Selecting goaltenders in the first round have always been a hot topic on whether or not they are worth the risk/reward.
Last year’s draft did not see a goalie taken on the first day of the draft while 2010 NHL Entry Draft saw Jack Campbell and Mark Visentin selected in the first 30 picks. Could we see a repeat of last year or see one or more teams decide it is worth the risk to take a goalie on Friday? Future Considerations wanted find what our followers and scouts thought about the burning question.
Answers amongst followers and scouts were across the board with three different goaltenders getting consideration as a first round selection. While rankings are not a true indicator on who will be selected at which spot, Future Considerations has Andrey Vasilevski (21), Oscar Dansk (25), and Malcolm Subban (29) in the final top 30 rankings.
Christophe Perrault (@ChristopheP_UH) got our daily responses started in stating that he believes that the New York Rangers will select Vasilevski with the 28th overall pick. Fellow Canadians fan Arik Parnass (@HabArik35) agreed with just one goaltender being taken, but thinks Belleville’s Subban will be taken rather than Vasilevski. Trevor Wong (@twww9) echoed Parnass’ prediction believing Subban will go 29th to the Devils while Vasilevski and Dansk fall to the middle of the second round.
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Much like the Twitter responses, Future Considerations’ scouts differed in opinions on the goalies taken Friday. OHL scout Brian Huddle (@BrianHuddle) believes that Oscar Dansk will be the only goalie taken. Huddle stated that he believes Dansk will go around 25th-30th. Although most teams around that mark are set goaltending, Huddle went on to say Dansk provides a good long term asset.
Fellow scout Brain McGee believed only Vasilevski would be selected Friday, stating there is a lack of demand amongst teams for goalies in the first round. Dan Shrader (@ShraderD) broke the consensus opinion with one goalie going in the first round and believes no team will select a goalie on Friday.
While it is impossible to get a consensus on which goalies will go in the first round, the consensus among draft followers alike believe this year will break the streak of no goalies taken in the first round. Time will tell how well Future Considerations writers and scouts are at predicting the fate of goaltenders late Friday night.
Future Considerations’ QOD is a seven part series leading up to the draft with FC’s Twitter followers and writers weighing in on some of the draft’s toughest questions. Would you like to have you opinion heard? Tweet @WeissFC or @FCHockey in response to our question of the day!