NYR must be pretty nervous about Montoya
- Thread starter Chayos
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Wait and see how he performs back on his team.
Fleury and Leneveu both had bad tournaments but were stellar back in their teams. Tourney play is so different to a regular season / playoffs. Conversely Roman Tomanek was outstanding in one tournament and is pretty poor for Calgary Hitmen.
Fleury and Leneveu both had bad tournaments but were stellar back in their teams. Tourney play is so different to a regular season / playoffs. Conversely Roman Tomanek was outstanding in one tournament and is pretty poor for Calgary Hitmen.
nomorekids
The original, baby
nomorekids said:
Agreed, but a good tournament is better than a bad tournament. With all eyes focussed on the tournament this year, it's interesting to see who has handled the pressure well and who has "crumbled".
Besides, it isn't over yet... the most important games are yet to be played.
ALF AmericanLionsFan
Registered User
pld459666
Registered User
No more worried than
Nashville should be with Ryan Suter.
The whole US team is not playing anywhere near their capabilities, Montoya stands out because he's their last line of defence and when the rest of the players in front of him breakdown Montoya not having a good Tourney is amplified because all his mistakes cost the US goals.
There's a few bright spots on the US team and Kessel is one of them, but let's not get crazy here and say that 1 bad tourney is indicative of a player and his future, good, bad or indifferent.
Chayos1 said:
Nashville should be with Ryan Suter.
The whole US team is not playing anywhere near their capabilities, Montoya stands out because he's their last line of defence and when the rest of the players in front of him breakdown Montoya not having a good Tourney is amplified because all his mistakes cost the US goals.
There's a few bright spots on the US team and Kessel is one of them, but let's not get crazy here and say that 1 bad tourney is indicative of a player and his future, good, bad or indifferent.
I would agree with most of you, that a poor performance at one tournament is nothing to worry about, but in Montoya's case I do think there is cause for concern. With other position players this would be a blip on the radar, but when you are dealing with goaltenders, it is different. More than any other position it requires confidence in yourself and from your teammates. The mental part of the game is a lot bigger for keepers, that is why most of them are a little quirky away from the rink. I think coming off of last years tournament as the big reason why the US won gold, then being selected 6th overall by the Rangers really put a lot on Montoya's shoulders. True he hasn't had a great year at Michigan, but the WJC is a microcosm of the hockey world. There is a tremendous amount of pride and pressure that goes along with playing for your country in a short and gruelling tourney for junior hockey supremacy. If that wasn't enough, the tourney is in the US, which means coming off a gold last year, and now hosting the event and trying to repeat, Americans may actually be watching. MA Fleury has had to go through some real tough times to try and regain that edge he had in the 2003 WJC, which he carried into to NHL, but then lost it all with that poor 3rd period against the US in the gold medal game. He has had to do some serious soul searching. That being said Montoya has looked awful at times not in one period but in every game. He is rechecking his posts all the time, he doesn't seem square to the shooter, his anticipation is way off, and whats worse is his concentration. He has allowed some goals from beyond the blue line for cryin' out loud. He did play much better last night vs. the Czechs, but it was to little to late as he got shown up by the Czech backup who played out of his mind.
In closing I would just like to say that last years performance at the WJC was not a fluke, this kid can play, and has the tools to be great, but he will have to now sit back and take stock of his goaltending makeup, and go back to the basics. This may take time, but if he tries to short cut it, we may never see him in the NHL, and if the Rangers choose to rush their prized pick, then they will ruin him for the remainder of his career. True this tournament won't mean much if he and the Rangers recognize that there is a problem that must be addressed NOW! He has to regain his confidence first, and hope everything else takes care of itself.
In closing I would just like to say that last years performance at the WJC was not a fluke, this kid can play, and has the tools to be great, but he will have to now sit back and take stock of his goaltending makeup, and go back to the basics. This may take time, but if he tries to short cut it, we may never see him in the NHL, and if the Rangers choose to rush their prized pick, then they will ruin him for the remainder of his career. True this tournament won't mean much if he and the Rangers recognize that there is a problem that must be addressed NOW! He has to regain his confidence first, and hope everything else takes care of itself.
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Double O Soul
Registered User
RangerBoy
Dolan sucks!!!
Puckhead said:
Are you finished?When Al Montoya turns pro after his junior or senior season,the Rangers have a pretty good goalie coach in Benoit Allaire to work out the kinks
One good tournament can be tremendous in lifting someone in a draft but I don't think it, along with a bad one, provides much of an evaluation of how good a goalie is. Sure, Montoya has let in some bad goals but when you pretty much have 5 forwards on the ice at all times (because their defensemen are not defensive minded at all it seems), it makes it hard to play in net.
The US team in general has played some horrible hockey and I hope that in the medal rounds they turn it around. As for Montoya, in the long run he'll be fine.
The US team in general has played some horrible hockey and I hope that in the medal rounds they turn it around. As for Montoya, in the long run he'll be fine.
pld459666 said:
I thought Suter played great up until the game 3. He wasn't as awful as the rest of the Dman on that roster, but he had a bad game too.
Suter has been, above and away, team USA's best defensive player. He's the only player who's steady from the point on the PP and who seems to know what to do in his own zone. Players like Lee and Likens (and most of the forward core) run around like headless chickens half the time in their own zone. The times they aren't running around, they are flat-footed staring at open oponents in the slot. Suter is not without fault as his breakout pass/gift to Kostistyn can attest, but he's hardly been bad for the team. I have been very impressed by his hockey sense and he isn't losing one on one battles. Even against Belarus, where the Belarussians were winning what seemed like every battle, Suter was solid. He had a great game 1 and a really good game two, and a bad game 3. I didn't see all of game four but I doubt he was that bad if his team only gave up 2 goals (the second of which I thought should have been stopped). He's had several stellar hits on players like Ovechkin and Yunkov and made several great passes to setup scoring chances. And his shot from the point is amazing.
