Quote:
Originally Posted by activeStick
It's really interesting how a goalie's projection is so hard to predict. Teams do such a good job with forwards and defensemen but are seemingly stumped when it comes to goalies. You get highly rated first round picks like Trevor Kidd, who end up being pretty average compared to his peers and on the other side, you get 7th round picks like Lundqvist who end ip being consistent all star goalies year over year.
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I think it's because so much of a goalies game is mental. The best goalies are able to maintain that cool and keep confident when conditions may not be optimal.
It's easier to predict a skater's future based on physical tools, size, skating, speed, etc. So much harder to get in between the ears of an 18 year old goaltender and know if what's working in his head as a junior will continue as a pro.
I can't remember who I was listening to recently, but I think it was Brent Krahn or maybe Hrudey who estimated something huge like 90% of a goalies game is upstairs. Once that confidence and coolness is shot it can go downhill fast. It seems to work the other way too.