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Edmonton's Goaltenders and Why They Suck

The Edmonton Oilers' Dwayne Roloson deflects a shot from the San Jose  Sharks during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Edmonton, Aberta on Thursday, April 2, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, John Ulan)

More photos » John Ulan - AP

10 months ago: The Edmonton Oilers' Dwayne Roloson deflects a shot from the San Jose Sharks during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Edmonton, Aberta on Thursday, April 2, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, John Ulan)


Goaltenders are like pitchers in baseball: they're complete mysteries.

You can say with a fair degree of confidence that Roberto Luongo will have a great year and Jeff Deslauriers won't, but beyond that if you ever think you have goalies figured out, they will break you in half like a dry twig. Organizations like the former Montreal Canadiens that once sent goalies to the Hall of Fame now send them in a first-class carriage to obscurity. On the other end of the spectrum, the Pittsburgh Penguins' goaltending history consisted of a few beer league guys and Tom Barrasso before they snared Marc-André Fleury, whose own career bobbed up and down in his first few years, and then capped off the act by inexplicably rejuvenating Ty Conklin.

But this preamble is just meant to give context to the fact that the Edmonton Oilers have not developed a decent goaltender in two decades, and they don't seem like they're going to start now.

Star-divide

There are have been solid goaltenders in Edmonton since 1990, of course. Curtis Joseph was the best goaltender in the NHL for two seasons in copper and blue. Tommy Salo had a couple superb seasons, and men like Bob Essensa and Dwayne Roloson were admirable journeymen. But none of them were developed in Edmonton: Joseph came up through St. Louis, Salo got his start with the New York Islanders, we remember Roloson's chequered history and Essensa, of course, played for every team on the planet at some point.

The last goaltender of any note the Oilers can be said to have developed was Bill Ranford back in the 1980s, and his career was more forgettable than most Oiler fans realize.

Right now, the Oilers have an armada of goaltending prospects in their system. Devan Dubnyk went in the first round, Jeff Deslauriers was a very early second-rounder, and Olivier Roy probably should have gone in the first thirty. Dubnyk and Deslauriers were both highly-touted juniors and Roy is following that route so far. The Oilers have also brought in Bryan Pitton and Andrew Perugini, two kids both still in the organization.

For Deslauriers and Dubnyk, it's all gone pear-shaped. Both received World Junior consideration for Canada and Dubnyk actually made a team. Deslauriers was acclaimed as one of the three best goaltenders in the QMJHL and earned a following in Chicoutimi to this day for his playoff heroics for the constantly overmatched Saguenéens. Dubnyk played for a Kamloops team that was consistently bad but he was always drawing rave reviews. Pitton and Perugini have also been disappointments: though Pitton was never any damned good, Perugini had the junior pedigree to get observers (including yours truly) excited. But neither has proven anything in the ECHL, to say nothing of a higher level.

It's become fashionable to blame the Oilers' now-departed goaltender coach, Pete Peeters. A former NHL journeyman himself, Peeters was given the rap for everything from Dwayne Roloson's knee to swine flu. It will be interesting to see what Peeters's departure means for the youngsters, particularly Dubnyk and Roy. But, as Joaquin Gage and Peter Ing could tell you at length, the problem extends long before Peeters's reign.

The truth is, figuring out a goaltending prospect below the level of a Luongo or a Fleury amounts to reading tea leaves. Deslauriers was hurt during his junior career, and though his injuries haven't had any long-term impact the games he missed may have hurt his development. Dubnyk played too many games in junior, which also may have hurt his development. Perugini languished on a mediocre junior team without a professional chance for too long. Pitton... well, Pitton stank from day one.

But nobody's ever been able to deny that the kids coming through here are fundamentally talented. Deslauriers proved in flashes last year that he can stop pucks. And that's another part of the reason goaltenders are such mysteries. Nine times out of ten, when a goalie stinks he stinks. One time out of ten, he's Ty Conklin.

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Take your time. Ease in. No need to have any strong opinions early.

:)

Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.

by Derek Zona on Sep 21, 2009 5:44 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Given Ranford already had 45 NHL games under his belt when he got here, plus the only 54 minor league games he would ever need, it’s tough to argue Edmonton developed him.

Unless you want to make a case for Conklin or Fred Brathwaite, in their history Oilers have developed Moog and Fuhr, full stop. All the other guys who made an impact here were used goalies.

by Bruce McCurdy on Sep 21, 2009 5:59 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Conklin, I think is a pretty obvious goalie. Not that he’s good – but he’s been NHL caliber and he is the product of the Oilers and college system.

Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.

by Derek Zona on Sep 21, 2009 6:47 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Conklin stank as an Oiler and only really came into his own after some time in the AHL and, of course, his resurrection with the Penguins. Ranford pulled much the same trick before coming to Edmonton, which is why I put him in the Oilers columns.

Goalies are infuriating. Have I made that point yet?

by Benjamin Massey on Sep 21, 2009 8:16 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Conklin stank as an Oiler

He was hurt in training camp in ‘05-’06 and couldn’t recover his game for two years, but he was good down the stretch in ’04, which is why I was fine with Conkannen as a solution coming out of the lockout in the first place.

SNN Sports - A theoretical Oilers blog (i.e. theoretically, I write stuff there). Link now 100% less broken.

by Doogie2K on Sep 22, 2009 10:46 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

incorrect

courtesy of HF and hockeydb.

Dubnyk:

2006-07: Spent the vast majority of the year in the ECHL as Stockton’s No. 1 keeper. Dubnyk was an ECHL All-Star and also represented Canada at the Spengler Cup in Switzerland. Appeared in a handful of AHL games as well.

24 11 7 1264 0.921

so technically he did prove something in the ECHL.

by rent a goalie on Sep 21, 2009 10:04 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

“Neither has proven anything in the ECHL” referred to Pitton and Perugini, not Dubnyk and Deslauriers.

by Benjamin Massey on Sep 22, 2009 8:37 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Deslauriers was hurt during his junior career, and though his injuries haven’t had any long-term impact the games he missed may have hurt his development.

To say nothing of the two years he spent eating hot dogs on the end of the bench while another team’s prospect played.

SNN Sports - A theoretical Oilers blog (i.e. theoretically, I write stuff there). Link now 100% less broken.

by Doogie2K on Sep 22, 2009 10:45 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Ah prospect development and management.

Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.

by Derek Zona on Sep 23, 2009 8:23 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

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Northwest Standings

GP W L OTL PT
Vancouver 57 35 20 2 72
Colorado 58 33 19 6 72
Calgary 59 29 21 9 67
Minnesota 58 29 25 4 62
Edmonton 58 18 34 6 42

(updated 2.9.2010 at 1:15 AM PST)

18 - 34 - 6

Lost 3

Oilers Stats Leaders

Stat

Forwards

Defense

TOI/G:

Horcoff (19:37)

Souray (22:46)

ESTOI/G:

Horcoff (14:59)

Grebeshkov (17:23)

Points:

Penner (44)

Visnovsky (28)

Goals:

Penner (22)

Visnovsky (9)

Assists:

Penner (22)

Visnovsky (20)

EV+/- /15

Penner (.190)

Visnovsky(.137)

Shots:

Penner (153)

Souray(111)

Corsi/15:

Penner(1.26)

Visnovsky (.945)

SCF/15:

Penner (5.347)

Visnovsky (4.751)

SCA/15:

Stone (3.364)

Gilbert (4.284)

SCDiff/15:

Penner (.688)

Visnovsky (.405)


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