Irving is AHL's player of the week - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

FoxMulder91 · 11-02-2009, 04:40 PM

Quote:

The American Hockey League announced on Monday that Abbotsford Heat goaltender Leland Irving has been named the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Nov. 1, 2009.

Irving won each of his three starts last week, and stopped 81 of 83 shots for a 0.65 goals-against average and a .976 save percentage.
After the Heat had lost the first three games of a six-game road trip, Irving shut the door on the Milwaukee Admirals on Wednesday night, turning aside all 25 shots he faced for a 2-0 win and his second career shutout. He came back on Friday and stopped 30 of 31 shots before denying all four shootout attempts in Abbotsford’s 2-1 victory at Hamilton. And on Sunday, Irving made 26 saves as the visiting Heat posted a 2-1 win over Lake Erie.

In recognition of his achievement, Irving will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Heat home game.
Irving is now 6-3-1 in 11 appearances for Abbotsford this season, with a 2.20 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage along with one shutout.

The 21-year-old native of Swan Hills, Alta., was a first-round draft choice (26th overall) by the Calgary Flames in 2006, and posted a 24-18-2 record (2.23, .912) in 47 games as an AHL rookie last season.

Other nominees for Reebok/AHL Player of the Week include Adirondack goaltender Johan Backlund, Albany right wing Matthew Pistilli, Binghamton center Jesse Winchester, Chicago defenseman Chris Chelios, Grand Rapids goaltender Daniel Larsson, Hamilton defenseman Yannick Weber, Hartford center Corey Locke, Hershey right wing Francois Bouchard, Lake Erie right wing David Marshall, Lowell left wing Alexander Vasyunov, Manchester defenseman Viatcheslav Voynov, Manitoba goaltender Daren Machesney, Milwaukee defenseman Robert Dietrich, Peoria center Nicholas Drazenovic, Portland right wing Mark Mancari, Rochester center Chris Taylor, Rockford left wing Bryan Bickell, San Antonio goaltender Al Montoya, Syracuse goaltender Dan LaCosta, Texas goaltender Brent Krahn, Toronto center Mike Zigomanis, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton left wing Ryan Bayda and Worcester center Steven Zalewski.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/fraser_va.../68629462.html

Great news!

Swayze11 · 11-02-2009, 04:47 PM

Fun Fact:
"It is the 1st time in AHL history a player named "Irving" is player of the week."

-Boomer from the FAN960

Eddie Bronze · 11-02-2009, 06:07 PM

Wow, 0.65gaa and .976 sv%. Apparently the Maritimes aren't the only place you can get robbed blind by an Irving.

icarus · 11-03-2009, 10:01 AM

Fantastic stats and in illustrious company!

Quote:

Other nominees for Reebok/AHL Player of the Week include Adirondack goaltender Johan Backlund, Albany right wing Matthew Pistilli, Binghamton center Jesse Winchester, Chicago defenseman Chris Chelios, Grand Rapids goaltender Daniel Larsson, Hamilton defenseman Yannick Weber, Hartford center Corey Locke, Hershey right wing Francois Bouchard, Lake Erie right wing David Marshall, Lowell left wing Alexander Vasyunov, Manchester defenseman Viatcheslav Voynov, Manitoba goaltender Daren Machesney, Milwaukee defenseman Robert Dietrich, Peoria center Nicholas Drazenovic, Portland right wing Mark Mancari, Rochester center Chris Taylor, Rockford left wing Bryan Bickell, San Antonio goaltender Al Montoya, Syracuse goaltender Dan LaCosta, Texas goaltender Brent Krahn, Toronto center Mike Zigomanis, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton left wing Ryan Bayda and Worcester center Steven Zalewski.

Fernando · 11-04-2009, 12:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swayze11

Fun Fact:
"It is the 1st time in AHL history a player named "Irving" is player of the week."

-Boomer from the FAN960

I believe Boomer said it was the first time a player called "Leland" was named player of the week in the AHL. Irving is a very common last name.

Canada 02 · 11-04-2009, 02:07 PM

FAN interview with Irving

http://www.fan960.com/ondemand/media...03_205557_5708

nemanja2306 · 11-04-2009, 02:57 PM

Irving >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> over that back up guy...

badger89 · 11-06-2009, 12:40 PM

Other nominees for Reebok/AHL Player of the Week include Adirondack goaltender Johan Backlund, Albany right wing Matthew Pistilli, Binghamton center Jesse Winchester, Chicago defenseman Chris Chelios, Grand Rapids goaltender Daniel Larsson...

It's only a matter of time until Detroit calls him back up.

