SA/60, 0.500 QS% and a -0.081 GSAA/30. It’s a bit of a unique stat line which currently doesn’t give many comparables. Best comparables (not taking into account height): Nico Daws, Kyle Keyser, Zacharie Émond. So not a lot of goalies that have made it to the NHL but at least went on to have productive CHL careers. When you’re thinking about Malik you’re counting on him having figured out the NA game and the last 4 games of last year were closer to his skill level than the middle part.
What gives Malik a chance at being a NHLer one day, and draws the comparison to Wolf, is he knows he’s at a disadvantage height wise therefore needs to play in a way that minimizes that as much as he can. He understands the need to stay on his feet as much as possible and stay tall. He can’t afford to give up much over the shoulder. As he progressed in the OHL he became better and better at finding optimal crease depth ensuring that he wasn’t completely vulnerable to passing plays as well not giving up the top part of the net. What he also worked on in his short time in the OHL was finding the balance between using his high octane motor and staying patient in net. By the time the end of the season hit he had found a better balance than when he first joined the OHL using his activeness when it was required rather than just being completely reactionary. He came to be more trusting in his reads knowing he had the ability to react quickly through his physical skills. From this his overall positioning benefitted forcing the puck carrier to make the first move. What will be important moving forward is continuing to find that balance as when you possess that high end motor you just want to move around the net freely.
If there’s an area that Malik is among the best of this group in is his overall movement. You want a goalie that is ridiculously quick in getting around the net and reacting to whatever is thrown at him, Malik is your goalie. His shuffles and t-pushes are as fast as getting him around the net as some goalies slides are. Malik doesn’t have to worry about ending up behind the play when he’s on his feet which is why he’s able to maintain a tall stance. He’s also very capable of dropping to his knees and get back up again before some goalies even get to their knees. He excels just as much on his edges as he does on his feet. His slides are well controlled and quick. If he needs to make a quick direction change he can do that as well. His edge manipulation extends to when he’s on his knees and needs to move quickly. Knowing he has these abilities gives him the confidence to hold his edges and then adjust quickly if he needs to. More trust will lead to more control and he can cut down on the overly active moments where he moves too much.
Malik is quite effective in his mechanics for a goalie that can play at the high paces that he manages to hit when he wants to. Even when he’s moving like a mad man in net he’s still able to keep himself under a decent level of control. He has a good understanding of how to use his body to get the most out of his movement and keep some semblance of positioning. He does just fine at keeping his body together when his movement is only needed at an above average level of pace. Naturally the faster he needs to go the more it starts to come apart but you’ll struggle to find a goalie that can hit Malik’s top speed and still maintain near perfect positioning. His mechanics ensure that Malik can recover from any position quickly and give himself some sort of chance at the puck. The only concern of note would be his post-to-post movement on his feet sees him over rotate taking away speed and just keep refining his positioning while he’s moving.
His tracking is good to the point where it actually feeds into how overly active Malik can get. He’s seeing the puck making all these movements and tends to get very focused on it leading that aforementioned over activeness. He can still be a great puck tracker but he needs to pull part of his focus away from the puck and be more aware of the play happening around him. Something he’ll need to work on finding something that works for him is seeing the pucks through screens or bodies. On his shot tracking he does generally well but the crux of the issue is he wants to be active in moving pucks into non-dangerous areas. When he first came into the OHL it was an issue of flat out missing shots or putting them in dangerous areas. The issue has progressed into something more manageable as he’s trying to move pucks into non-dangerous areas but sometimes it backfires and ends up in a dangerous area. Still the improvement that’s been made and still be made is promising.
Not as polished as Wolf was in his draft but Malik holds a lot of the same abilities. If there’s a small goalie this draft you want to take a chance on then he’s a great choice. This next season will go a long way in seeing where Malik is headed as a goalie prospect.
