Prospect Info: Ville Husso (2014 Draft - 94 Overall)

[bleedblue1223]

Looks like in Rampage Spencer Martin (50GP) had last year #1 gig, Cannata (6GP) split few games after that. If Husso is playing in Rampage I doubt he'll get more then 20 GP which in my mind isn't any near as enough for him. Looks like Rampage have acquire another goaltender for next season too Sam Brittain, who's ECHL/AHL caliber goaltender.

So they have now 4 goaltenders (Martin, Cannata and Brittain + Husso)

No need to be worried?

I expect him to get starter minutes, but lets at least wait until we know what minutes he will get before we make any judgment either way.

 

[Majorityof1]

I agree that the situation with Husso (and AHL in general) is potentially worrisome. It is even more worrisome for Husso, than others. First, there are less goalie spots available, and one goalie plays the whole game. So if someone else gets the start, chances are Husso gets no ice time that game. A skater, on the other hand, would get at least some time. Secondly, ice-time for skaters is more a in the heat of the moment decision. If a skater is doing well and the team is down, a coach may favor that player regardless of any directive from on-high to develop team-owned prospects. But goalie decisions are made before the game, and can be more calculated.

However, looking up the information about the Rampage in particular, I am less worried. They are not owned by the Avalanche, and only have an affiliate agreement. I don't know the particulars of that agreement, but I assume it is similar to Chicago where being competitive and selling tickets is balanced with player development. They don't have a long standing relationship with the Avs either, and have changed teams twice before in their short lifetime. I doubt the Avs have a ton of leverage against them. They are owned by a purely for-profit sports management company, the same one who owns the Spurs and several other San Antonio sports teams. Their loyalty is to San Antonio, and San Antonio sports. So they will be more concerned with giving San Antonio fans a good product, than developing Colorado assets.

Therefore I think if Husso proves himself the best goalie, he will be given minutes over lesser guys. He may have to be head and shoulders better, but he should be capable of that given the competition. Canaata is a throwaway. He was traded for in a deadline deal last year to replace Smith who was called up. He is a 27-year old career AHL'er. Brittain is an AHL signee. He is purely practice squad in case of injuries signee. So he only has to beat out Martin, and Martin's stats last year were not great. Even if he can't, he will be the primary back-up, which will probably be close to a 50-50 split.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Looks like in Rampage Spencer Martin (50GP) had last year #1 gig, Cannata (6GP) split few games after that. If Husso is playing in Rampage I doubt he'll get more then 20 GP which in my mind isn't any near as enough for him. Looks like Rampage have acquire another goaltender for next season too Sam Brittain, who's ECHL/AHL caliber goaltender.

So they have now 4 goaltenders (Martin, Cannata and Brittain + Husso)

No need to be worried?

It's not an ideal situation but 2 of those guys appear to be ECHL caliber and Martin didn't have very good AHL stats. Husso should be the best of the 4 and should thus earn plenty of starts. Nothing in life is a guarantee but I'm glad I don't live in the pessimistic world you live in.

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

It's not an ideal situation but 2 of those guys appear to be ECHL caliber and Martin didn't have very good AHL stats. Husso should be the best of the 4 and should thus earn plenty of starts. Nothing in life is a guarantee but I'm glad I don't live in the pessimistic world you live in.

Spencer Martin is legit, and I would assume he'll still get most of the starts, or at least a plurality. Colorado has a very good goalie tandem in Varlamov and Bernier, so I doubt Martin will spend much time in Denver barring an injury to either of them. He might not start 50 games this year with a capable back up like Husso there, but I would be surprised to see him start fewer than 40 for sure.

Neither of Brittain or Cannata are good at all, or at least not as good as Husso. I am thinking that they are both probably destined for the Colorado Eagles. The Avs have a stake in trying to be successful there this year to drum up excitement about their first AHL season next year. Sending two goalies with AHL experience there is a good way to do that. The Eagles only have one goalie signed right now: Lukas Hafner, who has put together some nice seasons lately, but hasn't ever really played much. He's a SPHL/ECHL tweener at this point, and is 25. There's really no guarantee that he won't be SPHL-bound again at some point this season. I don't really understand how the ECHL contract situation works out, I just know that guys get cut all the time and sent around and loaned out to different leagues/teams/whatever.

So we can reasonably expect Husso to start at least 30 games this season, and likely more around 35. Each AHL team plays about 3 games a week, rarely 4, sometimes only 2. If you're pessimistic, you should expect Husso to get one of those starts every week. If you're optimistic, and you think the Rampage will be honest in letting the best players play the most, you hope to see a more equitable distribution there, potentially with Husso winning the starters' role at some point and creeping up into the 40-50 starts zone. Either way, he won't be starting all that much less than you would/should expect from a second-year minor-league goalie prospect on a team with two blue-chippers.

Getting all in a tiff about what will happen to Husso is, in my mind, really the least of our worries. If he does indeed end up in San Antonio, he'll be in good hands, he'll get the starts he needs, and he'll do fine. I completely disagree that we somehow disrespected Husso by sending him to Kansas City last year. If he's really that big of a primadonna, he shouldn't have come over here in the first place. And I really don't think he is, I just think some posters here would rather we treat him like fine china. He's not. He's a big boy trying to win the most competitive job in pro hockey: starting goalie. If he can't get there because Silverstein Ice Center didn't have a gym in the building then he wasn't going to get the job anyway. If that's the case, trade him now, sign Dhillon, and move on.

 

[bleedblue1223]

I wouldn't call Spencer Martin legit, he had a very poor season last year.

