Is There a Canadian Crisis In The Crease?

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"I've said it before but why is it Canada never has a goalie that steals the show? We are horrible at picking goalies for this team."

That's a quote from a friend of mine in a recent email. He is amazingly patriotic and passionate, but obviously making a blanket statement like that shows he's more tin man then scarecrow after meeting with the Wizard.

His memory is shorter then it would take anyone riding the stick Tiger Williams style to get planted in the WHL.

That Canada hasn't had a goaltender steal the show in recent years is true, but never is bit much.

Top 5 Tuesday - 5 Rookies/5 Leagues

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There are a number of rookies who are turning heads all over North America. Here are 5 guys from different leagues and levels who are off to a great start as we near December. Some are known, others will be some day soon.

QMJHL Update

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Lots of news from the QMJHL this week, and it isn’t all good.

I’m going to start with the good stuff, and if you want controversy, dirt, and gossip you’ll have to click through for more!

Goalie Jake Allen of the defending champion Drummondville Voltigeurs is red hot right now. The league named him defensive player of the month Tuesday after he went 11-1 with a 1.59 goals-against average and .945 save percentage. After back-to-back shutouts, he finally allowed a goal Sunday, stopping his shutout streak at 188 minutes, 47 seconds, second-longest in league history.

It’s nice to see the St. Louis Blues prospect hasn’t hung his head since Canada’s disappointing loss in the gold-medal game at the world junior championship. Allen leads the league with a 2.30 GAA and .920 SP.

In other good news, top NHL draft prospect Kirill Kabanov of the Moncton Wildcats is back in action after missing most of the season with a wrist injury.

The 17-year-old from Moscow scored in his first two games back, and had four points in four games heading into Tuesday’s action. While he’s played just 15 games thanks to the injury and transfer problems from Russia, he’s tallied 18 points and sits No. 7 on the International Scouting Services ranking of eligible draft prospects.

“He’s played pretty solid hockey considering that he missed almost 40 games,” said Moncton coach and director of hockey operations Danny Flynn, who thought he might lose Kabanov for the season at one point.

Blues Prospect Snap Shot

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The Blues were born in 1967 and played in the Stanley Cup Finals in each of their first three years of existence. Although the team has never captured the Stanley Cup, the Blues do hold a prestigious achievement in that they qualified for the playoffs every spring from 1980 to 2004.

St. Louis has struggled the last few years but has turned the on-ice misfortunes of the team into a windfall of top youngsters vying for a roll with the organization. Thanks to a combination of poor performance and shrewd asset management, the Blues have drafted in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft 7 times in just the last 4 years.

Here is a look at some of the top prospects in the system for the St. Louis Blues...

CHL Trade Frenzy Gaining Steam

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The CHL trade deadlines are rapidly coming up and as with the NHL, the deals are rolling in at an increasing pace. With the World Junior Championship now in the rear view mirror, big name players have already been dealt and there will be more to come in the next few days.

Here is a bit of a recap of some of the notable trades we've seen in the last few weeks.

TPS Reset - Oct 27th

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If you missed Tuesday's edition of The Pipeline Show, don't worry, that's what audio archives are for! Here is what you missed:

Dean and I were very excited to have been able to line up Theoren Fleury for the program. (OK, credit Dean for doing all the legwork on setting that interview up). Fleury has been on a whirlwind, cross-Canada book tour to promote his sold out autobiography called Playing With Fire. We were pleased to have been able to speak with the former Calgary Flames forward for two full segments and he spoke on several subjects. Of course he discussed the motivation behind writing the book and his coming forward in regards to acknowledging that he was abused by his former coach Graham James. Much of his life is now dedicated to helping others who have, or are, facing similar stories. For more on that subject we encourage you to visit his website HERE

We also talked to Fleury about other less-heavy subjects like his fond memories of his junior hockey career with the Moose Jaw Warriors and his experiences at the World Junior Championship playing for Team Canada. Of course Fleury was a catalyst for the Punch-Up at Piestany in 1987 and also a part of the gold medal winning squad the next year. To Hear both segments we had with Theo Fleury, click HERE .

Every week on The Pipeline Show we like to introduce fans to another player eligible for the next NHL Entry Draft. One such 2010 player is Joey Hishon of the Owen Sound Attack. Although he's currently injured, Hishon is, in our mind, a player to watch for this season. He played in the U18 tournament in Fargo last April but oddly enough, wasn't a part of Canada's summer entry to the Ivan Hlinka tournament. Hishon touches on that as well as many other subjects including his foot injury. You can hear everything that Hishon had to say by clicking HERE

Last year we spoke with coach Mark Carlson before the 2008 WJAC in Camrose, a tournament that his American squad went on to win. The problem with that interview was that it came just days before his team roster was formally announced so he couldn't say a whole lot about the make up of the team. This year we had no such problem so we got a great amount of information about what Team USHL, er... Team USA will look like this year in PEI. Carlson talks specifically about several players including his goaltending tandem, a pair of USHL netminders with less that exciting stats right now in that league. David Gerths is the only returning player but there are several others he is expecting big things from at the tournament. Hear what coach Carlson said about his sqaud by clicking HERE .

