Bill Meltzer: Meltzer's Musings: On Goalie Drafting and Baked Potatoes

I want them to take fucale. This kid knows how to win. Won a memorial cup and steals games when needed. With mackicnnon and drouin likely gone this year he will play a bigger role in halifax, has been a huge part of their success. He will be ready to play in 2 years. This will give the Flyers another season to make a decision on bryzgalov and mason and the winner will be the number 1. I think this is a risk the flyers can accept as they have been searching for years and counting for a goalie.

Happy Father's Day to all you great dads out there!

Any word on streit negations??

I want them to take fucale. This kid knows how to win. Won a memorial cup and steals games when needed. With mackicnnon and drouin likely gone this year he will play a bigger role in halifax, has been a huge part of their success. He will be ready to play in 2 years. This will give the Flyers another season to make a decision on bryzgalov and mason and the winner will be the number 1. I think this is a risk the flyers can accept as they have been searching for years and counting for a goalie.
- MrPerfect316

I am all for drafting goalies, but the team needs help on D much more than goaltending depth. What is Fucale projected to go? Late first round/early second or can we possibly get him with our 2nd or third picks? If he's there, sure take him.

Any word on streit negations??
- griouxmvp2012

Haven't heard much but my feeling is that it will get done. I just hope it's not too far north of 5 Mil and no more than 3 years.

I want them to take fucale. This kid knows how to win. Won a memorial cup and steals games when needed. With mackicnnon and drouin likely gone this year he will play a bigger role in halifax, has been a huge part of their success. He will be ready to play in 2 years. This will give the Flyers another season to make a decision on bryzgalov and mason and the winner will be the number 1. I think this is a risk the flyers can accept as they have been searching for years and counting for a goalie.
- MrPerfect316

We need a D man to develop or a forward to replace whoever we trade for a D man. No thanks.

Any word on streit negations??
- griouxmvp2012

I think they have to wait for the Briere buyout to be finalized.

Bill Meltzer: Meltzer's Musings: On Goalie Drafting and Baked Potatoes
- bmeltzer

Excellent article Bill!
To me, drafting an 18 year old goalie is much like a baseball team drafting a hitter right out of high school. He may hit the crap out of high school pitchers with an aluminum bat, but it's anyone's guess if he will be able to do the same against a pro pitcher with a wood bat, let alone a major league slider or curve.

I do agree that a goalie should be taken each year, whether in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th round or later really doesn't matter much to me. Heck, Ron Hextall was a 6th round pick I believe, and that worked out pretty well!

I think they have to wait for the Briere buyout to be finalized.
- hereticpride

Yea the buyout period starts 48 hours after the end of the finals and ends on July 5th rite ??

I want them to take fucale. This kid knows how to win. Won a memorial cup and steals games when needed. With mackicnnon and drouin likely gone this year he will play a bigger role in halifax, has been a huge part of their success. He will be ready to play in 2 years. This will give the Flyers another season to make a decision on bryzgalov and mason and the winner will be the number 1. I think this is a risk the flyers can accept as they have been searching for years and counting for a goalie.
- MrPerfect316

Fucale had a save percentage below 90 percent until the final five weeks of the regular season. I like him but not enough to use the 11th overall pick of a deep draft on him. If the Flyers traded down in the first round to the mid-20s, then maybe.

I want them to take fucale. This kid knows how to win. Won a memorial cup and steals games when needed. With mackicnnon and drouin likely gone this year he will play a bigger role in halifax, has been a huge part of their success. He will be ready to play in 2 years. This will give the Flyers another season to make a decision on bryzgalov and mason and the winner will be the number 1. I think this is a risk the flyers can accept as they have been searching for years and counting for a goalie.
- MrPerfect316

Lol, I love how after Bill just got done detailing exactly why it's often foolhardy to take a "consensus best goalie" in a draft, and how goalies take years and years to develop, the very first comment is about drafting Fucale and possibly inserting him into the lineup in 12 months.

I'm hoping that the rapid development/improvement of Anthony Stolarz over the course of this season leads to good things, though it will be a few years from now.

With goalies...really, it's so hard to tell. You just never really know which of those guys is just going to be able to do it, long-term.

You just gotta draft one each year and simply hope for the best -- definitely, the Flyers are owed a break in this regard, at some point.

Lol, I love how after Bill just got done detailing exactly why it's often foolhardy to take a "consensus best goalie" in a draft, and how goalies take years and years to develop, the very first comment is about drafting Fucale and possibly inserting him into the lineup in 12 months.


