Chris Carrozzi

History

2007-08: Chris Carrozzi established himself as a full-time starter with the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors in the OHL. While St. Mike's was a middling team, Carrozzi was 25-18 with two OT losses in 47 games and finished eighth in the league in GAA (2.75) and 10th in save percentage (.911). Both Carrozzi and the Majors struggled in the playoffs, being swept in four games by the Niagara Ice Dogs. Carozzi was a member of Canada's gold medal-winning U-18 team, but did not play in any of the games. He was ranked 9th among goaltenders by ISS and was one of 12 goaltenders selected to attend the third annual Hockey Canada Program of Excellence (POE) camp in June.

2008-09: Following his late round selection by the Thrashers in the 2008 draft, Carrozzi had an outstanding regular season in his second full season with St. Michael's winning 27 games with just 14 losses and 3 OT losses. His GAA was up slightly (2.94) but he again stopped better than 90 percent of the shots he faced. In the playoffs,the Majors rode the hot hand of rookie J.P. Anderson to the East Conference finals. Carrozzi appeared in just two games allowing three goals in 33 minutes of action.    

2009-10: Any lingering doubts about his ability were erased by Carrozzi as he got off to a fast start and he and Anderson combined to capture the Dave Pinkney trophy, the OHL equivalent of the NHL's Vezina trophy for top team goaltending. In 37 regular season games, Carrozzi had 19 wins and 10 losses and 5 OT losses. His 2.36 GAA and .916 GAA were also the best of his junior career and in the playoffs he was even better. In eight playoff games, he was 5-2 with one shutout and a GAA of 2.14 with a .928 save percentage as the Majors again advanced to the East conference finals. Carrozzi was named OHL Goaltender of the Year and signed an entry-level contract with the Thrashers in May.

2010-11: Carozzi was assigned directly to the Gwinnett Gladiators of the ECHL to start the 2010-11 season and would be the workhorse for the team over the course of the year, starting in 47 games. The big netminder posted a respectable 3.23 GAA on what was a very poor Gladiators team in a high scoring league, managing two shutouts in the process. His one start at the AHL level was a disaster however, as he was shelled for 6 goals in an overtime loss.

2011-12: Carrozzi appeared in two late season games with Jets' AHL affiliate St. John's after spending most of the season in the ECHL. He was 1-1 in two starts with the IceCaps, stopping 24 of 26 shots in a win over Hershey and recording 26 saves in a 5-1 loss to Portland. He spent most of the season with the ECHL's Ontario Reign, in a tandem with Kings' prospect Jean-Francois Berube and appeared in one game with the Colorado Eagles. Carrozzi was 17-10 with 4 losses in overtime and 2 shutouts in 29 games for Ontario and lost in his only start with Colorado. In 30 ECHL games he had a 2.41 goals against and .918 save percentage. The Reign finished first in the Pacific Division but were upset by Idaho in a first round playoff series. Carrozzi started two playoff games and was 1-1with a 3.60 goals against and .882 save percentage.

Talent Analysis

Carrozzi is big, but has some trouble with lateral movement and glove hand. His chief strength, aside from his obvious raw talent and technical skills, is his ability to remain calm and appear almost aloof regardless of the situation.  Also should tremendous perserverence in bouncing back from a disappointing 2008-09 season to have an outstanding final year in junior.