Last but not least, we had a conversation with goaltender Jake Allen. Allen is the marquee player with the Montreal Juniors of the QMJHL, he's a 2nd round pick of the St. Louis Blues and he's quite probably the starter for Canada at the 2010 WJC in Saskatoon/Regina.. We had lots to talk to Allen about and he had lots to say; hear it all by clicking HERE.

Canada Q-Less?

Yes... that IS Justin Timberlake as a French goalie from the ridiculously bad Love Guru. Why is he on display here at Coming Down the Pipe? Because he's another Q product that's not going to make the WJC team either.

Zero returning players, one goalie, one blueliner and 3 forwards invited. That's the total contribution to Canada's 2009 World Junior camp which begins later this week in Ottawa. It's almost unthinkable to imagine but could this possibly be the year where there isn't a single player from the QMJHL that makes the team?

My first thought is that Hockey Canada wouldn't allow that to happen simply for political reasons - the uproar out East would be enormous.

My second thought is whether Hockey Canada would really take a player from the Q simply for that reason. Surely someone from the five players invited is good enough to earn a spot on his own merit but I'm willing to bet that if there is just one guy who makes it... someone is going to raise an eyebrow and declare that guy to be "the token Q representative".

The goalie in question is Jake Allen. This time last year no one outside of Newfoundland new who he was because he was stuck playing behind Timo Pielmeier with the Fog Devils. Once he got to the U18's though it was a different story and thanks to an outstanding tournament in Moscow (capped off with an 8-0 shutout in the final game) Allen is a legit contender for a roster spot.

Allen was a 2nd round pick by St. Louis last June and since the team relocated to Montreal, he's been the go-to guy in net (Pielmeier is now in Shawinigan). Allen's numbers a solid but not mind-blowing by any stretch of the imagination; 2.92 GAA, .919 SV% and 13 wins in 24 games played.

On his side he has fresh success with Hockey Canada and head coach Pat Quinn, both of which are a big deal. Working against him is his age, he's the youngest of the four invitees as the only '90 born of the group. There will be some who suggest that unless he's clearly in the top 2 then he should be cut with the knowledge that he'll be a frontrunner for the job next year.

On the other hand, the conspiracy theorists might point out that if you were going to go the "token Q player" route... the back up goalie spot would be an easy place to do it.

The only blueliner from the Q is Kevin Marshall of the Quebec Remparts. Marshall took part in the tryout camp in 2008 for Prague as well but fell short of making the final roster. The 2nd round draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2007, Marshall is a 6'1, 207 lbs defence first kind of guy. His career high for points is 35, earned last season while still a member of the Lewiston Maineiacs.

It's just my personal opinion but I don't have any trouble putting 8 of the other 13 rearguards at camp ahead of him on my depth chart.

Up front Patrice Cormier of the Rimouski Oceanic, according to Hockey's Future writer and TPS contributor Kevin Forbes, is "by far a much more complete player (than teammate Phil Cornet), able to make room for those less eager for the physical battles to show their stuff. I suspect that's why Cormier gets the invite, as he'll be competing for a third/fourth line spot".

Cormier fought through a myriad of injuries last year but the New Jersey Devils rolled the dice and grabbed him in the second round anyway. So far this year Cormier has 24 points in 27 games but, as Forbes and some others have said, points probably aren't why the forward is part of this camp.

I've never seen him play so I can't tell how he compares to guys like Stefan Della Rovere, Jamie Arniel, Brett Sonne, Riley Nash or Dana Tyrell but I know the last three names I just mentioned bring more to the table than simply an ability to check. However, Cormier's ace in the hole might be that at 6'2 and 205 lbs... he might be the biggest forward at camp.

Chris Didomenico, a 6th round pick of the Maple Leafs in 2007, enjoyed a 95-point campaign with Saint John last year. This season he's off to another good start with 34 points in 26 games. He was originally named to the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge but had to sit out due to "a lower body injury" that had him on the shelf for a couple of weeks.

It will be interesting to see how he matches up with some of the other offensive players in camp, assuming that is the role he'd be expected to fill for Canada. CHL guru Peter Loubardias will guest on The Pipeline Show tomorrow night and will be able to tell us much more about Didomenico and his chances of sticking.

Last but certainly not least is Angelo Esposito who has one last chance to try and crack the WJC roster. He's never really come close so is there any reason to think this year will be any different? Motivation certainly has to be a thing of the past as failure to make the squad would mean getting cut 4 years in a row.

