Haha goalies these days are so funny. Other than Ray Emery it seems like they always give each other a pat on the back after they fight.
Also, probably not too relevant but he played with both of our Kenney prospects. Agostino at Yale and Morrison in Omaha. Matty Gaudreau was also on that Omaha team.
The 15th ranked goaltending prospect by people that know the intricacies of the pro goaltending position better than we do, from less a year ago. Gillies at 10. Demko at 12. What exactly is the cutoff for "elite prospect"?
Let's also not forget McDonald had to recover from a knee injury that ended his season a year ago. Like Giordano's bicep, these things take time mentally and physically. I'm all for bringing in Lyon to be 1B in Stockton with Gillies as 1A, and having 20 year old McDonald spend a year in Adirondack. But let's not suddenly pretend McDonald is not a high quality prospect. He's only 19 years old so it's not surprising he's further away than 23 year old Lyon.
At the same time I'm also not against a Poulin/Gillies tandem as Poulin is a good pro.
__________________
"May those who accept their fate find happiness. May those who defy it find glory."
The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to GranteedEV For This Useful Post:
The 15th ranked goaltending prospect by people that know the intricacies of the pro goaltending position better than we do, from less a year ago. Gillies at 10. Demko at 12. What exactly is the cutoff for "elite prospect"?
I think the point is that McDonald had a tough year and in terms of prospect development, an article from last August very quite out-to-date.
The 15th ranked goaltending prospect by people that know the intricacies of the pro goaltending position better than we do, from less a year ago. Gillies at 10. Demko at 12. What exactly is the cutoff for "elite prospect"?
Let's also not forget McDonald had to recover from a knee injury that ended his season a year ago. Like Giordano's bicep, these things take time mentally and physically. I'm all for bringing in Lyon to be 1B in Stockton with Gillies as 1A, and having 20 year old McDonald spend a year in Adirondack. But let's not suddenly pretend McDonald is not a high quality prospect. He's only 19 years old so it's not surprising he's further away than 23 year old Lyon.
At the same time I'm also not against a Poulin/Gillies tandem as Poulin is a good pro.
Good post. I would also add in that it seems people look at QMJHL (or any junior league) numbers and this they are terrible, when in reality if you compare them to other goaltenders in that league they are actually quite good; more so when you consider he is on a very mediocre team at least IMO would be pretty bad without the level of goaltending he gives them.
I think the point is that McDonald had a tough year and in terms of prospect development, an article from last August very quite out-to-date.
He had a tough first half of the year. His second half stats were very solid. He got his save percentage back up close to where it was the previous two years.
I think the point is that McDonald had a tough year
McDonald finished his year tied for fifth in the QMJHL in save percentage among the 22 goalies who pass QMJHL website's minutes-played threshold of 1632.
That's not a tough year. That's a year that's a downgrade from a great year where he finished in clear second, yes. But that's not a tough year. And it's not over, as he has his team in the playoffs where he's on the verge of getting to the second round.
__________________
"May those who accept their fate find happiness. May those who defy it find glory."
I don't think McDonald has had a tough year. Seems like he's on track. Goalies take forever. Writing off McDonald now would be foolish.
I don't think anyone was writing him off - we were just saying he's a good prospect that still has a ways to go. The argument was that he was an elite goaltending prospect, with a year old article backing up the claim. Unfortunately, his progress flat-lined this year and he'll probably drop out of the top 20 goaltending prospects list. IMO, by no measure is he an elite prospect...but he definitely still can work out.
The Following User Says Thank You to burnitdown For This Useful Post:
He's a top goaltending prospect. One of two best U-20 Canadian goalies this year, pretty good accomplishment. You see his progress flatlining? I'm not sure why, its hard to judge his progress on his stats. I think he went through some good experiences including the World Juniors. I don't see any reason why he would drop really.
I think the point is that McDonald had a tough year and in terms of prospect development, an article from last August very quite out-to-date.
How did he have a tough year in that regard? Sure he wasn't a star at the WJC, but not everyone can be a Tomas Duba, Marek Schwarz, Benjamin Conz or Jack Campbell.
He started the year slowly, but he still finished 6th in the Q for SV% on a terrible defensive team. He also faced a ton of rubber, finishing 10th in shots against (9th in saves) despite playing 5 games fewer than than any other goalie that face 1200+ shots. Lots of shots is good for goalie development and immediately after his 2 worst games of the season he rebounded over his final 18 games (this is almost half of his season, he only played 39 games) he went 15-3 with a 2.70 GAA, .921SV% and 3 shutouts.
