Tier B – Possible NHL Goalie
6. Lukas Parik / L / MAR 01 / Liberec / Czech U19
Baseball catcher’s mitt style glove hand. Efficient movement in the butterfly with a tall posture. Has semblances of the Luongo all-limbs butterfly style but without the absurd athleticism. Parik worries me with squeaky goals and a bigger five-hole but the potential is there. Tweaks and growth can cover that.
7. Mads Sogaard / L / DEC 00 / Medicine Hat / WHL
Mads moves well not just for his size (6’7”) but in general. He gets out to play the puck and keeps it simple. Of course with his size, he can gobble up pucks. I was higher on him to start the year but if the Russian netminders don’t do it for you, he is quickly in the top selections for goalies.
8. Dustin Wolf / L / APR 01 / Everett / WHL
Doing a solid job following Carter Hart. Technique over sheer talent. Plays behind a good defensive team, and a team that develops goalies well. Rebound control (blocks, doesn’t eat pucks) is a point to work on, as is his head movement when he goes down. Good angles, skating, and a good development team should help all that.
9. Taylor Gauthier / R / FEB 01 / Prince George / WHL
Catches with his right. Plays very much like a Hextall/Mike Smith goalie: a lot of sweeping pucks, swatting pucks, and kicking pucks. Does not cover puck much. Big triangle five-hole, but makes the big saves with aggressive nature and quick reflexes. A style change or learning to limit the open net could unlock a lot of potential.
10. Kari Piiroinen / L / JUL 01 / Windsor / OHL
Young for the draft class, and a goalie who struggled to adapt his angles to the OHL rink. Strong base with active stick work and tracking. Piiroinen seemed a bit behind play this year, but I’m hedging that learning curve is over. Long term, I gut-feel it comes together, and see CHL or Liiga development roads as both possible, which allows flexibility.