Still, it's not like he's ripping up the scoring race in the Q this season; his 24 points in 20 games sounds great but doesn't put him in the top 50 - and yes I know he's played fewer games than most.

Is Esposito really a more deserving invite than say Ottawa 67's forward Logan Couture? They have similar point production and neither have had any success cracking the WJC roster in the past but this year it is being held in Couture's backyard.

It will be interesting to see how the 5 QMJHL players make out this week. For some reason I think Didomenico has the best shot but I won't be surprised at all to see Jake Allen joining him on the final roster.

Just my opinion though, what's your's?

Top 5 Goalies for 2008

To me they are the big wildcard every year because you can never really be sure that a team is going to take a goalie. I've talked to some NHL scouts who are of the opinion that in the cap era you don't need to draft a goalie at all because there will always be ones available. I've also talked to scouts who say that the only way you'll get an elite goalie is to draft and develop one yourself.

In a conversation that the Edmonton Journal's Jim Matheson and I had with New Jersey Devils GM Lou Lamoriello right before Christmas he told us "I think today you have a better chance of finding someone than you did yesterday because of the rules regarding the CBA and free agency with the number of games goalies have to play compared to forwards. We would always prefer to, if we can, draft our own and develop our own and have him come along that way."

With that in mind I don't know that we can positively say that team X will take a goalie or that team Y positively will not draft one or when or where in the draft a goalie selection makes more or less sense.

Here are The Pipeline Show's top 5 goalies for the 2008 NHL Entry Draft... and yes, I know I'm actually listing 6... That's just how we do things around here. The links are to the bio pages for each keeper and the extra little tidbits or comments made here are our thoughts and remarks.

#1 Chet Pickard - Tri City Americans

He's a Manitoba kid so obviously Millard has him already slated as a future Hall of Famer. Pickard was fantastic all year for the Americans but even better than that in the playoffs where he had a 1.78 GAA, .937 SV % and 11-3-2 record. The Canadian prominently features Captain America on his mask, a design submitted by a kid in a local contest. I like his size at 6'2 and 210 lbs because he's tall but not so tall where he becomes awkward. Oh and the correct pronunciation of the last name is PICK-erd not Pi-CARD.

#2 Thomas McCollum - Guelph Storm

Dean has McCollum second on his list but he actually comes 3rd on my own. I thought McCollum was the best of the four goalies at the Top prospects game but quite honestly, none of them really played very well. His numbers were actually a bit worse in each category than in 2006-07 but still pretty good. Also has good size at 6'2 and 205 lbs so really there might not be much to seperate he and Pickard in that sense.

#3 Jacob Markstrom - Brynas & Sweden U18

I have the Swede in the second spot on my list but Deano has him like this, at number 3. Scouts I talked to had nothing but outstanding things to say about his performance at the U18 tournament in April. I personally won't be stunned if Markstrom turns out to be the first goalie chosen although both Millard and I have only 1 goalie going in round 1 in our mock (and it isn't this guy). He's 6'3 and 180 lbs so room to fill out still but has great height already. Could be the guy for Sweden at the next World Junior Championship in Ottawa now that Enstrom is too old (if I got that right).

#4 Jake Allen - St. John's & Canada U18

He kind of came out of nowhere at the U18 tournament but his 8-0 shutout of the Russians in the gold medal game and his play even before that has him high on many mock drafts. Allen is a New Brunswick native and is another 6'2 keeper available this year. We had Jake on as a guest back on May 6th and you can hear that interview here. After playing back up all year we expect Allen to have a breakout year with the Montreal Juniors next season.

#5 Dustin Tokarski - Spokane Chiefs

We mentioned how strong Pickard's stats were in the playoffs but even they pale in comparison to what Tokarski put together. A 1.38 GAA and .944 save percentage during the WHL playoffs and then his stellar performance at the Memorial Cup that earned him the award as tournament MVP. So what's the downside? He's smaller at 5'11 and 185 lbs and he played on a defensively strong team so some scouts believe he and his stats were more of a product of that than he was. 'Tick' was also a guest on TPS on May 27th.

Honorable Mention: Harri Sateri - Tappara & Finland U18

How can you have a draft without a notable netminder from Finland? You can't because the Scandinavian country has been a goalie factory for the last decade and a half and still churns more out every year. This year the best Finn available is Sateri who has solid size at 6'1 and 190 lbs. He was much higher on most lists earlier in the year but if he's lost ground in the rankings it's more to do with the rise of others than his own performance dropping off much. The catchy rhyming name is a marketing campaign waiting to happen... how long before he's called Harri "Carrey" Sateri?

Wedensday we will unveil our Top 5 Overage Players who should get serious consideration this year after going undrafted through a previous draft.