WHO ARE THE EXPERTS?

Why do we do this? Aren't there enough goalie experts out there? Well....no. The Central Scouting Bureau for the NHL has a Goalie Checklist. Right there on the front page it asks if the goalie "consistently squares to the puck carrier." Really? How about squaring to the puck? This is just one example of what is wrong with the way we train, develop, and evaluate goalies. If its wrong here, then where else? Check out our Final Five rankings using the tabs below. And email us here if you are interested in learning more about a particular goaltender 1



New England Prep

1. Steve Mastalerz - Kimball Union -

Mastalerz has committed to UMass for the fall and he will battle with incumbent Jeff Teglia and freshman Kevin Boyle for minutes. Boyle is playing out in western Canada for former UMass assistant Darren Yopyk. Mastalerz has a good pedigree, serving behind current Maine goalie Martin Oulette a year ago and working out regularly with Mike Buckley of GDS Goaltending (he is also the UMass Goalie Consultant). He was at or near the top in prep hockey in Minutes Played, Save Percentage, and Goals Against. We saw him play against a struggling Deerfield team (with Umass coaches in attendance) and he looked good....but not great. We think he will need some time to acclimate himself.

2. Robert Segin - Gunnery

Right behind Mastalerz in all of the categories mentioned above. We saw him play in the Cushing tournament against Lawrence Academy. Impressive. He faced two breakaways while the game was tied and killed a 5-on-3 when his team was leading. That's what you want from a goalie. He has good size and very athletic. Knows where he is in the net. No word on him committing anywhere yet....really? Someone's missing the boat. UPDATE: Chris Heisenberg reports that Segin has committed to UCONN for the fall

3. Ben Halford - Albany Academy -

We haven't seen him play. But he is right there with Mastalerz and Segin in Minutes Played, Save Percentage, etc. Took his team to the playoffs this year. He was involved in six overtime games this season and WON THEM ALL. Nice.

4. Sean Dougherty - Milton

Milton was the elite team in prep this year with 25 wins. Dougherty was go-to guy and a NEPSIHA All-Star. Who are we to argue.

5. Steve Michalek - Loomis-Chafee-

Michalek led in one category this year...saves. he is a work-horse who has proven himself over the course of the last two years and will play and excel at Harvard. We got to watch him at practice early in the year and he let up 2 goals during the first half hour of drills.

We also like:
Patrick Spano - Westminster
Dave Donzanti - NMH
Gabe Antoni - Salisbury



Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)