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Red Line Report
Kyle Woodlief
June 17, 2007

At Red Line Report, we consider this to be an extremely poor year for goaltenders, lacking in both top-end quality and middle-tier quantity. We don't see any world-beating, franchise netminders coming out of this year's crop, or even anything resembling a sure-fire blue-chipper. In fact, there may not be a single goaltender selected in this draft's first round — and you'd have to go all the way back to 1992 to find the last time that occurred.

If there is a consensus "chalk" pick at the top, it would have to be Jeremy Smith. His natural athleticism and flexibility, along with acrobatic movement and a knack for coming up with big saves at key times, stamps Smith as at least a legitimate contender for the back end of the first round, though it can't help that he was nailed to the bench for almost all of Plymouth's playoff run through the OHL and on into the Memorial Cup.

But Kent Patterson is really Red Line's choice as the least heralded sleeper goaltender pick of the draft. He's a stand-up netminder who battles hard and hates to lose. He brings competitive fire and plays with a reassuring confidence that is settling to teammates. Plus he's the youngest player in this or any other year's draft. With a Sept. 15 birthdate, if he were born just a few hours later, he would not be eligible until 2008. So he's got a lot more upside on the developmental curve.

Another underappreciated netminder (for RLR's money) is Josh Unice. Nobody talks about him much and he's not real flashy, but he's got quick feet and competes well, and always gives his team a chance to win. Kind of gets lost in the shuffle among the galaxy of big names on the U.S. National U-18 Team roster, and for most of the season was forced to split playing time with Brad Phillips. But when the big games rolled around at the international tournaments, it was easy to see whom the coaching staff and team had confidence in as Unice got all the starts.

Trevor Cann is a smallish netminder with a bulldog mentality who battled hard all season long behind a young and inexperienced defence in Peterborough. Saw tons of rubber and occasionally got shelled, but always came back strong and never wilted on his team mentally. Though only 5-11, Cann is powerfully put together and hangs tough with traffic around the crease. He's quick both side-to-side and down-to-up, and plays his angles well. He'll need to improve his glove hand and rebound control to succeed at the next level.

The most colorful character in the whole draft is Mark Owuya, who fancies himself a rap star and goes by the moniker of Mark in Da Park. We think he should stick to rap because we've never seen a goalie with more technical flaws. Any team that takes him will have to have a very good goalie coach on call 24-7. But Owuya does have fine raw physical tools with good size, excellent natural athleticism and quickness. He's also a battler who never gives up on a play and will make lots of acrobatic saves, frequently overcoming problems caused by his own poor technique. Perhaps Owuya's best trait as a goaltender is extreme faith in himself; he plays with so much confidence (even when it's entirely unwarranted) that his teammates pick up on it and play better in front of him.

Tyson Sexsmith backstopped the Vancouver Giants to the Memorial Cup, and that has to count for something. It will certainly elevate his stock on Draft Day, but we're still not entirely sold. He benefited from playing behind a stout defense but is far too inconsistent to be considered a top prospect; and when he's bad, he sometimes looks as though he couldn't stop a beach ball. He does have good size and technique but is not overly quick or athletic. He seems a bit stiff in his movements, has trouble reading plays around the net and frequently overcommits way too early. We think he'd be more effective if he used his size to better advantage by playing a quieter game and being more economical in his movements. If he learns to let the play come to him more often, Sexsmith could still pan out.

One netminder with highly intriguing long-range potential is Andrew Engelage. He's huge at 6-5 and 195 pounds, and he combines that immense size with good natural athleticism and an improving skill set. His glove and anticipation both improved nicely over the course of the season, and he has a better awareness of developing situations. He's still very raw and needs much improvement on his angles and rebound control, but he concentrates well in traffic and is coachable. With the physical tools at his disposal, our bet is that Engelage could well be a late-blooming sleeper in the pros.

Sleepers

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