That is not nice Queenie-5-hole, lol Mackenzie Deadwood or Mackenzie Blackhole ?? JK I really like Blackwood but the Flyers will not ruin Hart. All the deadwood like Hakstol, Hextall, Laviolette who refused to play Bobrovsky, all those losers are gone and Fletch and AV know how to handle things going forward. Looking forward to Hart vs Blackwood, Hart vs Samsonov, etc Going to some great battles
- joegreif17

I hope you’re right and I like the reasoning. This is a different style Flyers team.

You guys have been waiting a long time since you had a real stud goalie. Good luck! (Except when you play us).

Not saying you aren't correct in the assessment of Hart, but I don't feel it's accurate to say Shesterkin or Sorokin were in developmental stages while dominating the best league of their home country.

'developmental stages' is a phrase that's open to interpretation

but i think if you asked most people they would tell you that a prospect playing outside the NHL is still in their developmental stage as an NHL prospect

I hope you’re right and I like the reasoning. This is a different style Flyers team.

You guys have been waiting a long time since you had a real stud goalie. Good luck! (Except when you play us).
- Queenie_5_hole

It is. And Hart will benefit from that.

That being said, the Flyers were a poopshow when Hart arrived last year. He came in and won 8 straight games at one point, at a time when all the other goalies on the team were struggling to string together even back to back wins.

To help this discussion I'm listing these goalies from youngest to oldest, and counting their NHL games played:

Carter Hart: 21 - 74GP
Mackenzie Blackwood: 23 - 70GP
Ilya Samsonov: 23 - 26GP
Igor Shesterkin: 24 - 12GP
Ilya Sorokin: 24 - 0GP
Tristan Jarry: 24 - 62GP
Elvis Merzlikins: 25 - 33GP
- Coburns_Nose

So in the argument of who has the best young goalie we are establishing Hart is the youngest. At least its something we can all agree on!

So in the argument of who has the best young goalie we are establishing Hart is the youngest. At least its something we can all agree on!

- Queenie_5_hole

They’re all good and somewhat unproven. But as a Ranger fan, I couldn’t trade Shesty for any of the names listed. I’ve seen enough already to know he’s the real deal. And his previous seasons cannot be dismissed. 116-25 pro record or something like that, has never been done by anyone. Hart looks to be second imo. Samsonov got lit up by the rangers (Zib 5 goal game) the one game I saw him play in its entirety, so my opinion on him isn’t great 🤷🏻‍♂️ He’s clearly taking the reigns from Holtby tho

Blackwood and Merzlikins look to be number ones for sure, which is fine for those teams.

In any event, this division is going to be a gauntlet for years with these goalies

'developmental stages' is a phrase that's open to interpretation

but i think if you asked most people they would tell you that a prospect playing outside the NHL is still in their developmental stage as an NHL prospect
- Coburns_Nose

Not unreasonable.
I would counter that some big stars from the KHL have come over and become pretty big stars in the NHL. And Shesterkin's (and even more so Sorokin's) numbers over there were obscene.
Anyway, I get that we are both going to back our goalie's while respecting the other's. And I think either of us could easily end up being (more) correct!

So in the argument of who has the best young goalie we are establishing Hart is the youngest. At least its something we can all agree on!

- Queenie_5_hole

i chose to submit that list without comment to give us some objective data because in my experience on HB debates deteriorate quickly without it

Context folks.

The thing about Merzlikins is that every goalie in Columbus seems to put up good stats because of how the team plays. Look at Bobrovsky's numbers in Columbus compared to his numbers in Florida. He leaves and people thought Korpisalo would be a big step down. Nope, he looked good. Then he got hurt and Merzlikins came in and looked good.

I'm not saying they aren't good goalies, but we need to look at Merzlikins' performance in context.

To put Shesterkin's performance in context... he's put up good numbers at the KHL and AHL level. It's not that hard to put up a high save percentage in the KHL, but it's not easy to do it in the AHL. .934 SV% and 1.90 GAA in the AHL over 25 games is impressive. His 12 game stint with the Rangers was impressive too, though it's worth noting that his run coincided with the Rangers playing their best hockey of the season. It was exciting seeing the Rangers go on a run and threaten to steal somebody's playoff spot.

I’m cheating and posting straight from wiki for a sec...

Hart was named both the WHL Player of the Year and Goalie of the Year for the 2017–18 WHL season after he compiled a 1.60 GAA, a 0.947 save percentage and seven shutouts.[9][10] In addition to being named WHL Goalie of the Year for the 2017–18 season, he was named CHL Goaltender of the Year for the second time, the first being in 2016. He was the first goaltender in CHL history to win the award twice.[11]

Hart's junior career will be remembered as one of the best careers in junior hockey history[citation needed]. In parts of five seasons, he boasts a 116–46–19 record, with a 2.01 GAA, a .927 save percentage and 26 shutouts, the latter tied for most in CHL history.[12]

Now why is that relevant, you might ask? Because he’s still just 21, that’s why. Oh, and that GAA was a clear goal better than 2nd

And furthermore, what’s he ripped off like 2 streaks of 8+ in a row? Top 5 all time in both instances?

