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The Best Goalie Free Agent Outside The NHL? |
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Several years ago writers and prospect guys were raving about this little known goalie that had come to the world’s attention with an elite performance in the world junior championships. A true underdog story describes Benjamin Conz. Small, but incredibly quick, Conz stopped 50-60 shots per game for the Swiss making highlight reel saves. He managed to help get the Swiss to the Quarterfinals including the major upset of the Russian squad when he stopped 50 of 52 shots as the Swiss won 3-2 in overtime. The Swiss would eventually lose in the Bronze Medal game in embarrassing fashion, but they had no business being in that game without Conz. He would eventually be awarded the Best Goaltender of the tournament award and be named to the tournament All-Star Team. That was when all the hype was surrounding him and most felt he would be drafted accordingly…that ended up never happening. Conz went undrafted three straight years and remains to this day a free agent. I’d like to give you a little history and an update on Conz and why I feel he’s the best free agent goalie on the market.
Conz was originally draft eligible in the 2009 entry draft. Even then it is kind of surprising he went undrafted despite the obvious issue…his size. Being three days away from being 2010 eligible being born on September 13, he was one of the youngest in the draft class, added to this he was only 5’9 and the NHL was (and still is) leaning towards larger 6’2+ goalies that played the butterfly and not 5’9 quick water bugs like Conz. Despite being a split starter in the NLA the highest level of Swiss hockey and appearing in two U18 WJC’s his lack of size was obviously too steep of a concern for NHL scouts.
More surprising is the fact that he then went undrafted a second time in 2010. This is the year that he won the Best Goalie of the tournament and was named to the All-Star Team of the WJC’s while being the youngest goalie in the tournament as a young 18 year old. He was once again a split starter for his NLA squad, but stole the starting position in the playoffs where he put on a very strong performance. Yet at the end of the day being 5’10 by this point was still too small for somebody to waste a measly 7th rounder on him.
Now even more surprising! In his final year of draft eligibility the 19 year old Conz had another great WJC’s despite the Swiss team having a terrible showing as they couldn’t score any bloody goals against opponents that weren’t complete garbage. Though Conz did help steal 5th place after a great game against Finland who had spanked them earlier. Conz also took over as the starter in Langnau starting nearly all their games. At 19 he had already splayed three full seasons in a professional league and he’s a goalie…just insane. Yet that 5’10 still loomed over him so he yet again went undrafted ending his eligibility. Seriously, not even a 7th on him? Come on…GM’s waste picks on ECHL goon fodder, but won’t give somebody with major upside a sliver of a chance.
This takes us to the present…ish, since there is really nothing special to report from his 2011 season other than he remained the starter on his club and was solid. The 2012 season has brought his name back in the fold for several reasons. One, he was the best goalie in the NLA posting the best save percentage taking Gottéron to the finals where they were eventually edged out by Bern. The 21 year old Conz also seems to have taken some growth hormones, because Gottéron lists him (officially) at 6’1 now…a more than acceptable height for an NHL goalie right? So he still has the extreme quickness and athleticism that made him such an interesting prospect, but now he has more size. His style is unorthodox, but if everybody played the same way shooters would have a pretty easy time finding the weak spots. He remains a free agent.
The NHL has seen a few players go undrafted, plucked from obscurity to rise to become quality players…sometimes All-Stars. Others have been slight disasters or just irrelevances, yet it never hurts to get an asset for free. Here’s a list of some free agent goalies;
Antti Niemi (Won a Cup even if he wasn’t the key component, has had some very strong years as a starter with the Sharks)
Sergei Bobrovsky (Just won a Vezina and the youngest player when signed at 22 out of these guys)
Viktor Fasth (Might be a one hit wonder, but he was very impressive in his first half of a half season)
Ben Scrivens (A split starter this season and has had several strong AHL season, jury is still out but he could be a backup…and for free!)
