Quote:
Originally Posted by SofaProfessor
...Price, Lundqvist, Quick, Murray, and literally every other NHL goalie had zero games of experience at some point. Kind of a silly point to make and their journeys have all varied but, like it or not, there's going to be a moment where everyone has to hold their breath as one of the young goalies makes their jump to the NHL.
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Price and Lundqvist are the exceptions, having made the jump straight to the NHL from Juniour and from Europe. Quick is also interesting in that he didn't play a lot of games in the AHL over two seasons before breaking in with the Kings in 2008. But Murray has far and away followed the prototype path for goaltender development to the NHL. He played two full seasons in the AHL and was dominant before playing a single NHL game. I Gillies had not been injured for a full season in 2015–6, and if he was more consistent this year I would definitely feel differently. To this point he just simply does not look quite ready, and I hope that he is next year.
I could see Rittich making the jump this season, but like Vinny I am nervous about entrusting a full season and big playoff expectations to a goalie with only one season of North American second-tier professional hockey to his credit. People who are resisting the thought of Rittich or Gillies in the NHL are not doing so merely because they are gun shy about goaltending prospects. The time will come. I just happen to think that it will be next year, and not this one.