Calgarypuck Prospect Ranking 2017 - Round 7

[Love]

Dube pt.2

[Stay Golden]

Fox for the win?

[MarkGio]

Originally Posted by FireGilbert

I'm curious about the lack of votes for Rittich both in this round and the previous, especially considering he had better numbers than Gillies.

Is it because he is over a year older than Gillies and some posters do not think he is a prospect with room to grow, or is it a lack of name recognition from only being in the organisation for a year?

Lack of being drafted. Lack of any know major junior or international hockey. I think he was bumped around the Czech league but before that I don't know if anyone knows. Whereas Gillies was a known talent since at least 16-17 years old

[Flamescuprun2018]

Originally Posted by FireGilbert

I'm curious about the lack of votes for Rittich both in this round and the previous, especially considering he had better numbers than Gillies.

Is it because he is over a year older than Gillies and some posters do not think he is a prospect with room to grow, or is it a lack of name recognition from only being in the organisation for a year?

I agree. Rittich very underrated in this poll. No reason for him to fall far down the rankings. His AHL SV% rivals many promising goalie prospects numbers in past two years.

Rk Born Name GP GAA SV%

1 1982 Peter Budaj 60 1.75 0.932
2 1994 Matt Murray 31 2.10 0.931
3 1988 Jhonas Enroth 21 1.91 0.931
4 1986 Brad Thiessen 34 2.09 0.928
5 1992 Scott Wedgewood 32 1.74 0.926
6 1991 Casey DeSmith 35 2.00 0.926
7 1985 Jaroslav Halak 27 2.15 0.925
8 1987 Alex Stalock 55 2.29 0.925
9 1993 Garret Sparks 52 2.23 0.925
10 1989 Thomas McCollum 48 2.29 0.925
11 1995 Juuse Saros 53 2.13 0.924
12 1992 David Rittich 31 2.27 0.924
13 1989 Aaron Dell 40 2.42 0.922
14 1993 Connor Hellebuyck 30 2.49 0.922
15 1992 Anton Forsberg 92 2.33 0.921

Rittich 9th best SV% versus Gillies at 22nd last year.

Source: http://www.sportsnet.ca/960/boomer-m...t-goal-flames/

For his part, Gillies has seen his stock drop somewhat. The onetime Frozen Four MVP sat for stretches at the AHL level with the Stockton Heat happy to ride Rittich, the pleasant surprise. With the NHL roster’s goalie tandem of Mike Smith and Eddie Lack at least theoretically blocking any chance of a backup spot, is Gillies a trade chip to clear a little space in the minors for Parsons in the AHL?

“I haven’t heard anything, but I’m not sure this offseason is done. I’m not saying they’re going to move Gillies, but how many guys do you need?”

[Mister Yamoto]

Originally Posted by FireGilbert

I'm curious about the lack of votes for Rittich both in this round and the previous, especially considering he had better numbers than Gillies.

Is it because he is over a year older than Gillies and some posters do not think he is a prospect with room to grow, or is it a lack of name recognition from only being in the organisation for a year?

The reason Gillies gets the hype that he does is because a lot of posters have spent the last four years bragging about how great he is going to be.

If this was about what players are right now or even based on last season, Rittich would be ahead of Gillies. If Gillies has another so so year, he is gonna fall out of the picture.

And really, all this is is a fun guessing game. Other than true blue chip prospects, none of us have a clue what these players will be. Click on the links of previous prospect drafts. Could turn out that Nick Schnieder is the best goalie. As a Hitmen fan, that's who I'm cheering for to have a breakout year.

[Strange Brew]

I don't really think Rittich is being under rated but more so that Gillies is maybe now slightly overrated and the beneficiary of being the top goalie prospect in the organization up until this year.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by FireGilbert

I'm curious about the lack of votes for Rittich both in this round and the previous, especially considering he had better numbers than Gillies.

Is it because he is over a year older than Gillies and some posters do not think he is a prospect with room to grow, or is it a lack of name recognition from only being in the organisation for a year?

I think it's that he hasn't established a history of consistency over several seasons. Rittich has 31 games in North America. Not a huge sample size. Dangerous to read too much into such a small sample.

Joni Ortio had a .926 sv% one year in the minors but could never develop into a consistent goalie for us. I'm betting even if it's not in the forefront of people's minds they probably feel a bit burnt rating him so high the one year.

Jon Gillies meanwhile has had several seasons of very high level play in college which is certainly more impressive than just dominating junior. And that was while playing on a bum hip! I think Gillies has a greater pedigree and a longer track record of excelling in North America. If Rittich can prove it over a longer sample size he'll win us over.

[Yrebmi]

I just don't know how to rate goalies and tend to avoid voting for them.
Not fair I know, but I suspect I am not the only one.