BurningYears · 11-06-2009, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by badger89

Other nominees for Reebok/AHL Player of the Week include Adirondack goaltender Johan Backlund, Albany right wing Matthew Pistilli, Binghamton center Jesse Winchester, Chicago defenseman Chris Chelios, Grand Rapids goaltender Daniel Larsson...

It's only a matter of time until Detroit calls him back up.

they would have to sign him first since he is on a AHL only contract. if i am correct there have been rumours about montreal for him

FanIn80 · 11-06-2009, 02:27 PM

Next up on People Who Don't Know How to Quit

Chelios: From Norris to Runner-Up for AHL Player of the Week

QCPuckFan · 11-07-2009, 12:03 PM

Chelly is on a mission. He's stated he wants to play to 50, whether it's in the NHL or in the minors.

Irving did a brief phone interview on Sirius XM's Home Ice channel this week. I'm glad to see him doing well and getting some attention.

3thirty · 11-09-2009, 09:20 AM

Glad to see he's getting some solid starts in.

madmike · 11-16-2009, 08:34 AM

He looked great early, but his last couple of starts were pretty lousy. His numbers don't look too bad, but he's actually pretty far down on the last of top AHL goalies - I think at least 8 have save percentages of .930+. Irving's only at .913 or so.

Jets4Life · 11-27-2009, 10:24 PM

I hope Irving becomes as good as Patrick Roy

FoxMulder91 · 12-12-2009, 12:52 AM

It seems Irving has struggled since this.
He now has a 2.66 GAA and a 9.11 save percentage.

madmike · 12-24-2009, 10:13 AM

Yeah he was hot for a while, but he's been one of the poorer goalies in the AHL for the last month or so. Keetley is playing much better right now. It's too bad because I was hoping Irving could begin getting some decent NHL playtime as soon as next year. At this point I don't think that's going to happen. He really needs to pick up his game.

jeremywilhelm · 12-24-2009, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by madmike

Yeah he was hot for a while, but he's been one of the poorer goalies in the AHL for the last month or so. Keetley is playing much better right now. It's too bad because I was hoping Irving could begin getting some decent NHL playtime as soon as next year. At this point I don't think that's going to happen. He really needs to pick up his game.

I don't agree. While Keetley has made some crazy saves in the last month or so, he is really awkward in net, and will often give up a stinker. Irving is better in most aspects of the game, but the team in front of them is just plain brutal. They have really slumped badly this month, and it's amusing because it is the same with the big club (well, maybe not that amusing). Keetley definitely doesnt look as bad as last year, but Irving is definitely the better goalie.

The heat has some serious issues with scoring (hello, Flames!), and often get run around in their zone when under alot of pressure.

dobbles · 12-24-2009, 09:23 PM

one thing i remember about keetley is that he would often get himself out of position and have to make a highlight reel save to make up for his poor positioning. problem is, he can't always get back for the big save, so he often looks really bad one night and really good the next.

shermanator · 01-03-2010, 08:14 PM

I posted this earlier in the Nemisz thread, but I think it's more applicable here....

Regarding Irving, yes he has taken a bit of a step back stats wise, but the defensive core in Abbotsford is also much younger. This is important to factor into his progress.

Let's compare the D-core on the farm:

This year:
Keith Aulie - Age 20 - Rookie
Gord Baldwin - Age 22
Brad Cole - Age 22
Josh Meyers - Age 23 - Rookie
John Negrin - Age 20 - Rookie - 3 NHL games
Brett Palin - Age 25
Matt Pelech - Age 21 - 5 NHL games
Keith Seabrook - Age 21 - Rookie

That's an average age of 21 years, 9 months. With 4 AHL rookies and 8 NHL games worth of experience

Last year:
Gord Baldwin - Age 21
Brad Brown - Age 33 - 330 NHL games
Brad Cole - Age 21
Anders Eriksson - Age 33 - 552 NHL games
Brett Palin - Age 24
Matt Pelech - Age 20
Dan Spang - Age 25
Ryan Wilson - Age 21

That's an average age of 24 years, 9 months. With 0 AHL rookies and 882 NHL games worth of experience.

This year, Irving has had 680 shots on goal in 1365 minutes, averaging roughly 30 shots against per game. Last year, he had 1119 shots on goal in 2658 minutes, averaging 25.2 shots against per game. That's a relatively big jump. Yet he has a respectable 2.55 GAA and .915 SV% (which is better than last year's .912) As far as watching him live, I can't really comment much. He's looked fine in the sparse amount I've watched him via online stream, but maybe one of our Abbotsford guys can chime in.

Things to think about before everyone goes writing off Irving.

PIMking · 01-03-2010, 08:29 PM

sorry sherman.

Wilson was a rookie last year. Also Baldwin and Cole spent 80% of the year before that in the ECHL so they might as well of been rookies. Add Anders and its not much better.