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Canadiens goaltending pipeline

Written by: Alexandre Beland-Bernard on 09/25/2005 Subscribe to HF's RSS Feed

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With Jose Theodore under contract for three years, the Montreal Canadiens are not in immediate need in the goaltending department, but it's never a bad time to take a look at the pipeline for the most important position on the ice. The recent drafting of Carey Price has certainly changed the landscape for the organization, one with some solid depth.

Carey Price
5th overall in 2005 NHL Entry Draft

Price enters the Canadiens organization as one of its top prospects. He remains in training camp with the team for now, but will be returning to his WHL team for one more season. Meanwhile, expect him to benefit greatly from Assistant Coach Roland Melanson’s teachings.

This past season marked the first time Price was called upon to assume full-time starter duties for the Tri-City Americans. He played 63 games last year, second only to Devan Dubnyk (EDM) and Aaron Sorochan’s 65 appearances, and ranked second in the WHL in minutes played (3712). His 2.34 goals against average, .920 save percentage, 24 wins and eight shutouts all landed Price within the top 10 of all goalie categories for the 2004-05 season. The native of Williams Lake, B.C. earned CHL Player of the Week and CHL Goalie of the Week honors for the week ending December 19, 2004.

The honors would not stop there for Price, who participated in the 2005 CHL Top Prospects game in Vancouver. At the conclusion of the Americans 2005 playoff drive, Price again played at the U-18 World Junior Championships in the Czech Republic where his brilliant play backstopped Canada to a silver medal. He may get the chance to represent Canada in the 2006 WJC as well.

It is Price’s agility and quick reflexes that put him in the sight of many teams looking for a potential franchise goaltender. Not only is Price able to read and react quickly, but he is also able to steer rebounds into the corners with relative ease. Playing a butterfly style, Price is excellent at taking away the lower portion of the net, and relies on his quick hands to cover the upper portion. One thing is certain; the Habs have secured their goaltending future with such a prospect in their system, one who might, according to some experts, have enough talent to skip a few steps on his way to the NHL.

Season Team League GP W L T SO GAA SPCT
2003-04 Tri-City WHL 28 8 9 3 1 2.38 .915
2004-05 Tri-City WHL 63 24 31 8 8 2.34 .920

Yann Danis
Signed as a free agent (2004)

The goalie that was supposed to back up Theodore this season, Frenchman Cristobal Huet, is out at least until January with injury, giving one lucky prospect an unexpected chance to strut his stuff. The 24 year-old Yann Danis is the most NHL-ready goaltending prospect for the Canadiens and will most likely get the chance.

Danis played four seasons at Brown University and was a finalist for the 2004 Hobey Baker award. He was named the 2004 Ivy League Player of the Year and 2004 ECAC Player of the Year. With his impressive statistics and records, it’s a wonder that he was never drafted.

His first season in the AHL proved that his college performance wasn’t just a product of his defense, as he performed admirably for the Bulldogs in 2004-05. Danis helped the struggling team make a playoff push at the end of the 2004-05 season, posting a 28-17-6 record, along with five shutouts, a 2.34 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage. Those 28 wins proved to be a franchise record for Canadiens farm teams.

Danis has good lateral movement, and takes up a lot of space in net. Tough to beat down low, he has very quick reflexes. His biggest asset is his work ethic.

Season Team League GP W L T SO GAA SPCT
2003-04 Brown Univ. NCAA 30 15 11 4 5 1.81 .942
Hamilton AHL 2 2 0 0 1 1.50 .933
2004-05 Hamilton AHL 53 28 17 6 5 2.34 .924

Jaroslav Halak
271st overall in 2003 NHL Entry Draft

Another young goalie with NHL-level potential, Jaroslav Halak moved to North America last season from Slovakia. In a league known for high-powered offense, Halak shone for the QMJHL Lewiston Maineiacs. He ended the season with 24 wins against 17 losses, and posted an impressive 2.78 GAA and .913 save percentage. When Lewiston was knocked out of the playoffs, Halak was able to join the Bulldogs and work out with the squad.