[N26]

[QUOTE=Joni Ortio had a .926 sv% one year in the minors but could never develop into a consistent goalie for us. I'm betting even if it's not in the forefront of people's minds they probably feel a bit burnt rating him so high the one year.[/QUOTE]

I was impressed with Rittich last year. He did better than expected. However I am not even convinced he had a better year than Gillies. He had better counting stats.

For a good chunk of the season Gillies played more of the top AHL teams while Rittich got more of the 'play the backup' games. When the playoffs started Gillies was the choice as starter. Albeit on a shortish leash but still the first choice.

While Gillies wasn't great last year he didn't sh*t the bed. Not a bad year at all for a rookie coming off major surgery. And Gillies has done elite level stuff in the past. Like winning national championships and making the World Junior team as a starter. Rittich does not have these kind of indicators. What he has is a promising start to a pro career in North America.

When the Flames looked at their goalies for 2017-18 they said 'we need Eddie Lack'. Not a condemnation necessarily but it does say they want to see a lot more at the minor pro level from these guys.

As the post says neither Gillies nor Rittich have Ortio-level stats yet.

Therefore I think it is quite reasonable that most consider Rittich well behind Gillies. Myself I still have Gillies ahead of Parsons because I want to see what he can do at the next level first. However I may be changing that order soon.

Or maybe this is the year Gillies is lights out, proving he is a stud, and Lack is gone at the trade deadline. Then Gillies pulls at Matt Murray on Smith in the playoffs.

Wouldn't that be nice. The one thing I don't like about our team is our NHL tandem. They worry me.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by N26

For a good chunk of the season Gillies played more of the top AHL teams while Rittich got more of the 'play the backup' games.

That'd be a fine reasoning... if it were factual. While I couldn't remove empty net goals from the equation, Rittich and Gillies on average faced the same goal scoring ability:



So let's not let a bias toward Gillies retcon what happened last year.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

That'd be a fine reasoning... if it were factual. While I couldn't remove empty net goals from the equation, Rittich and Gillies on average faced the same goal scoring ability:



So let's not let a bias toward Gillies retcon what happened last year.

I like the leg work and the analysis ... not sure why you had to be so condescending in delivering it.

I like Gillies over Rittich for now for two reasons ...

1) Rittich has only had one year in pro hockey and came from an inferior league from most reports
2) Gillies missed a whole year of development so an adjustment back to pro hockey was expected

I think all that can change if Rittich remains ahead after this season though.

[SofaProfessor]

I've literally been voting Fox since round 2. Put in my vote again. I'm making a bold prediction that he will be in the top 3 of this poll next year.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I like the leg work and the analysis ... not sure why you had to be so condescending in delivering it.

I like Gillies over Rittich for now for two reasons ...

1) Rittich has only had one year in pro hockey and came from an inferior league from most reports
2) Gillies missed a whole year of development so an adjustment back to pro hockey was expected

I think all that can change if Rittich remains ahead after this season though.

Who would you have start a must win game for the Flames, as of right now? I know this isn't the same as ranking as a prospect.

I probably go Rittich.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

Who would you have start a must win game for the Flames, as of right now? I know this isn't the same as ranking as a prospect.

I probably go Rittich.

Are you restricting this just to prospect goalies? That would be between:

· Gillies
· MacDonald
· Parsons
· Rittich
· Schneider

That is difficult. For me it would be one of Parsons, Rittich or Gillies. One thing that Gillies has over both Rittich and Parsons is an NHL start, and he looked really good in it—much better, actually, than I expected. I have watched less of Rittich, and this likely sways my own decision.

[Finger Cookin]

The consensus for the top of this list so far has been unsurprising. My voting strategy from here on out will be to try and vote to force runoffs. Stretch this process out as long as possible.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Are you restricting this just to prospect goalies? One thing that Gillies has over both Rittich and Parsons is an NHL start, and he looked really good in it—much better, actually, than I expected. I have watched less of Rittich, and this likely sways my own decision.

It was the world's smallest sample size comparison, but I sure liked how Gillies handled his game. Poor Rittich got but a single period (and IMO didn't look as good but that's hardly a fair comment for me to make based on that amount of play).

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Are you restricting this just to prospect goalies? That would be between:

· Gillies
· MacDonald
· Parsons
· Rittich
· Schneider

That is difficult. For me it would be one of Parsons, Rittich or Gillies. One thing that Gillies has over both Rittich and Parsons is an NHL start, and he looked really good in it—much better, actually, than I expected. I have watched less of Rittich, and this likely sways my own decision.

Yeah just prospects for sure.

I said Rittich but when I see the list in front of me, it is really a crap shoot. Could change by the day.