Goaltending is a position that the Pittsburgh Penguins are set at for the next ten years or so.  Marc-Andre Fleury is an elite goaltender that can carry his team to the playoffs and even the Stanley Cup.  He is a bit injury prone, which is fine, because the amount of talent that the Penguins have at goalie is impressive.  Perhaps they can trade some of their goaltending prospects for some left wingers, the position at which they are extremely weak.

 

John Curry- G, 2/27/1984, Signed as a free agent on July 13, 2007, Boston University (NCAA), Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL)

A .928 save percentage and 2.01 goals against average that included seven shutouts really attracted the Penguins to John Curry.  He is an unbelievable goalie who dominated at BU in college, and is now playing very well for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Curry won the AHL Rookie of the Month award in December of 2007, and was later named to the AHL All Rookie Team.  He is athletic and was considered one of the top collegiate players in the USA.  He is not the biggest guy, but has great positioning that helps his small 5’11 self to fill the entire net.  He makes himself look huge in the net, not giving opponents anything to shoot at.

Verdict: Curry will be a victim of a franchise goalie in Marc-Andre Fleury, but look for him to be in the NHL as a backup in another year or two.

 

Chad Johnson- G, 6/10/1986, 5th round, 125th overall in 2006, U of Alaska-Fairbanks (NCAA)

Johnson did very poorly his freshman and sophomore year with U of Alaska-Fairbanks, but in his junior year thus far, he has been unbelievable.  With a 1.59 GAA and a .942 save percentage on a mediocre team, Johnson seems to be having a breakout year in college.

Johnson is a big man who uses his body greatly, moving around the net laterally smoothly with no problems.  He has a great glove, can really control the puck well, and has good positioning.  He is a learner, always asking for help and ways to improve his game.  He needs to add a bit of strength to his game, but if that is the only thing wrong, he is in good shape.

Verdict:  Surprise? Or one year wonder?  Johnson needs to have another great year in his senior year in order for the Penguins to bring him up to the AHL.  If he does not, no one will believe this season.  However, if Johnson plays well next year, you can expect to see him in the AHL.  He could even make the NHL someday.

 

David Brown- G, 2/1/1985, 8th round, 228th overall in 2004, Notre Dame (NCAA), Wheeling (ECHL) and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL)

Brown was an unbelievable goalie at Notre Dame, sporting six shutouts, a 1.58 goals against average, and a .931 save percentage.  He was promoted to the ECHL to play with Wheeling, Pittsburgh’s affiliate.  He played well there, putting up a 9-7-1 record while stopping over 91 percent of the shots he faced.

Brown was brought up to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after Ty Conklin was called up in 2008, but was sent down after just four games when he failed to play well, allowing almost four goals per game and stopping just 84 percent of the shots he faced.

Brown has unbelievable athleticism, with great reflexes.  He has good positioning, cutting off all angles for opposing shooters. Brown is smart, and has a great work ethic, two skills that almost always turn into a great player.  He plays well under pressure, something many NHL goaltenders fail to do.

Verdict:  Brown blew his first AHL stint, so if he gets one more he better make the most of it.  Otherwise he will be a career ECHL goalie.

 

Patrick Killeen- G, 4/15/1990, 6th round, 180th overall in 2008, Brampton Battalion (OHL)

Killeen had an okay season with Brampton in the OHL, going 20-9-2, but having a decent save percentage with .908.  He has much to improve on, especially after his goals against average dropped to 3.03 in 2009.

He is a big goalie at 6’4, and his legs are long enough to take away the entire bottom of the net when he is in the butterfly.  He is good speed, but he takes a bit too long to get up from the butterfly position.  His glove is also a bit weak, as he gives up way too many rebounds from shots that should be caught.

Verdict: Killeen has much work to do before he makes the jump to pro, but it is within reach for him.  However, he is most likely going to be a career AHL goalie.

 

Alexander Pechurski- G, 6/4/1990, 5th round, 150th overall in 2008, Magnitogorsk, Russia (KHL)

“A highly thought of goaltender from Russian, Pechurski plays a hybrid style game that is reliant on his athleticism.  Pechurski, while raised many eyebrows in the U-18 WJC, needs to work on his fundamentals. His positioning, stickhandling, puck control, and rebound recovery are all things that need to be improved before the elastic legged netminder can take the next step” (Hockey’s Future)

Pechurski is a good young goalie from Russia, but his stats are not known, due to the lack of contacts within the KHL.  He plays a hybrid game, similar to Marty Brodeur, but as Hockey’s Future reports, he has much work to do on his game.

Verdict:  It does not look like Pechurski will make it to the NHL, but the Russians always seem to make a jump when no one expects it.  So I would not count him out.

 

Alan Bass is a Senior Writer for Bleacher Report and the Community Leader for the NHL and Philadelphia Flyers’ section; a writer for Prohockeynews.com and Insidehockey.com, he is also the co-host of NHL 2Day, a weekly radio show on Youcastr.com.  You can contact him at ALN424@aol.com.