Corey Crawford

Corey Crawford began his major junior career in 2001-02 with the Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL), sharing the load with Matthew Davis. Crawford, and the young team, struggled all season, and Crawford finished with discouraging numbers, including a 3.74 GAA and a save percentage below .900 (.889). He improved steadily over the course of the next season, appearing in 50 games, second most in the entire league behind only Marc-Andre Fleury (51 games). He dropped his GAA by an entire goal per game (2.73) and saw a rise in his save percentage. His play made him the second goaltender drafted in the 2003 Entry Draft. With this boost in confidence behind him Crawford went on to have a second straight good season in Moncton, once again reducing his GAA (2.62) and compiling a 35-15-3 record. Crawford backstopped the Wildcats to the QMJHL Finals where they were defeated by the Gatineau Olympiques.

2007-08: Though Crawford won fewer games in Rockford than he did the prior season in Norfolk, his GAA and save percentage numbers were nearly identical. Part of the reason for the lower win total was the fact that he was splitting time with veteran goaltender Wade Flaherty. This was not the case in Norfolk, as he carried the bulk of the load there. Because of his consistency in the AHL, Crawford was called up to Chicago during the 2007-08 season, where he played in five games for the Blackhawks.  

Read Hockey’s Future’s February 2005 interview with Crawford here.