Halak was the starter for Team Slovakia's U-20 WJC team in 2004 and 2005. He plays deep in net but has solid positioning and quick reflexes. He uses a mixture of styles to stop the puck.

Signed to an entry-level contract this fall, Halak will look to make the jump to the pros. Expect him to get starting duties either with Hamilton (AHL) or with Long Beach (ECHL).

Season Team League GP W L T SO GAA SPCT
2003-04 Bratislava Slovan Harvard Slovak 12 0 1.66 .942
2004-05 Lewiston QMJHL 47 24 17 4 4 2.78 .913

Chris Heino-Lindberg
177th overall in 2003 NHL Entry Draft

After a tough season in 2003-04 that saw Heino-Lindberg loaned to the worst team in the league, 2004-05 had to be a great change of pace. He was brought back to Hammarby in the Swedish second division, one of the top teams in the league. Up until the World Junior tournament started, he had started every game for Hammarby, where he was tops in the league in goals against (1.81) and save percentage (.927).

Quick reflexes and sound positioning are his main strengths. He handles the puck well, has a quick glove hand and reads the play well.

Heino-Lindberg will play in the SEL for the 2005-06 season.

Season Team League GP W L T SO GAA SPCT
2003-04 Vallentuna SEL2 23 4.77 .896
Hammarby J-20 SE 8 2.48 .922
Hammarby SEL2 1 3.73 .857
2004-05 Hammarby SEL2 30 1.81 .927
Hammarby J-20 SE 3 2.22 .944

Olivier Michaud
Signed as free agent (2001)

Michaud did not play enough games during the 2000-01 season to merit being drafted, but he was subsequently invited to the Canadiens' rookie camp that fall. He played half of one game during the prospect tournament in Hull, but it was enough to warrant a contract offer to begin once he graduated to professional hockey.

Michaud went from un drafted, to gaining an NHL contract, playing in an NHL game, and making the Canadian WJC team, all in the space of six months. More recently, he split the 2003-04 season between Columbus of the ECHL and Hamilton of the AHL, and spent the 2004-05 season with Long Beach of the ECHL. His fast rise has now leveled off.

Michaud is a typical butterfly goalie who has strong balance and excellent lateral movement. In 2005-06, Michaud will have to compete with Jaroslav Halak, and, possibly with Yann Danis and an Edmonton goaltender, for time in Hamilton.

Season Team League GP W L T SO GAA SPCT
2003-04 Hamilton AHL 16 4 7 3 2 2.53 .905
Columbus ECHL 22 8 10 2 1 3.01 .896
2004-05 Long Beach ECHL 41 18 14 6 1 2.54 .918

Loic Lacasse
181st overall in 2004 NHL Entry Draft

Lacasse was drafted out of Baie Comeau, and was the first goalie the Canadiens selected from the QMJHL since 1996 when they took Mathieu Garon 44th overall. Lacasse was able to show some impressive play on a team that struggled defensively for two consecutive seasons. He has the size and skill level to go onto the next level, just needs to get more game experience over the next two years.

Lacasse possesses decent size, and an excellent glove hand to go with decent puck handling skills. He needs, however, to improve on his lateral movement and reading the play. He will return to Baie-Comeau for another season.

Season Team League GP W L T SO GAA SPCT
2003-04 Baie-Comeau QMJHL 41 9 15 4 0 3.99 .891
2004-05 Baie-Comeau QMJHL 39 10 22 2 1 4.14 .882




Jason Menard, Aaron Vickers and Guy Flaming contributed to this article. Copyright 2005 Hockey’s Future. Do not reprint or otherwise duplicate without permission of the editorial staff.


Copyright 2005 Hockey’s Future. Do not reprint or otherwise duplicate without permission of the editorial staff.

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