Featured Article
Red Wings goaltending pipeline
Written by: Iaian Park on 10/30/2004 
The future looks bright for the
Detroit Red Wings in net. Jimmy Howard continues at Maine, posting solid numbers
again this season. Stefan Liv continues in Europe, and with Marc Lamothe gone to play in Europe, Drew MacIntyre steps
up into the AHL. Rookie Logan Koopmans begins his pro career in
Toledo of the ECHL. Liv, MacIntyre and Koopmans will fight for playing time this
season, however. Only Howard is expected to start most of his team's
games.
Below, ranked in order of
promise, is a review of Detroit’s goaltending future.
James Howard – Age 20 – Drafted in the 2nd Round 64th overall by Detroit in 2003
|
Year |
Team |
League |
GP |
W |
L |
T |
Min |
GA |
SA |
SO |
GAA |
SV% |
|
2001-02 |
US Jr. National Team |
USHL |
8 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
425 |
14 |
178 |
0 |
1.98 |
.927 |
|
2002-03 |
U. of Maine |
NCAA |
21 |
14 |
6 |
0 |
1151 |
47 |
515 |
3 |
2.45 |
.916 |
|
2003-04 |
U. of Maine |
NCAA |
22 |
14 |
4 |
3 |
1364 |
27 |
580 |
6 |
1.19 |
.956 |
| 2004-05 |
U. of Maine |
NCAA |
7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 417 | 15 | 161 | 1 | 2.16 | .915 |
Proving that Detroit made the
right choice in 2003 by making him their first pick, Jimmy Howard put up
his best numbers in the 2003-04 season. He posted career bests in goals against
average and save percentage while playing more minutes than any time previously.
Already in his young career, Howard has a long list of awards, including holding
the NCAA record in goals against average and save percentage. Howard gave a
glimpse of what he is capable of when last season in the final 14 games of the
season he posted 5 shutouts. He then followed that up with a 63-save performance
for a 2-1 triple overtime win over Massachusetts
in the Hockey East Championship. Howard could challenge for the Hobey
Baker Award this year.
Stefan Liv – age 23 – Drafted in the 4th Round 102nd overall by Detroit in 2000
|
Year |
Team |
League |
GP |
W |
L |
T |
Min |
GA |
SA |
SO |
GAA |
SV% |
|
1999-00 |
HV71 Jonkoping |
SEL |
12 |
- |
- |
- |
716 |
24 |
- |
1 |
2.01 |
- |
|
2000-01 |
HV71 Jonkoping |
SEL |
49 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
2001-02 |
HV71 Jonkoping |
SEL |
38 |
- |
- |
- |
2184 |
95 |
913 |
4 |
2.61 |
.906 |
|
2002-03 |
HV71 Jonkoping |
SEL |
46 |
- |
- |
- |
2723 |
124 |
1158 |
3 |
2.73 |
.903 |
|
2003-04 |
HV71 Jonkoping |
SEL |
41 |
- |
- |
- |
2451 |
91 |
1090 |
6 |
2.23 |
.923 |
| 2004-05 |
HV71 Jonkoping |
SEL |
10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.62 | .878 |
Liv went down with a knee
injury in the middle of last season, but returned in time for playoffs and led
HV71 Jonkoping to the SEL championship. This season he has started off poorly,
however, posting a 3.62 GAA and .878 save percentage in 10 games. His
playing time will be greatly reduced by the signing of the Phoenix Coyotes'
Brian Boucher, who joins the team this week. The
Wings are very high on Liv, so look for him to make the move across the pond to
North America sometime soon. Fans in North America will love Liv’s colorful
personality that has made him one of the most popular players in his country.
Drew MacIntyre – age 21 – Drafted in the 4th Round 121st overall by Detroit in 2001
|
Year |
Team |
League |
GP |
W |
L |
T |
Min |
GA |
SA |
SO |
GAA |
SV% |
|
1999-00 |
Sherbrooke |
QMJHL |
24 |
10 |
7 |
2 |
1253 |
67 |
670 |
0 |
3.21 |
.900 |
|
2000-01 |
Sherbrooke |
QMJHL |
48 |
17 |
22 |
3 |
2552 |
139 |
1415 |
4 |
3.27 |
.902 |
|
2001-02 |
Sherbrooke |
QMJHL |
55 |
15 |
34 |
3 |
3028 |
201 |
1833 |
1 |
3.98 |
.890 |
|
2002-03 |
Sherbrooke |
QMJHL |
61 |
31 |
24 |
5 |
3515 |
161 |
1750 |
2 |
2.75 |
.908 |
|
2003-04 |
Toledo |
ECHL |
11 |
6 |
4 |
0 |
574 |
25 |
282 |
0 |
2.61 |
.919 |
| 2004-05 | Grand Rapids | AHL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
MacIntyre had a difficult
season last year. With one too many goalies in Grand Rapids, MacIntyre found
himself in Toledo in the ECHL. He had season-ending hernia surgery in December,
making his season far from storybook. However, until December, MacIntyre was
having a decent season posting 6 wins, a 2.61 goals against average and a save
percentage of .919. The outlook for this season is very different. With Marc
Lamothe gone and Joey MacDonald stepping up as the Griffins No. 1, MacIntyre
will be the backup.
Logan Koopmans – age 20 – Drafted in the 5th Round 166th overall by Detroit in 2002
|
Year |
Team |
League |
GP |
W |
L |
T |
Min |
GA |
SA |
SO |
GAA |
SV% |
|
1999-00 |
Lethbridge |
WHL |
5 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
282 |
19 |
93 |
0 |
4.04 |
.830 |
|
2000-01 |
Columbia Valley |
KIJHL |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2001-02 |
Lethbridge |
WHL |
37 |
20 |
12 |
2 |
2057 |
97 |
810 |
3 |
2.83 |
.893 |
|
2002-03 |
Lethbridge |
WHL |
34 |
9 |
17 |
0 |
1628 |
131 |
836 |
1 |
4.83 |
.865 |
|
2003-04 |
Lethbridge |
WHL |
62 |
27 |
25 |
8 |
3565 |
155 |
1561 |
5 |
2.61 |
.910 |
| 2004-05 | Toledo | ECHL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Logan Koopmans is coming off of a year in which he won the award for most popular player, as voted on by his teammates, as well as winning the Lethbridge Hurricanes most valuable player award. He finished last season 16th in the league in goals against average and 15th in the league in save percentage. He also posted 5 shutouts, ninth best in the league. He then capped off his year by signing a rookie contract with the Wings. He is starting this season in the ECHL with Wings affiliate Toledo, where he is coached by Nick Vitucci, a former goaltender with a distinguished career in the ECHL, AHL and IHL. Koopmans' partner in net is 30-year-old Scott Fankhouser, who has played at several levels, including the NHL. Koopmans has not yet played a game for Toledo, who are 3-0-0 on the season so far.
Copyright 2004 Hockey's Future. Do not duplicate without permission of the editorial staff.
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