Yeah, we knew he was struggling away from home a bit, but he sure wasn’t down that stretch before they stopped the season. He was lights out.

His play is that of a 27 year old in their prime. His poise is fantastic, he can make the flashy stop, but even more impressive is his ability to know where the puck is coming from. He’s usually square to the shooter.

That’s my homer assessment for now. I think Shesty and Sorokin will be elite. Samsonov and Jarry have a chance. Blackwood could have a lengthy career. I dunno about Elvis yet. I could see that guy have a Vezina type year one season, and then never be heard of again. No idea.

It honestly would surprise me if in two season that three of these guys are in the top 8 in the NHL. 4 or 5 could be top 10-12.

The Metro is looooaaaaaded in young goalies.

Need a larger sample size to determine the best. The Metro is going to be 10x tougher once all these goalies enter their prime. A lot of OT games..

Elvis turns 26 in less than two weeks. He's older than Andrei Vasilevskiy. Older than Matt Murray. I'm not sure it's really fair to count him as "young" anymore.

Elvis turns 26 in less than two weeks. He's older than Andrei Vasilevskiy. Older than Matt Murray. I'm not sure it's really fair to count him as "young" anymore.
- Sven22

That's a fair point but even at 26 it's reasonable to think Elvis can provide very high caliber goaltending for the next 4 or 5 seasons. So while he might not fit into the conversation of best young goalie he is another high quality goalie in the Metro everyone's going to have to deal with.

That's a fair point but even at 26 it's reasonable to think Elvis can provide very high caliber goaltending for the next 4 or 5 seasons. So while he might not fit into the conversation of best young goalie he is another high quality goalie in the Metro everyone's going to have to deal with.
- Queenie_5_hole

Fair enough.

Anyway I think the real answer is probably Shesterkin although I am always very cautious about KHL goaltending statistics. The baseline is much higher there, and I think the effect of playing for a powerhouse like SKA is hard to gauge due to the fact that the league has a lot less competitive balance.

Fair enough.

Anyway I think the real answer is probably Shesterkin although I am always very cautious about KHL goaltending statistics. The baseline is much higher there, and I think the effect of playing for a powerhouse like SKA is hard to gauge due to the fact that the league has a lot less competitive balance.
- Sven22

I think it's Igor also. His numbers in the NHL were crazy in the 12 game sample and that includes the on bad game he had vs. the Devils after the car accident injury. He played one game after that vs Dallas and was lights out again.

Sheskerkin BTW faced an average of 33 shots per game.
Blackwood faced an average of 29 shots per game.
Hart faced an average of only 23 shots per game.
Samsonov faced about 24 per game and Elvis faced almost 26.

I think it's Igor also. His numbers in the NHL were crazy in the 12 game sample and that includes the on bad game he had vs. the Devils after the car accident injury. He played one game after that vs Dallas and was lights out again.

Sheskerkin BTW faced an average of 33 shots per game.
Blackwood faced an average of 29 shots per game.
Hart faced an average of only 23 shots per game.
Samsonov faced about 24 per game and Elvis faced almost 26.
- Queenie_5_hole

This is very relevant. We know not all shots are equal. And sometimes it's harder to put up a good SV% when facing fewer shots. I don't have the data to back this up but I feel safe guessing that Blackwood was facing the hardest quality of shots against. NJ was such a mess this year. Going .918 and .915 over 70 games the last two seasons in NJ is impressive.

This is very relevant. We know not all shots are equal. And sometimes it's harder to put up a good SV% when facing fewer shots. I don't have the data to back this up but I feel safe guessing that Blackwood was facing the hardest quality of shots against. NJ was such a mess this year. Going .918 and .915 over 70 games the last two seasons in NJ is impressive.
- Coburns_Nose

Definitely true.
While NYR were getting much better in the last 2 months of the season at keeping teams from getting so many high danger chances, it was certainly not an everyday occurance!!

Best part of this Hotstove??.....No Tanner 👍

Best part of this Hotstove??.....No Tanner 👍
- rrentz

I thought it was everyone having a nice friendly discussion.

I thought it was everyone having a nice friendly discussion.
- Queenie_5_hole

With all that's going on, I figured a bit of normalcy would be nice!...😁

With all that's going on, I figured a bit of normalcy would be nice!...😁
- rrentz

touché.