Quote:
Originally Posted by MattyC
To be fair, that requires him to actually play in a stretch of games first.
I always thought Irving got the short end of the stick, especially considering the revolving door of tenders we have now. Not that I thought he'd be amazing or anything, I just personally thought we never saw enough of him to make any real judgment on it. I guess the organization felt different, which is fine.
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I thought Irving was given loads of opportunity to show some consistency and resiliency. He followed up one good season in the AHL with one poor one. He allowed career AHL'er after career AHL'er to wrestle the starter's job away. Some would say that Ward should have started Irving regardless - but how frustrating would that be for the rest of the prospects needing development thinking they have to be perfect out there to win the game?
Ortio is getting the majority of starts now because he has earned Ward's trust, and has done fantastic. MacDonald is the backup. Irving was just the opposite. Flames went through a lot of backups in Irving's time, and rarely did one NOT steal Irving's starter role, right? These were career AHL goalies - some of which were career AHL backups. Irving seemed to never have that mental resiliency a goalie NEEDS. I couldn't imagine him at the NHL level for a long period of time - his game always fell apart nearly every year.
I think the Flames did everything they could to help him along. Goalie coach. Time up on the Flames. They didn't sign backups who stole his job in an effort to give him confidence. It was always the same story with him it seemed - inconsistency, and a backup that would wrestle his job away. Last season you saw two career AHL goalies wrestle his job away - one breaking an AHL record. the Heat were a very good defensive team, and you could see how easily goalies could shine on that team. Why couldn't Irving for a long period?
You have to show patience to goaltending prospects - but if anything, I think the Flames had too much patience and faith in him. I wish they actually played Taylor more on the Flames last year to see if he could get himself settled down and composed at the NHL level - he was lights-out at the NHL level. However, even in his case who I feel was a MUCH better goalie in technique, skill and mental toughness - he would probably have topped out as a half-decent backup.
Let's see if Ortio keeps this up, and what happens when he has a bit of a skid in the AHL (and it will happen - happens to everyone). Let's see how Ward reacts, and let's see how Ortio responds. I think he is much more resilient than Irving, and has much better fundamentals.
Where on the depth chart do people feel Irving would have fit in this season - if everything was kept the same? Berra, Ramo, Ortio, MacDonald, Brossoit, Irving - that would be my guess. Tough to give him development time in that situation, without stealing development time from someone else. I think it was past time to cut bait with Irving, though I wish him well.
Now look at Gillies who has yet to have a bad game really. Now that is crazy to me. Mentally tough, resilient, outstanding size, outstanding technique and skill, great composure, and consistent. His consistency is what amazes me the most thus far in his NCAA career.