Most Under Rated NHL Goalies

goalieboy#1 · Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 2:56 am Post subject:

Actually, you'd be surprised by a couple kids my age, or a year older. One kid on my team was in selects and made it to the NY final 16 prospects camp (best 16 kids in all of Mn, Nd, Sd, etc.etc.) but I bet they are pretty amazing, still think it's be fun, just to see what it'll take to get to that level.
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Slinky · Minors Joined: 17 Feb 2009 Posts: 471 Location: Canton, GA

They are very good, but the former ECHL player that was in my league said that i was as good as a lot of the guys he shot on when he was playing in the ECHL. I don't know that the difference in physical ability or potential is that huge for some of these guys, but they work so much harder than anyone else at what they do, and know so much about the game. They have enormous physical talent, but i think their mental capacity is what seperates a lot of them from the everyone else.

That's one thing i love about hockey (there's nothing that i don't love about hockey to be honest). When we have former pros... you know it when they're on the ice, but the sport itself is so team oriented, that they don't just go out and win the entire game for a team with 5 unassisted goals every night. They're biggest impact is the way they draw attention and dish to other players that are open for solid chances.

Really only a goalie has the ability to nearly single handedly win a game. When i started playing in our adult A league growing up (i was 15 or 16 at that time), we had Jaro, a czech guy that played a few years in the NHL before his motorcycle accident. I knew it when he was on the ice, not because he put so many goals in, because he drew so much attention that the rest of his team was wide open. In a 16 game season, he may have had 8 goals... but he'd have 30+ assists.
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caveman27 · Minors Joined: 05 Jul 2008 Posts: 167

Underrated by who? Some of those guys are listed as Vezina Trophy candidates.

Slinky · Minors Joined: 17 Feb 2009 Posts: 471 Location: Canton, GA

the ones that are have 1 nomination, largely because Luongo and Brodeur normally take up 2 spots every single year.

Thomas, best GAA and save % in the NHL... barely gets any mention with elite goalies. Biron is a solid goalie, in a brutal market for goalies. The others are really in smaller markets that don't get any coverage. Smith, Lehtonin, Backstrom, Miller.
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Arthriticbutterflystyle · Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 2:40 pm Post subject:

Yeah but Thomas isn't "Elite" yet IMO. To be Elite you not only have to post great numbers (Not necessarily top number, but 5th or better) at least 2 or 3 consecutive years. Anyone can have an epic year, but if you do it back to back to back then I shall call you Elite.

Slinky · Minors Joined: 17 Feb 2009 Posts: 471 Location: Canton, GA

thomas was top 5 last year too... he was the year before that but didn't have enough games to qualify for most of the stat sheets b/c he was splitting time w/ hannu toivonen, who... is somewhere in st. louis's farm system now i think.

i wouldn't say he's elite yet either... but he definitely deserves more ink than he gets
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montreal961 · Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 10:54 pm Post subject:

The most overrated underrated goalie is Thomas. All I ever hear is people saying "He's so underrated!” well so your saying he's good? And if everyone says he’s good, then he’s not underrated. Very Happy