[Crown Royal]

Originally Posted by DomeFoam

Bruh... these are some wild statements. There's always risk, especially when it comes to goaltending prospects.

I understand the love for Askarov, but I still think your game plan should be to obtain starting elite goaltenders later in the draft. I wouldn't waste game breaking talent in that top 10 on a goaltender who could very well develop to just be an average starter or worse. The position is such a crapshoot to project.

There has been a history of goaltenders selected in the Top 20 in the modern era who became just average starters, others who couldn't cut it in the AHL and even fewer I would call elite...

Rick DiPietro (1st overall, 2000)
Brent Krahn (9th overall, 2000)
Pascal Leclaire (8th overall, 2001)
Dan Blackburn (10th overall, 2001)
Kari Lehtonen (2nd overall, 2002)
Marc-Andre Fleury (1st overall, 2003) - Was elite for a time
Al Montoya (6th overall, 2004)
Devan Dubnyk (14th overall, 2004) - A couple elite seasons
Carey Price (6th overall, 2005) - As elite as it gets
Jonathan Bernier (11th overall, 2006)
Riku Helenius (15th overall, 2006)
Chet Pickard (18th overall, 2008)
Jack Campbell (11th overall, 2010)
Andrei Vasilevskiy (19th overall, 2012) - Elite

After the top 10, once you get into that third tier of player, sure take a flier. There is just way too much talent on the table at #5 for the Senators to select Askarov and run that risk, but thats just my opinion!

A few notes:

• DiPietro was an all-star goaltender who had his career derailed by concussions and then ended by injuries.
• Krahn was derailed by knee injuries.
• Blackburn derailed by injuries. Or maybe it was Montoyo? One suffered a serious shoulder injury that derailed them.
• Lehtonen was never a top 5 goalie, but he was consistenly a very good starter for about a decade.