Jonas Hiller (Has been an NHL All-Star and before his vertigo was well on his way to being a top goalie in the NHL)
Niklas Bäckström (Has been an NHL All-Star, an Olympic starter and has been a consistently strong starting goalie for years)
Jussi Rynnäs (Never got it together consistently in the AHL and has buggered off back to Finland)
Cristopher Nilstorp (Played the year in the AHL for the Stars affiliate…the Stars. Probably won’t do anything at the NHL level)
Jonas Gustavsson (Injuries and inconsistency have made him the butt of many jokes, yet he still is technically in the strictest of terms a “backup” goalie)
Cédrick Desjardins (A good AHL player, at 27 it isn’t looking good for a NHL future)
Niklas Svedberg (Young prospect, had a great season in the AHL, has potential to be a starter)
Eddie Läck (Has been the Canucks AHL starter for a few seasons and is the expected backup for next season)
Martin Jones (Named to the AHL All-Star Team and will likely be the backup for Quick)
Just a taste, but for the most part these kinds of free agent picks have turned out to be decent moves for their clubs and very rarely has it been a bad move…I mean they’re free! Conz with his history, his age and now his amazing season in the NLA should be somebody that teams are looking at.
I’ve decided to discuss some teams I think should sign him and why…obviously even teams with excellent goaltending depth could use more prospects for free, but I’ll keep this relatively short.
Toronto Maple Leafs :
It seems that Toronto is allergic to drafting goalies. Their last draft pick was the previously undrafted 19 year old Antoine Bibeau in the sixth round this past draft. The last time they used a pick inside the first two rounds on a goalie was 2005 with Tuukka Rask. Now with Reimer and Bernier they have two relatively young goalies to fight out who will claim the top spot…or hell go Halak/Elliot and split the games. Yet with Scrivens gone, the aforementioned Rynnäs leaving for Finland and Mark “in da park” Owuya a free agent and crap anyways, the Leafs need goalie prospects. Sparks is decent, sometimes he’s downright amazing but consistency is an issue. He will likely play as the backup in the AHL for AHL veteran Drew MacIntyre. This effectively means that the Leafs currently have two goalie prospects in the entire system and Sparks and Bibeau are no “sure things” like some other goalie prospects. Christopher Gibson was recently signed after not receiving a contract from the LA Kings, though his stock has fallen so far since his draft year he's a reclamation project that will start in the ECHL. Conz would be a perfect fit, the Leafs have shown that they have no problem signing free agent goalies and are in need of both AHL and ECHL goalies (Sparks/Conz could be the starter in the ECHL), and hell the Leafs signed Rynnäs, Scrivens, Owuya, Andrew Engelage and Gustavsson. This seems like a perfect fit.
Chicago Blackhawks :
The Hawks are always looking for goalies on the relatively cheap. They struck gold in Niemi so maybe they can catch lightning in a bottle again? They signed Antti Raanta the 24 year old who won the SM-liiga Best Goaltender, Best Player of the Regular Season and Best Player of the Playoffs winning the championship. He’s expected to play with their AHL affiliate, yet much like any goalie he’s no sure thing and you can never have enough goalie prospects because they really are the hardest to gage players in the entire sports community. Their other goalies of note are all former 7th rounders in overager Mac Carruth and the unpolished giant Brandon Whitney. Carruth will most likely be in the ECHL and Kent Simpson will be in the AHL (21 year old who started in the ECHL last season).
New York Rangers :
King Henrik still has years of elite play ahead of him, but he won’t be around forever, age or even free agency eventually hits each player. The Rangers have drafted very well in recent years in almost all aspects…except goaltending. They have no future number ones in the system barring some kind of miracle. Cam Talbot is their best goalie prospect; he’s had some decent years in the AHL after being signed as a NCAA free agent, but the 26 year old will almost certainly not be a starter in the NHL. Jason Missiaen is 6’8 and covers the net…but is pretty bleh. Conz would do wonders to their goaltending depth.
Dallas Stars :
They have Jack Campbell, hero of the USA, outside of that not much. They lack depth in the worst of ways for goaltending to me. He is however no sure thing despite his draft and international pedigree. He struggled to find his game at the OHL level and was unimpressive in the AHL in his rookie season and lost out to Nilstrop in the playoffs. He’s still 21 though so he has a ways to go and has major potential…then again Conz is 21 too, hey!
If Conz can replicate or even improve on his last season there is no doubt in my mind that he will have NHL eyes on him. He is probably too young to make the Swiss Olympic team who have three good veterans ahead of him, but I wouldn’t doubt that he gets an invite to their camp and a long look given. I really hope he will be picked up by some NHL team, being ostracized for being 5’10 and undrafted despite his extreme youth and consistent high levels of performance is the kind of story I wish to have a happy ending. If he doesn’t make it, who cares? You got him for free.
Thanks for reading, PS yes I did put the Leafs logo for hits…sue me.
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