NHL Player Power Rankings: Top 20 Goaltenders Under 25 (10-6)
10. Matt Murray, Pittsburgh Penguins (21 years old) 1994-05-25
Murray is a tall, athletic goaltender who possesses immense potential. He is the type of player where the more starts he sees, the higher the quality of his performance. Murray has the potential to be an NHL starter, but needs to gain more starts in the pros and continue to improve his anticipation. He’s got a quick glove and stick, though could stand to upgrade his puck-moving ability, especially when he leaves the net. [Hockey’s Future]
Murray was taken in the third round at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft from OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. He showed improvement in each of his four seasons in the OHL, ending in 2013-14 with a 32-11-6 record, including 2.57 GAA and .921 save percentage. He’s only got one full year of pro experience so far with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, but appeared in 40 games going 25-10-3 with a 1.58 GAA and .941 save percentage. Matt Murray seems to be getting better each and every year, and could soon force the Penguins into an uncomfortable situation.
Matt made his NHL debut in 2015-16, appearing in four games with Pittsburgh, going 2-1-0 with a 1.72GAA and .938 save percentage. He continues to be one of the best netminders in the AHL, posting a 20-9-1 record so far, with a 2.10GAA and .931 save percentage.
9. Joonas Korpisalo, Columbus Blue Jackets (21 years old) 1994-04-28
Korpisalo is a tall and athletic goalie. Covers the net well and able to move smoothly laterally. Has played well and improved steadily in Finnish leagues, but his consistency on higher levels is yet to be tested. [Elite Prospects]
Korpisalo is extremely athletic with the prototypical size to be an NHL goaltender. He relies heavily on his strong legs to move smoothly on the ice and has great speed pipe to pipe. He is not afraid to move out of his crease. The only problem with his aggressive nature is that he has trouble differentiating between when to be aggressive and when to stay at home but that should improve with maturity and experience. Korpisalo has shown perseverance after some adversity and injuries and shows promise playing in Finland’s Liiga as a 20-year-old. [Hockey’s Future]
This 6’3 182lbs Finnish goaltender was selected 62nd overall (3rd round) in 2012. After spending the next three seasons in Finland, Korpisalo made a three game appearance with AHL Springfield towards the end of 2014-15. Playing full-time in 2015-16, Korpisalo began the year with AHL Lake Erie. He posted a record of 5-6-2 with a 2.34GAA and .918 save percentage before getting the call-up to Columbus. Playing fantastic during his NHL stint, Korpisalo is 11-7-2 with a 2.61GAA and .919 save percentage.
8. Louis Domingue, Arizona Coyotes (23 years old) 1992-03-06
Domingue is a big goalie and has the size and athleticism that is so often coveted in the crease. He plays a sound positional game and is able to make the majority of his saves look easy.
2014-15: Domingue made his NHL debut with the Coyotes in a relief appearance January 31st game against Ottawa and earned the win in his first NHL start the next night against Montreal. He appeared in seven NHL games in his third pro season after spending time in both the AHL and the ECHL. Domingue was 1-2-1 with a 2.73 goals against and .911 save percentage for Arizona. He was 11-6-1 with a 2.68 goals against and .908 save percentage in 20 regular season games for the AHL’s Portland Pirates. In five AHL playoff games he was 2-2 with 1 shutout and had a 2.37 goals against and .925 save percentage. He played two ECHL games for Gwinnett and was 1-1 with 1 shutout, posting a 1.01 goals against and .958 save percentage. Domingue was re-signed by Arizona to a one-year contract as a restricted free agent in September 2015. [Hockey’s Future]
He was selected 138th overall (5th round) in 2010 from QMJHL’s Quebec Ramparts. He spent two more seasons in junior before joining ECHL Gwinnett in 2012-13. He also saw a pair of games with AHL Portland. In 2013-14, Domingue only played seven ECHL games, playing the majority of the season with Portland. Much of the same in 2014-15, as Domingue played two games for Gwinnett, and another 20 with AHL Portland. He also appeared in seven games with Arizona last season, going 1-2-1 with a 2.73GAA and .911 save percentage in his NHL debut stint. Joining new AHL affiliate Springfield in 2015-16, Domingue went 6-6-1 with a 2.55GAA and .919 save percentage before getting the call-up to replace Mike Smith. He’s since appeared in 29 games for Arizona, going 12-13-3 with a 2.73GAA and .912 save percentage. Domingue also took him Rookie of the Month honors in January after a hot start. He’s since cooled, sparking rumors that Arizona is on the market to add a goalie.
7. Calvin Pickard, Colorado Avalanche (23 years old) 1992-04-15
Pickard is a technically-sound netminder. He uses his confidence and good goalie instincts to play a simple but smart game. He has shown in the past he is more than capable of being relied upon as a workhorse goalie.
Pickard continues to be the goalie-in-waiting in the Colorado system as Semyon Varlamov has handled the bulk of the starts for the Avalanche. Re-signed to a one-year contract as a restricted free agent in August, 2015, he has shuttled between the Avalanche and new AHL affiliate San Antonio in 2015-16. Pickard is close to being ready for regular NHL duty and had his first career NHL shutout in a game against New Jersey on January 14th. He has the ability to help steal games and make big saves to keep his team in the game. With veteran Reto Berra expected to return from an ankle injury soon Pickard could once again be returned to the AHL but he has shown that he is capable of playing at the NHL level. [Hockey’s Future]
the Avs 2nd rounder from 0000 is the younger brother of 1st round goaltending bust Chet Pickard – Chet is actually having a stellar season in Europe, with hopes of returning to North America.
Calvin has three full seasons of AHL experience and has shown improvement in each season. Last year with Lake Erie, he played 50 games piling up 23 wins with 2.61 GAA and .917 save percentage. He also appeared in 16 games with Colorado going 6-7-0 with 2.35 GAA and .932 save percentage.
The development continued into 2015-16. Pickard is splitting time between AHL San Antonio and Colorado. His AHL record is 9-8-4 with a 2.75GAA and .917 save percentage. His NHL record is 5-3-1 with a 2.68GAA and .917 save percentage. Calvin Pickard is now 11-10-4 with a 2.49GAA, .926 save percentage, and one shutout in his NHL career.
More puck prose: 2016 World Cup of Hockey: Preview, Projected Rosters
6. Linus Ullmark, Buffalo Sabres (22 years old) 1993-07-31
A conservative, yet athletic, reactionary-type goalie who plays in a positional style most closely linked to the modern battle-fly. Doesn’t get rattled, doesn’t take risks, and gets the job done in pressure situations. Possesses very good rebound control. [Curtis Joe]
The former SHL Goalie of the Year is one of Sweden’s top young goaltenders, and is known for his tremendous poise. He is an athletic goalie with a big frame, but also uses his quickness and agility to his advantage. His rebound control is very good, in part due to his strong butterfly. [Hockey’s Future]
Ullmark is a 6’4 212lbs Swedish goaltender who was selected 163rd overall (6th round) in 2012. He spent the next three seasons in Sweden before making the jump to North America in 2015-16. He joined AHL Rochester to open the season, but quickly got a look at the NHL level after Robin Lehner went down. He went 7-10-0 with a 2.58GAA and .915 save percentage over 19 appearances with Buffalo. In Rochester, Ullmark is 6-7-0 with a 2.88GAA and .918 save percentage.
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