10. Devon Levi
Team: Carleton Place Canadians
League: CCHL
DOB: December 27, 2001
Height: 6’ 0”
Weight: 183 lbs
Nationality: Canada
I am speed. If this goalie draft class was a character from the movie trilogy Cars, Devon Levi would be Lightning McQueen from the first one. All about being fast and has had a very sharp rise up the rankings into the spotlight. In his U18 season Levi was busy playing in Quebec Major Midget AAA. This season he moved to the CCHL and stole the show in Canadian Major Junior Hockey. Here’s just a quick summary of his awards this year: CCHL Top Goalie, CCHL MVP, CCHL Top Prospect, CCHL 1st All-Star Team, CJHL Top Goalie, CJHL MVP, CJHL Top Rookie, WJAC MVP. He came, he saw, he conquered and now Levi is off to Northeastern University where he should have a fair shot at being the starter. Northeastern also has the distinction of having developed another goalie prospect recently in Cayden Primeau. Levi is interesting because he’s an exciting goalie prospect where the main question is just what can translate to the AHL/NHL levels.
Watching Levi is in essence watching a goalie doing a tightrope walking act. There’s an understanding in Levi that he knows he’s not a big goalie therefore needing to do what he can to minimize his size disadvantage but he also knows what works the best for him which isn’t always possible to make work at the pro level. Has a good base of knowing where he should be positioning himself in the crease that can be improved upon as long as he’s receptive to change. Due to him being wound up like a spring he does have some issues in being fully set which sees him drift either toward the puck carrier or drift back further into his net. Levi does know he needs to keep the top of the net covered as much as possible so he does his best to stay on his feet. You can see it can be a bit of a struggle though as he loves using the strength of his edges, getting low and ready to keep the bottom of the ice covered. Reigning himself in, adding more patience and trusting the technical/positioning part of his game will be his biggest task in terms of development.
As previously mentioned Levi can move very quickly to the point where it almost looks reckless like he just got in the driver’s seat of a vehicle that can hit 300km/h and he wants to reach that limit as much as often. When he’s getting close to or reaching his highest levels of movement quickness he does noticeably lose control causing over sliding or his form just completely falling apart. What saves Levi is even if he’s quickly losing his body positioning he’s able to put himself back together and even if his upper body is out of position he doesn’t lose any speed. He does have a good level of control in his movement when he keeps his movement speed in that above average to good area. His form stays together and positioning doesn’t suffer. Has a good explosive part to his game that can be considered surprising at just well he can launch himself across the crease while still maintaining some semblance of control. While his edges are an important part of why he’s so good in his movement they do need improvement when it comes to stopping himself in position on lateral movements as he currently has to adjust his positioning when he arrives.
His upper body movement mechanics need the most work. More control and a quiet upper body when moving when he starts to pick up speed will help a lot in his overall control of his movement without needing to consistently adjust to his upper body potentially putting him off balance. His lower body movement mechanics need refinement as any young goalie does, especially one that is as active as Levi. However, where he’s at now is impressive. He activates the necessary muscles to move as quickly as he does as easily as your average person takes a step. For Levi moving as quick as he does is impressively instinctual. Any more control he can add would help his overall game but sometimes you just like seeing a goalie let loose which Levi is quite capable of.
He either knows where the puck is or where it’s going. Does have some noticeable struggles with getting too focused on the puck causing him to become that overly active goalie. However that’s fixable with him putting more trust in the technical parts of the game as well as his reads. If he isn’t able to minimize those moments he’ll still be relatively fine and have a chance at a NHL career because of just how quick he is to regain that positioning. His shot tracking is just as impressive giving him those quick reflexes necessary to make saves on deflections in close. He does quite well in moving the puck into non-dangerous areas and when the rebound does manage to end up in a dangerous area he gets in front of it quickly. His active tracking has benefitted him so far obviously but there are biological limits on how fast you can move your head while still maintaining sight of the puck the whole time. For Levi it’ll be a question of finding the moments to be more passive in his tracking especially when getting to the NHL level.
Levi should be in contention for a WJC spot with Team Canada come this December where we’ll get to see what he’s done with his time off. The key focus with Levi is separating the fact that he’s fantastic but that needs to translate to the highest levels of hockey. It can be a struggle when you play like Levi does where playing small doesn’t hurt now but if you don’t adjust enough NHL/AHL shooters will find those holes easily. If you like talent though then Levi has more than enough to make him a pick.