The comparison with MAF shouldn't be done IMO.
Fleur was always good in WJC, and had an awful period in the final.
It has nothing to do with Montoya, who had an awful tournament as a whole.
That said, two weeks don't make a career, and I hope (and I'm sure) he'll rebound soon.
Fleur was always good in WJC, and had an awful period in the final.
It has nothing to do with Montoya, who had an awful tournament as a whole.
That said, two weeks don't make a career, and I hope (and I'm sure) he'll rebound soon.
Impossibles
Registered User
I get the feeling that the USA players don't like their coach and are not playing hard for him.
No credibility to that, just my hunch.
No credibility to that, just my hunch.
Riddarn said:
I agree that the Rangers have other good goaltending prospects. I think Montoya was overrated at #6 overall and the Rangers would have been better off picking a skater because they didn't really need him. His play at the WJC can't be dismissed as just letting in a couple of bad goals. His GAA has been about 4.00, and not all of that can be blamed on poor defense in front of him. Some of the US defensemen (Suter, Hunwick, Borer, and Goligoski) have already been drafted and Jeff Likens probably will be drafted.
pld459666
Registered User
He's not had the same impact as last year
and that's where thw analogy is drawn from.
The US as a whole can play alot better and of the goals that Montoya has given up, alot are a direct result of the defence in front of him breaking down.
Has Suter been dreadful? no, but hasn't stood out as one of the better defenceman in the tourney either. He's been the best US defenceman and that's not really saying much.
SmokeyClause said:
and that's where thw analogy is drawn from.
The US as a whole can play alot better and of the goals that Montoya has given up, alot are a direct result of the defence in front of him breaking down.
Has Suter been dreadful? no, but hasn't stood out as one of the better defenceman in the tourney either. He's been the best US defenceman and that's not really saying much.
Impossibles said:
I tend to agree, but I don't think it's that they hate him. They don't look like they're playing hard for him though.
As for Montoya, he'll be a fine goalie. Anyone who thinks he's a bust NOW at age 19 needs to unregister their account here and let the people with actual brains post.
Anthony Mauro
DraftBuzz Hockey
Disappointed: Yes. Nervous: No.
This tourney is not going to make or break his career as an NHL goalie. While it would be nice for everyone's prospects to have a great tourney, its not gonna happen.
As bad as the USA Defense is, there are no excuses for his letting so many goals in. The soft goals are inexcusable and as a 6th overall pick he should even be making difficult saves.
With that said, there still is a whole lot more important tournament left to play, and I'm hoping he shows up for this later part of the Championships.
This tourney is not going to make or break his career as an NHL goalie. While it would be nice for everyone's prospects to have a great tourney, its not gonna happen.
As bad as the USA Defense is, there are no excuses for his letting so many goals in. The soft goals are inexcusable and as a 6th overall pick he should even be making difficult saves.
With that said, there still is a whole lot more important tournament left to play, and I'm hoping he shows up for this later part of the Championships.
pld459666 said:
A lot are the result of poor D play. But how much of that poor D play is Suter's fault? As good as he is, he can't make Likens play the man. He can't make Likens play calm. He can't make Likens maintain position. Suter has, several times, done a stellar job with his man only to find out that there's a man open right in front of the net that Likens chose not to pick up.
And I'd venture to say that more of the goals given up by team USA have been the goalies fault than the D core.
SmokeyClause said:
I don't know about that. Forwards on the other team should NEVER be able to step out from behind the goal line and get a good shot off. NEVER.
And if you were a goalie, how would you like playing the distinct majority of the game in your own zone. Montoya had to always be ready for the shot, the defense allowed the other team to hang out in our zone. Having to always be ready like that without a break can be tiring. That could be some of the reason for some of the soft goals, he could have just been tired. But in no way am I excusing Montoya for a goal from 5 feet out of the blueline.
SmokeyClause said:
Look at how many shots the USA goaltenders have seen, then look at how many shots Canada's goalies have seen.
modestfwd said:
I agree that they should never be left a lone in front of the net. And while that has happened, how many times have Montoya and Co. let in a bad goal? Let's see, the Ovechkin goal and the Rylov goal in the Russian game are goals that should have been stopped. I'm trying to recall the Pestunov goal, so I can't say for that one. There have also been countless 20-25 shots that find there way by him. Not every goal is his fault. In the Belarus game, there were times the defense hung both out to dry. But I stand by my comment that more of the goals have been of the weak variety as opposed to the poor D play kind.
Hunter Gathers
The Crown
Evilo said:
No, Fleury was shakey the whole tournament and NEVER got into a groove. I don't know which goalie you were watching.
Hunter Gathers
The Crown
SmokeyClause said:
In no way has it been MOST of the "weak" variety. It's been 1-2 BAD goals a game and then the team collapsing in front of him. The defense has been awful. Casey Borer has been the ONE defenseman who's played solid for all the games so far. Even Suter had on off night.
With that said, Montoya has also let out some wicked rebounds but the defense must also be there to at least HELP to clear them (the Olesz goal, for example).
Hopefully he comes back as the big game goalie he is. He only let in 2 goals in the Czech game.
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