John Gibson is the top-ranked goaltender in this years NHL Entry Draft and is one of five Pittsburgh area players expected to go in the first two rounds. A staggering number considering the area is usually lucky to have any prospects in the draft, but not so surprising when you remember they were 12 years old when the likes of Sidney Crosby and Marc Andre Fleury came to town.
"When I was little I wasn’t that knowledgeable. Nobody really followed hockey," explained Gibson. "But as the Penguins got better and they started making a name for themselves and after they won the Stanley Cup, hockey really began to come around. A lot more youth programs have come about and a lot more kids are trying it out so I think it’s good for the sport and for the city."
Gibson's love of hockey and more importantly his position as a goaltender started much younger.
"My parents would take me to Pens games when I was like three. So, I was around hockey when I was little and then I watched all the games on TV so I kind of imitated them playing in my living room with the little hockey sticks and I stuck with it," he said.
"I made the transition to goal after my first year on an organized team when I was 6 or 7. I started out playing forward and then defense and then one game I ended up helping the goalie inside the net more than actually playing my position, so my parents thought I should try it and I’ve loved it ever since."
While his natural talent and his athleticism were apparent at an early age, so was his competitive nature.
"When I was on my first in-house team, I’d never gotten a shutout before and I was five seconds away from one and a kid dumped it in from the red line and I let it go right past me," said Gibson. "I was pretty upset about it. I couldn't believe it. I learned the importance of playing until the final buzzer in that moment. It’s something I’ll never forget."
As a young goalie, he said the most difficult part for him to learn was to be ready and mentally stay in the game since you're not always involved in the play like a forward or defenseman is.
"As a goalie you could go for long periods of time with out getting any action and I'd get bored and just skate around when I was little to keep myself entertained," he laughed. "…I don't do that anymore."
As he got older and became one of the standouts in his position, he wanted a bigger challenge and when USA Hockey invited him to be a part of their National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor he didn't have to think twice about accepting.
"Having the best of everything in terms of training tools and the coaches and playing internationally and with the best players in your age group and just pushing yourself to be the best. Why wouldn't you jump at the opportunity to be a part of something like that?" Gibson said.
Over the past two years, Gibson has been able to push himself playing against older, bigger and stronger players in the USHL and in college which has prepared him for the next stop in his life and career.
"I’m just stronger on and off the ice and I’m just a lot better with my details that we work on every day, just the basics of being a goalie and having the opportunity to play against college hockey teams, you’re playing kids that are maybe 4-5 years older than you. So, they’re a lot stronger and they’ll really get you ready for the next step" he explained. "As a person, I matured at a younger age. I can see things in a bigger perspective and to live basically on my own at a young age was obviously beneficial."
Besides playing against older competition, one of the benefits of being part of the NTDP is playing internationally against the best 16 and 17 year olds in the world.
"When you play internationally, you’re competing for your country and you just want to give everything you’ve got to win," said Gibson. "They’ve got a bunch of different players with different styles, just like over here, so you have to change your game a little bit, but it’s some of the best hockey you can find for our age group."
Last month, Gibson and his teammates traveled to Germany for the 2011 IIHF World Under-18 Championship with the challenge of not only winning gold, but winning the third consecutive gold medal for Team USA.
They had a close call against Russia in the preliminary round scoring the game winning goal in the final 21 seconds of regulation, but went undefeated to earn a bye into the semifinals where they'd face Canada. They let a three goal lead slip through their fingers late in the third period, but punched their ticket to the gold medal game with an overtime win.
Against Sweden in the final, they would again find themselves in an undesirable situation - down by two at the start of the third period - but they battled back, forced overtime, became world champions and made history along the way.
"This team… we’ve been together for the past 2 years so we’re basically like brothers. We see each other every day. We go to school together every day. We pull a lot of pranks on each other about which schools we’re going to and just get to have a lot of fun doing little things like that and we all really enjoy it," said Gibson. "I think that's why we are able to play so well together on the ice…I'm really going to miss them."
Gibson, who earned a .925 save percentage and 2.34 goals against average in the tournament, will bring that experience with him down the road as he will head to the University of Michigan as a freshman in the fall.
"It’s definitely easier that I know the area, I’ve been down there a bit so it's a little less stressful coming in as a freshman," explained Gibson. "Mentally, I've already played against college players and know what to expect rather than if you’ve never been there you might be a little nervous. So, I think it gives me a little bit of a confidence boost going in."
Earlier this year, there was speculation that the top-ranked goaltender in this year's NHL draft might play in the OHL with Kitchener, who own his CHL rights, when he de-committed from Ohio State over the summer.
"[Ohio State] got a new coaching staff and I didn’t think that was a good fit. They’re going through some tough times right now and when I go to play college hockey, I want to be on a team that’s going to be a winning team and can win a National Championship. That’s my wish," Gibson said.
"I was thinking about going [to the OHL]. It’s a great league, but playing college hockey…it just seems like a shorter schedule and you’ve gotta play every night. Its just a bit faster and I wanted to go to school because I can’t play hockey forever, so I feel like it’d prepare me for the long run especially being a goalie. It takes them quite a while to get to the next level, to the NHL. In college, you get four years so I don’t have to rush as much, I think, than if I’d go to the OHL."
Now that the NHL draft is around the corner, Gibson is controlling the things he can control and not worrying about what may happen at the Draft.
"I’m a butterfly goalie I do whatever I can to keep the puck out of the net but I use my athleticism and my height to my advantage," he explained. "I think as a goalie [the mental aspect] is a big part of the game because you can let in a bad goal but you can’t let it get you down. You have to be strong mentally, staying with it each and every day, each and every shot. There are times where you don’t get a shot in the game for five minutes but you‘ve got to stay with it and not lose mental focus. So, that's what I'm working on - the details and being dialed in. I'll let the other stuff sort itself out."
He'll have plenty of time to work on the details this summer as he is sure to attend an NHL Development Camp, earn an invite to the US National Junior Team Evaluation Camp this August in Lake Placid and then head to Ann Arbor as the Wolverines start their off ice training soon after.
As Gibson looks to be one of five Pittsburgh area natives to be selected in the the first two rounds, we'll find out which NHL Development Camp he will be attending this summer on June 24th in St Paul at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
Julie
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