11. Vsevolod Skotnikov
Team: Zvezda Moskva
League: VHL
DOB: September 21, 2001
Height: 6’ 0”
Weight: 176 lbs
Nationality: Russia
Probably won’t find a goalie more confident in their abilities than Vsevolod Skotnikov. Also is quite the intriguing goalie bringing up the rear on a good Russian draft class. Was on a tear in the MHL playoffs last season before the shutdown and has earned himself a spot in the VHL full time this year. As a prospect he’s progressing nicely putting himself in contention for a WJC spot. Where Skotnikov finds his success is being very good at some aspects that they cover up for some other parts of his game. Skotnikov essentially you’re average pick when you start getting into the 5th round and further in that there are some very tempting parts of his game but when you look at his weaknesses it’s why you put pause on taking him early and wait until later to consider him.
The one thing that Skotnikov doesn’t lack is confidence. He’s very confident in his ability to read the play, in his ability to track the puck, and where he positions himself. This confidence is important because he can’t afford to be second guessing himself. He can’t waste time adjusting his positioning when he arrives to a spot because he doesn’t have the physical skills to make that adjustment quickly enough without being caught out of position. Knowing this he ensures he has good positioning keeping his crease depth at an optimal depth to give him some kind of a chance at stopping the puck if there’s a pass. Does have some moments where he’ll decide to cheat on the face-off and line up with the most obvious receiver of a face-off pass rather than with the face-off dot itself. His positioning extends to how well he keeps his form together when he’s moving to try and keep the amount of area available to the shooter to a minimum despite the smaller frame.
His movement is where he struggles the most. He’s just not a quick goalie which when you’re on the smaller side makes things difficult especially as you get to the higher levels when you need to keep up with the play. He does have a good explosive portion to his game which gives him some chance on those tough lateral passes though these strong pushes do come at a cost to his control which is why they aren’t used more often. Skotnikov also does well in choosing the more efficient and shorter paths to keep the time he’s travelling down. Currently his level of control and average movement crease speed is good enough for this level. The large ice and the play being kept to the outside helps a lot in forcing the puck to travel for longer enabling Skotnikov to keep up with the play. When the pace of play does pick up or the play starts getting more in close his lack of speed shows up more noticeably.
Despite his passive, patient style of play he is an active tracker. He almost has to be because of the height disadvantage needing to consistently keep an eye on the puck. Does a lot of tracking in a relaxed stance because he trusts his reads and tracking to let him know when he needs to get into his stance. His active tracking shows well on screen shots where he does well in moving the puck into non-dangerous areas. Where there are some noticeable moments of struggle is when it comes to shots aimed at his pads. There’s almost an internal struggle going on deciding whether to be active or passive in his save selections. When he’s choosing to be passive he’s not putting himself in a position for the puck to go to a non-dangerous area and it’s instead ending up in front for a juicy rebound or on the weak side.
Skotnikov is interesting because he has a very good understanding of the technical and positional parts of the game. He also possesses a confidence in his game that is very fun to see. When looking at how he’ll translate to the NHL in the future he has a long way to go on the movement side of the game. You just can’t afford to be on the smaller side and not fast. The hope with Skotnikov will be he can fit into a team system that plays to his style or hope he’s just smart enough to figure it out.
12. Dylan Garand
Team: Kamloops Blazers
League: WHL
DOB: June 7, 2002
Height: 6’ 1”
Weight: 170 lbs
Nationality: Canada
Smaller goalie from the WHL that was a starter in his draft year? Maybe another Dustin Wolf type prospect? Play style wise he’s closer to a mixture of Wolf and Trent Miner from last year's draft. Statistically Garand finished the season with 40 starts, 27.82 SA/60, 0.675 QS%, and a 0.593 GSAA/30. The goalies in his height range that played in the CHL in their DY that posted a similar statline consist of: Zach Fucale, Michael DiPietro, and Colten Ellis. Lot of recent players which unfortunately shows the limits of the database so far but at least gives us an idea of the type of goalies that are posting similar numbers. Regardless it was quite the good season and he’s at least earned a mention for the Canadian WJC team.
