QUEBEC CITY. P.Q. — When you take a look at the Colorado Avalanche prospects, ask yourself: Who might have a chance in near future to play with the Avs organization? It’s possible that you won’t have a definite answer. Fans of any NHL team will surely come up with names, but are they really prospects? Or, are they just suspects? Looking at the Avs AHL affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters, you won’t find too many players o the roster with any real potential to play in the NHL on regular basis. That means some of the best Avalanche prospects are either still in the junior ranks are in college hockey. Let’s have a look position by position and try to find out who the real prospects are that just might have chance to wear a Colorado Avalanche jersey one day. Today, we start with the goaltenders. Trying to identify the most pressing need in the Avs organization is definitely in net. The organization really needs to find what most people consider a real number one goaltender. Looking at what the Avalanche have presently in the system fans might have the right to ask, do we really have a goalie on whom we could build our future around? Who might have kind of quality talent needed to go between the pipes and play 60-65 games and give his team a chance to win? The easy answer is, only time will tell. Let’s have a look on what the Avalanche have to offer as of today. 1 – Trevor Cann Possibly the best goaltending prospect not in the professional ranks. He was selected 49th overall in the second round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Cann was bcquired by the London Knights last October 2008. The former Peterborough Petes goalie gives all he has every chance he gets to be between the pipes, whether it is with Peterborough or with London. At 5 foot 11 inch, 195 pounds, he isn’t the biggest goalie, but he is a true competitor and will do everything he can to make a key save to keep his team in the game and give his team a chance to win. If you want to have a good indication of how good a goalie might, look at his save percentage. This year, Cann ended the season with a .919 save percentage, and a goals against average (GAA) of 2.62. Technically, Cann is a butterfly goalie with a good glove hand, and great anticipation. The Knights aquired him because they believe he can be an important factor come playoff time. The Avalanche hold Cann’s rights until June 1st 2009. 2 – Peter Delmas Drafted 61st overall in the second round in 2008, the Lewiston MAINEiac netminder is like most new generation goalies in that he plays a butterfly style. Technically Delmas is a very sound goalie with excellent skills and does the basics very, very well, a real competitor. Delmas has good seize (6’ 02″, 169 pounds) and moves very well in his crease. He is very calm and doesn’t get too excited. He is very confident, and isn’t overly aggressive in net. He is able to make key saves when it counts. Like Cann, he gives his team a chance to win. Unfortunately this season, he didn’t have a great season with Lewiston and ended the regular season with a record of 9 wins, 27 loses, 0 ties, a 4.19 GAA, and a .864 save percentage. Lewiston was swept in the first round of the QMJHL playoffs against the Drummondville Voltigeurs four games to none. The Avalanche hold his rights until June 1 2010. 3 – Kent Patterson A fourth round selection (113th overall) in 2007, the young netminder offered up an excellent performance at the USA junior hockey showcase with the Cedar Rapid Roughriders. He ended the season second overall in save percentage (.913) in the 2006-07 season with a 2.19 GAA (seventh overall). Patternson currently plays in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. This season he missed half the regular season with an injury, giving most of the work load to Alex Kangas. Battling back, he ended his freshman year at the university with a record of 10 wins, 6 loses, 1 tie, and a 2.49 GAA. Patterson possess all the tolls to become a good goaltender. He will have to get the number one job in order to get a chance to develop his talents. At 6’ 01″, 192 pounds, Patterson is physically strong and covers the net very well, and challenges the shooter. He helped team USA’s under-17 team win the gold medal at the 2007 five nation tournament in Hutwil, Switzerland. Some people considered him to be a steal in his draft year when Colorado drafted him. Avalanche hold his rights until August 15, 2012. 4 – Billy Sauer A seventh round selection (201st overall) in 2006, the native of Rochester, New York, began his collegiate career with the Michigan Wolverines on positive note. Lots of people around the hockey world feel he will have a great career. At 6’ 02″, 180 pound, Sauer played very well as a freshman with the University of Michigan, but seems to lose confidence and is having hard time to deliver good performance in his junior year. Sauer is considered to be more of a standup goalie rather than a butterfly goalie. He struggled enough to give Head Coach Red Berenson to throw Bryan Hogan in some games. Scouting publications like International Scouting Services (ISS) had this to say about Sauer back in 2006. “Big goalie, will improve as his coordination improves. Good balance in both the standup and butterfly positions. Has a soft pad. Stay square to the puck, plays relaxed, and plays at the top of his crease. Plays angles well and has good overall positioning. A very talented player.” It will be very interesting to see he is able to earn his first professional contract with Colorado who has his rights until August 15, 2010. It will be real interesting to see if one of these prospects will be able to make their mark in the NHL one day, but the first step is to earn their first professional contract with the organization. One thing is sure Colorado, is in deer need of a true number one netminder. The real question here is, who will be the one who gets through to the next level and becomes a diamond in the rough needed to be polish and establish himself in order to become the next Avalanche number one goalie? Next, will focus on the Avalanche defensive prospects, so stay tuned. Contact the author at: serge.poulin@prohockeynews.com
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