Alright, so I said it would maybe be up by Friday, not definitely on Friday. So it’s Monday, and obviously, here it is. Today’s blog takes a look at the last of the four goalies I have decided to analyze: Edward Pasquale. Could he be the man the Islanders draft this year? And yes, I do feel that the Islanders are definitely going to take a goalie in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
Edward Pasquale:
Born November 20th, 1990 in Toronto, Ontario, Edward Pasquale is one of the top-ranked goalies in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Gifted with great size to be a goalie (6’2” – 220 lbs), Pasquale takes up a large portion of the net, and he uses his size to his advantage. Like most Canadian goalies, Pasquale is talented with the puck at his stick, although maybe not as talented as the likes of Martin Brodeur and Rick DiPietro. With focus on a great glove side, and positional play that he is highly touted for, Pasquale has potential to be a great NHL goalie. While his side-to-side movement and rebound control could use some work, there is a reason why he was touted as the number one goalie since the beginning of the 2008-2009 hockey season.
Pasquale currently plays for the Saginaw Spirit of the OHL, and unfortunately for him they were not that great of a team. He faced a tremendous number of shots each night, and he finished the year with a 31-21 record, a .911 save percentage, as well as a 3.11 G.A.A. These numbers, while decent at best, do not reflect his stellar play as much as they reflect an okay at best showing by his team this season.
Justin’s Opinion:
It is very hard to select a goalie out of these top four, considering that the overall talent level for this draft in terms of goaltenders is not the highest it’s ever been, however, it is fairly decent. If I were to rank the goalies in terms of who I would select, it would probably look something like this:
1. 1. Olivier Roy
2. 2. Robin Lehner
3. 3. Edward Pasquale
4. 4. Mikko Koskinen
The reasons for my selections are varying. There is a reason that Olivier Roy won so many awards, such as rookie of the year and defensive player of the year. Mikko Koskinen may be the biggest goalie to ever play in the NHL, but at 6 feet, 7 inches tall, doesn’t that account for the largest five-hole ever? As for Robin Lehner, many professionals believe that the Islanders will select him using one of their second round picks. If they do take him, I would be fine with that, as I believe he will be a great goalie.
Time will tell what path the Islanders choose in terms of goaltending in this years draft, but can you blame us bloggers for constantly speculating about the most important draft in the Islanders recent history?
3 comments:
I'd agree with taking Edward Pasquale first, definitely, but I don't know if I'd put Koskinen last. From what I have heard he is very fast and he has a great glove and great side to side movement. Would you be upset if Snow took a goalie like Koskinen?
-Rob
I think Philly will be a factor as to who will be left in that goaltender category. They need one in their system.
I agree, Netminder. I do think that Philly may be the first team to select a goalie in this draft, however, I still believe that the first goalie will not be taken until the second round. It doesn't make sense to take a goalie in the first round when other phenomenal players are on the board, and especially when the disparity between goalies in this draft (at least the four I listed and maybe one other) isn't that big. I see Philly taking a skater with their first pick, and then maybe looking into a goalie with their second.
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