I would argue that coming back from surgery, making the WJC squad and then playing possibly the best hockey of your career down the stretch all the while facing more rubber than a California porn star is an excellent developmental season. Or would you prefer these kids face no adversity in their ascent to the pro ranks?
The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to Alberta_Beef For This Useful Post:
I don't think McDonald has had a tough year. Seems like he's on track. Goalies take forever. Writing off McDonald now would be foolish.
He wasn't great in the WJHC and has been just okay in the Q. At this point we have no idea if he will have an NHL career or he if he's the next Leland Irving. There's certainly nothing there to declare him a future spot on the Flames roster. It will take some time. My original point still stands that if Lyon is looking for the best shot at moving up to the NHL Calgary provides a very good opportunity.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher
He's a top goaltending prospect. One of two best U-20 Canadian goalies this year, pretty good accomplishment. You see his progress flatlining? I'm not sure why, its hard to judge his progress on his stats. I think he went through some good experiences including the World Juniors. I don't see any reason why he would drop really.
I would argue that would be a good accomplishment 15 years ago but Canada isn't producing NHL goaltenders like it used to as most of the top goaltenders are coming from Europe and the US.
Last edited by Erick Estrada; 04-01-2016 at 01:17 PM.
He wasn't great in the WJHC and has been just okay in the Q. At this point we have no idea if he will have an NHL career or he if he's the next Leland Irving. There's certainly nothing there to declare him a future spot on the Flames roster. It will take some time. My original point still stands that if Lyon is looking for the best shot at moving up to the NHL Calgary provides a very good opportunity.
he's been one of the best goaltenders in the Q over the past 2 seasons, you need to look at him compared to the rest of the league not just look at numbers with no context.
The Following User Says Thank You to Alberta_Beef For This Useful Post:
he's been one of the best goaltenders in the Q over the past 2 seasons, you need to look at him compared to the rest of the league not just look at numbers with no context.
Unfortunately the Q is no longer regarded as a goaltending factory and that's not nearly enough to convince me of anything other than the fact that he's just a number in the system that may or may not make it one day. I'm not saying he's a bust but surely I'm not the only long time Flames fan that has seen how this organization has become a graveyard when it comes to developing starting NHL netminders. I like Gillies but until he proves anything in the NHL I'm not counting on him to be the savior.
Last edited by Erick Estrada; 04-01-2016 at 01:26 PM.
I don't think anyone was writing him off - we were just saying he's a good prospect that still has a ways to go. The argument was that he was an elite goaltending prospect, with a year old article backing up the claim. Unfortunately, his progress flat-lined this year and he'll probably drop out of the top 20 goaltending prospects list. IMO, by no measure is he an elite prospect...but he definitely still can work out.
Well you said he has had a down year when he hasn't... Even right this moment he's leading his crappy team to the 2nd round of the playoffs.
IIRC Gillies rose in the rankings WHILE being injured.
Mcdonald's progress hasn't 'flat-lined'. It would probably be best if you stop making stuff up. Or at least show some facts. We need a little more than opinions on players you haven't followed or watched.
How did he have a tough year in that regard? Sure he wasn't a star at the WJC, but not everyone can be a Tomas Duba, Marek Schwarz, Benjamin Conz or Jack Campbell.
Again, I'm not saying he's a bust or that he took a step back this year. I'm just saying I would not call him an elite goaltending prospect. IMO, elite means you're one of the absolute best prospects (top 5-10 at the position). Gillies falls in this category. McDonald was ranked #15 last year and I'd guess he'll be closer to #20 this year. I'm still saying he's a good prospect but I fail to see how you can argue him being elite.
I don't think anyone was writing him off - we were just saying he's a good prospect that still has a ways to go. The argument was that he was an elite goaltending prospect, with a year old article backing up the claim. Unfortunately, his progress flat-lined this year and he'll probably drop out of the top 20 goaltending prospects list. IMO, by no measure is he an elite prospect...but he definitely still can work out.
Lets look some guys in the top 20 of that year old article, who didn't change teams/leagues, and look at their progress from two years ago:
I did not look at all twenty guys' stats, so there may be others. But that is five guys who posted worse stats the year that ranking was formed, compared to a year prior.
I don't think a .004 drop in save percentage is going to have a massive impact on Mason McDonald's perception to a magazine that is rating strongly based on NHL tools and abilities. It'll be interesting to see where he ends up but I don't think anything about his season was "tough". "Flatlining" can't be measured via stats, a player can completely change his style to a more efficient one and have an adjustment period that affects stats.
__________________
"May those who accept their fate find happiness. May those who defy it find glory."