Garand shows a good understanding of what it’ll take for him to make it to the pro levels. His positioning is quite good in controlling his crease depth and putting himself in optimal positions in the crease to be prepared for shots or passes. Despite having a good set of physical skills he understands the importance of positioning and cutting down as much as possible on his size disadvantage. Where Garand starts running into issues specifically in terms of projection past the junior level is that he tends to make himself small when he doesn’t need to. His stance in particular isn’t a very tall one which leaves noticeable room over the shoulder. He tends to fall into the trap of going into the RVH early giving up a lot of room up high especially for the shooters that await at the pro levels. While it is good that Garand isn’t afraid to get conservative in his crease depth you’d like to see him hold his ground a bit more aggressively. With how compact and tight his form is Garand is forcing the shooter to aim around him but with his size he’s offering a fair amount of room around him that while at the junior level it can be difficult to exploit with how quick Garand can be better goalies than him have had pucks blown past them at higher levels.
An added weapon to Garand’s positioning is his movement. It’s above average in its speed and well controlled. He ensures that there is limited to no wasted movement. He gets to where he wants to be and is able to get set quickly with little to no need to perform any sort of adjustments. Capable of keeping up with the play through his shuffles or t-pushes staying in his stance to give him that positional edge even while he’s moving. His slides are essentially the same. Keeps his form tight and controls his slides quite well which lend well to his positioning making it difficult on the shooters. Shows well in his edge work as he’s able to control his movement when there’s a direction change to keep up with it. Does well in holding his edges and keeps himself from scrambling or going into desperation mode as he knows he doesn’t have the size or additional quickness to be successful in scrambling often.
His tracking is good in all aspects. He always knows where the puck and where it’s going allowing him to achieve his precise positioning. His shot tracking is at the same level allowing him to make saves he has a lower chance of making as well as moving pucks into non-dangerous areas at a high rate. Naturally though there are some inconsistencies and missed moments when he has issues in seeing the shot fully to his body. For the most part though he keeps those moments to the minimum. He is more on the passive side for tracking so it does bring up the question of when the pace gets higher can he process the game at a higher pace.
Your opinion on Garand will vary greatly depending on how you view players/goalies that are good at a lot of things but not great at anything. Garand will go on to have a very good junior career but there will need to be a significant shift in how he plays in order to be effective at the pro level. If he doesn’t end up making into the NHL he should be quite effective in Europe on the bigger ice.
13. Johan Strom
Team: Västerås IK J20
League: SuperElit
DOB: January 21, 2002
Height: 6’ 4”
Weight: 185 lbs
Nationality: Sweden
Johan Strom is actually a favourite of someone I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with and they pointed him out to me. Obviously ending up at 13th shows not as big of a fan here but he’s that typical late round pick you’re going to notice an unintended trend of for these last three goalies. With Strom it’s a tantalizing package of that Swedish style of play combined with an impressive frame. It’s a long shot bet, as are all late rounds picks, but with Strom you’re hoping the chance to develop for a longer time in Sweden than if he were in the CHL will help him solidify his noticeable strengths while minimizing his weaknesses. If you’re ok with waiting a while for a goalie prospect and are looking to shore up your prospect pool Strom is a good pick. What stands about Strom other than his large frame is how he thinks the game. Despite being a young goalie he has a thorough understanding of the in and outs of the position. He understands the importance positioning plays in the modern game and turns that into consistently smart positioning choices. He’s able to read and process the play well in order to turn that into the more optimal positioning all the while knowing what the most likely outcome is based on where the puck carrier is as well as everyone else. He knows what his physical limitations are and does well staying within them. Only in desperation moments does he push himself to try and be the type of goalie he is not. Otherwise he’s quite comfortable trusting in his positioning and reads of the play to give him the best chance to make saves. What adds to the success Strom sees in his positioning is his ability to keep up and stay on his feet for the majority of the game. He doesn’t need to use slides often because of how he moves while on his feet. He knows with the large frame that he has he doesn’t need to move a whole lot due to just how much net he covers. He keeps his form together well enough while moving no presenting shooters with