- Tomahawk

Like bill says Evaluating tenders is an imperfect science but the issue with us is that we are rarely willing to be patient as an org. I like the way Nashville did it the last while. Draft several goalies hoping one will pan out. They had like 4 highly touted tenders and one was rinne who panned out. They took Chet pickard had another prospect whose name escapes me and lindback. The key is they were patient and let it pan out. I go for a dman at 11. Also. If its true that Calgary offered 3 number 1 s for the 1 pick and the Ava shot it down. Wow.

I'm hoping that the rapid development/improvement of Anthony Stolarz over the course of this season leads to good things, though it will be a few years from now.

With goalies...really, it's so hard to tell. You just never really know which of those guys is just going to be able to do it, long-term.

You just gotta draft one each year and simply hope for the best -- definitely, the Flyers are owed a break in this regard, at some point.
- AllInForFlyers

It's hard to believe that the last goalie drafted by the Flyers who developed into a top notch starter for the club was Hextall in 1982. 1982!! I was still in friggin high school back then!!

I'm officially depressed. This blog, + Bob winning the Vezina = a very disappointed Flyers fan.

I like baked potatoes.

Happy father's day Bill and all you hooligans.

Had a Termini bros cannoli last night, all seems right with the world.

I'm officially depressed. This blog, + Bob winning the Vezina = a very disappointed Flyers fan.
- FlyerLifer

this is nauseating when you think about it, we gave him away, & will more than likely have to buy out our starter, no one knows if Bob would have bounced back here, bigger market, more expectations, different team & system, but this is really tough to watch.

this is nauseating when you think about it, we gave him away, & will more than likely have to buy out our starter, no one knows if Bob would have bounced back here, bigger market, more expectations, different team & system, but this is really tough to watch.
- puckhead17

Hopefully it serves as a wake up call that even good goalies cant perform to their potential with the utter lack of team D here.

Hopefully it serves as a wake up call that even good goalies cant perform to their potential with the utter lack of team D here.
- hereticpride

one can only hope, but i don't think it will change the scope, more changes are in store here, I guess if Bob struggled out the gate again the patience factor here, because we want to win now, elevates this cause.
It's not like he went to another big market team & flourished, there's zero pressure where he is & he carried them on his back with really nothing to lose, the lack of pressure maybe helped the mental aspect of his game.

I'm trying to rationalize this, so it's hurts less I guess.

I'm officially depressed. This blog, + Bob winning the Vezina = a very disappointed Flyers fan.
- FlyerLifer

Plus Canucks signing Eriksson

Free agent signings are your best bet. Finding a gem like Cory Schneider is a long hard process when you consider development. He's now 27 (just turned) and just making his mark as a number one. What's the average age of today's NHL goaltenders?

Plus Canucks signing Eriksson
- Boinker

no offense, but again, no one knew with Bob & Eriksson could wind up being Jonas Gustaffson (the monster), who knows??

I do know that if they wind up handing Mason the job & if his game returns to where it was or at least can prove he was no fluke at seasons end, what Bob does in Columbus won't hurt the way it does now.

I'm starting to sour some on the Streit move, if you look at the majority of teams that won the cup recently, or at least went deep into the playoffs, one thing they all had in common, besides a solid defensive team game, is a topnotch #1 defenseman.

this is nauseating when you think about it, we gave him away, & will more than likely have to buy out our starter, no one knows if Bob would have bounced back here, bigger market, more expectations, different team & system, but this is really tough to watch.
- puckhead17

I remember when we had bob his first year. He went into Pitt and spoiled their opener at the new arena. I said maybe this guy is for real. A magazine I used to get called goalies world did a detailed analysis of his style and technique. They said the flyers have a tender in this guy even though he had a few things to work on as many young tenders do. I actually posted it on here. Sure enough we give up on him too soon and here we are. Oh well. If mason turns out to be he guy it will be forgotten.

I remember when we had bob his first year. He went into Pitt and spoiled their opener at the new arena. I said maybe this guy is for real. A magazine I used to get called goalies world did a detailed analysis of his style and technique. They said the flyers have a tender in this guy even though he had a few things to work on as many young tenders do. I actually posted it on here. Sure enough we give up on him too soon and here we are. Oh well. If mason turns out to be he guy it will be forgotten.
- Hextall271

yes I mentioned that above, but now I'm wondering about what we do with this defense