any large additional with which to sneak the puck through. His shuffles and t-pushes are quite smooth due in part to smooth movement mechanics. Where Strom noticeably struggles is when it comes to using his edges. It’s just inconsistent when he’s trying to activate his edges where you don’t know what will happen when he goes into a slide. He could be lacking the power to get across, lacking the control to stop himself where he needs to be, his form starts to fall apart causing his body to lose positioning, opening up holes for shooters to aim at, etc. His average movement/reaction speed does start to harm him the closer the play gets to him. He’s still trying to get used to being 6’ 4” and +180lbs so currently his in-close reaction speed is off making it hard for him to close holes that are available. There’s more than one aspect that feeds into positioning and there’s still one we haven’t touched on which is Strom’s puck tracking. He does pretty well in combining his reads and tracking to always give him the knowledge of where the puck is or where it’s going. This allows him to react accordingly and the reason he’s so good in his positioning is his reads/tracking ensure he doesn’t need to waste time/energy getting to where he needs to be. Where he struggles is in his shot tracking which is inconsistent to say the least. He’s seeing the shot come off of the stick but there are noticeable moments he either loses track of it as it heads to the net or he’s guessing at the speed its coming in at. Aimed at the right place this results in a goal while best case scenario is a bad rebound. Strom will need to fix this to succeed as he moves further as you especially can’t allow bad rebounds when you struggle to be quick to reacting to the puck when it’s in-close. With Strom you’re betting on his size and intelligence to carry him forward while he’s hopefully able to develop his weaknesses into something that is at least mitigated. For his edge work the hope there will be he eventually settles into his size and is able to focus on improving his edges. Having them as less of a liability will be important. The same goes with his reaction speed where you hope this isn’t as fast as he’s going to be and it’s just a result of him getting used to all this height/weight.
14. Victor Ostman
Team: Chicago Steel
League: USHL
DOB: October 3, 2000
Height: 6’ 4”
Weight: 197 lbs
Nationality: Sweden
The Chicago Steel were an absolute powerhouse team in the USHL this year and Victor Ostman was not the most important part but he more than held up his end of the bargain. While Ostman is an overager in the same way that Nico Daws is, it's certainly not an issue as Ostman is in a good spot in his development. He got to play behind a team that made his life easier but showed he can shut it down when he’s asked to. His play earned him a spot on the University of Maine team where he won’t be handed the starting job but has a good chance at it with his competition being Vancouver Canucks prospect Matthew Thiessen and undrafted Connor Androlewicz. This is also the same organization that helped develop Jeremy Swayman. In a very general sense it’s the same bet you’re taking on Johan Strom, large goalie that has developed well in the Swedish development system though there’s some big flaws that have dropped him down to 14th.
He’s a good student of the Swedish goalie development system. The way he squares up to the shooter and positions himself in net is quite good. Essentially what you’d expect from a Swedish goalie. He was taught how to use his size and he has at the very least a good base of knowledge as to how best to get the most out of size. He understands how to read the play and where he needs to be based on where the shooter is. What Ostman will need to work on is that while he understands the advantages of his size, he doesn’t tend to understand that it’s an advantage, not something that will carry him for the rest of his career. There’s a consistent overreliance on his size at the current level that will be chipped away at the higher levels he gets to especially if he doesn’t work to develop his other parts of the game. When you go down and stay down on your knees for long periods of time even if you’re 6’ 4” there’s still net available.
For a goalie that is 6’ 4” and ~200lbs he doesn’t need to be very quick and he isn’t. He’s also not slow either. He fits nicely into that average speed category. When he’s on his feet he does quite well with keeping up with the play no matter how he decides to move on his feet. This can be frustrating to see because of how much more effective he’d be if he just stayed on his feet more. The skill is there to get it done. Overall his edge work is well controlled which is on the impressive side considering how big he is. It’s not always the easiest to keep that much force controlled because he can get off some powerful pushes on his slides when he wants to while also being able to stop himself where he needs to. It’s once he’s on his knees that the problems really begin to start. Ostman isn’t only giving up the top part of the net but he’s giving up movement speed as well. He won’t be out of position when he’s moving on his knees because he can’t control where he’s going. He’ll end up out of position because he’s not moving quick enough.
When it comes to tracking the puck Ostman is more on the active side of the coin. He likes having the comfort of always having his head attached to the puck allowing him to react in the way that he sees fit. So while it’s easy to be passive in your tracking when you’re 6’ 4” it’s comforting to see him be willing to fight and see through bodies successfully when it comes down to it. Does well in seeing the shot coming off the stick of shooters but once again runs into the issue of size overreliance. He’s completely passive, letting his size do the work creating a rebound problem especially when the shot is aimed at the lower portion of the net. Is going to need to find a way to either move pucks into the corner when he decides to be passive or is going to have to add more active save selections into his toolbox.
With Ostman he’s almost the opposite of Strom in terms of strengths/weaknesses. With Strom you’re making a bet based on his size/intelligence combination. With Ostman your bet is on going to a good NCAA program and his size/movement ability.
15. Owen Bennett
Team: Guelph Storm
League: OHL
DOB: April 11, 2002
Height: 6’ 3”
Weight: 202 lbs
Nationality: Canada
Every year there’s a goalie that has a pro-type frame but being so young they grew into to it quickly and don’t know quite how to use it. This year that goalie is Owen Bennett of the Guelph Storm. With the success of Nico Daws exploding as a top prospect this year there’s the definite hope that Bennett being on the same team with the same goalie coaching will help him achieve the relatively same results. It was a so-so year for Bennett statistically on a team that generally bled shots against. Bennett finished the year with 27 starts, 32.95 SA/60, 0.519 QS%, and a -0.219 GSAA/30. There were bright spots throughout the season with Bennett where he showed when he is able to put it all together such as when Nico Daws left for the WJC. Getting regular starter minutes could prove to be the experience he needs to make those next steps.
Shows a good understanding for the position and how to best approach each situation. He knows where he needs to be in the crease both in terms of being squared up with the shooter and in terms of his crease depth. Bennett knows how he needs to position himself to be best prepared for each shot. He understands the importance of playing on his feet as much as possible and shows the level of patience needed to play on his feet as much as he does. Bennett shows an understanding that he knows about his weaknesses and how best to maximize his strengths to best develop his game for the pro level. Where Bennett starts to his rawness is in his execution of his reads and positioning. He gets his body to where it needs to be in the crease but doesn’t always know how to best prepare himself to get ready for a pass or his body isn’t always positioned properly for the shot. This all stems from not quite being comfortable in his own frame yet. Once he stops growing and is able to just focus on the frame he has the hope is he’ll be able to be more effective in using it.
Where it shows the most that Bennett is still trying to get used to his large frame is when it comes to his movement. He’s a bit on the slower side but doesn’t need to be too much faster due to his size. Understands he needs to find the more efficient paths to getting into optimal position and does mostly well in executing this. Bennett understands that with the lack of speed he’s able to keep his form together when moving so at least it minimizes the chance that a puck goes through him while in transition. Moves best when he’s on his feet and is quite effective for someone his size. He’s done well refining his movement on his feet to make it smooth enough for this level, offering up the opportunity to develop it into more of a strength. When he starts going into his slides and playing on his knees is when he noticeably starts to struggle. His first push is good but the speed of which he recovers back to his feet is noticeably going to hurt him against the faster/better shooting teams.
In terms of tracking he’s good enough for this level with room for improvement. A big reason why Bennett is able to have the successful positioning he has is through a good combination of reads and puck tracking. He derives his patience from his ability of knowing where the puck is and having a good idea of where the puck could be headed to next. His shot tracking is a mixed bag. When he’s showing confidence in his ability to control his body at a high level he’s quite active at moving pucks into non-dangerous areas at a noticeable successful rate. When he struggles with getting his body to do what he wants his timing is off leaving rebounds in dangerous spots on the ice.
When it comes down to thinking about drafting Bennett you’re hoping his issues mainly stem from having a pro sized body at 17 that he isn’t quite used to yet. You’re also thinking about the situation he’s in. If he learned anything from Nico Daws who went through the same thing it could bode well for Bennett’s future success. The reason Bennett falls this far and most likely into the 7th round is while the potential is there, the results haven’t been. You can show potential all day but eventually there needs to be results.
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