 

[Dbrownss]

As a few have said. Its up to Husso to take that job. He's being put in a position to succeed, he still has to run with it. Rampage want to win and if Husso and our prospects give them a better shot, then I'd imagine they will take who they can get

 

[Ranksu]

I completely disagree that we somehow disrespected Husso by sending him to Kansas City last year. If he's really that big of a primadonna, he shouldn't have come over here in the first place. And I really don't think he is, I just think some posters here would rather we treat him like fine china. He's not. He's a big boy trying to win the most competitive job in pro hockey: starting goalie. If he can't get there because Silverstein Ice Center didn't have a gym in the building then he wasn't going to get the job anyway. If that's the case, trade him now, sign Dhillon, and move on.

I doubt Husso wouldn't give such negative interviews if he really hasn't felt that way. He has give two big interviews to most respect finnish sport channel YLE. You can google translate hole interviews. YLE isn't some garbage clickbait site, so they wouldn't do in first place that kind of interview if there isn't reason for it.

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

I wouldn't call Spencer Martin legit, he had a very poor season last year.

He played for a very poor team. When you're starting 50 games as a 21 year-old, and keeping your head above water on a losing team, it tells me that the losses aren't necessarily coming from the play of the Goalie. He started 50 games for a team that earned only 60ish points, and still had a GAA below 3.00 and a save percentage over .900, in his rookie season, as a pretty young guy. You look at what the other goalies did on that team, and what goalies did on other AHL bottom-feeders, his stats are good all-considering. I'm not saying he's Dominik Hasek out there, but he did well enough on a bad team to be considered pretty good, imo. Husso's stats were better, but he also played on a team that finished second in the league.

But, like I said, you put them head-to-head, and if Husso comes out on top, then the Rampage should be playing him as the starter if winning games is their priority. I'm not convinced that's their end game necessarily, but if nothing else the team should be improved by having two legit goalies to lean on instead of just one. 50 games is a lot of hockey for a young goalie to play. Husso will make it so he doesn't have to do that again this season. There's a line of diminishing returns there, 50 games is probably a little more than you want a guy like Martin playing in.

 

[bleedblue1223]

He just barely was under 3.00 and .900. If Husso can't be him out on an AHL team not owned by Martin's parent club, then that's more on Husso.

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

I doubt Husso wouldn't give such negative interviews if he really hasn't felt that way. He has give two big interviews to most respect finnish sport channel YLE. You can google translate hole interviews. YLE isn't some garbage clickbait site, so they wouldn't do in first place that kind of interview if there isn't reason for it.

Even through the translation, I think you're reading more drama into the situation than actually exists. Was Husso disappointed that he was sent to KC? Sure sounds like it. Was it a tough lesson? Yep. Does he now realize that nothing is being gifted to him and he'll have to scrap and scrape to get what he wants? Sounds like that's the case too, which is very good news for us. Big deal, that happens to a lot of Euro players: Barbashev said some of the same things. Young players making sacrifices to be here are eager to see their bets pay off, sometimes it just takes some time. Youthful impatience isn't a reason to just cave and give them a starting role in the NHL, they still have to earn it.

If his dad is upset that he's not getting 40-50 starts this year, that's fine, he's allowed to feel that way, but if Husso wants to play in the NHL some day, going back to Europe is only going to set him back. NHL goalies sometimes start in the ECHL. NHL goalies don't run back to Europe and then all of a sudden win a starting job later.

But like I said before, if Husso feels like he's entitled to more than that, then he can kick rocks and go play in the Liiga instead. There's other goalies out there that need jobs and would gladly slot in as #3 on our depth chart now for a shot to be #2 in 18-19. If Husso wants to stay on that track, he's got to be patient for another year, that's all there is to it. How many games he gets is up to him, because his dad is right, he's not going to get games handed to him because the organization wants him to play. So go out and get some games and stop complaining about it.

 

[Ranksu]

Even through the translation, I think you're reading more drama into the situation than actually exists. Was Husso disappointed that he was sent to KC? Sure sounds like it. Was it a tough lesson? Yep. Does he now realize that nothing is being gifted to him and he'll have to scrap and scrape to get what he wants? Sounds like that's the case too, which is very good news for us. Big deal, that happens to a lot of Euro players: Barbashev said some of the same things. Young players making sacrifices to be here are eager to see their bets pay off, sometimes it just takes some time. Youthful impatience isn't a reason to just cave and give them a starting role in the NHL, they still have to earn it.

If his dad is upset that he's not getting 40-50 starts this year, that's fine, he's allowed to feel that way, but if Husso wants to play in the NHL some day, going back to Europe is only going to set him back. NHL goalies sometimes start in the ECHL. NHL goalies don't run back to Europe and then all of a sudden win a starting job later.

But like I said before, if Husso feels like he's entitled to more than that, then he can kick rocks and go play in the Liiga instead. There's other goalies out there that need jobs and would gladly slot in as #3 on our depth chart now for a shot to be #2 in 18-19. If Husso wants to stay on that track, he's got to be patient for another year, that's all there is to it. How many games he gets is up to him, because his dad is right, he's not going to get games handed to him because the organization wants him to play. So go out and get some games and stop complaining about it.

 

[Albatros]

if Husso wants to play in the NHL some day, going back to Europe is only going to set him back. NHL goalies sometimes start in the ECHL. NHL goalies don't run back to Europe and then all of a sudden win a starting job later.

Why should playing in a much weaker league in North America benefit his career more than a better and more professional environment in Europe? Sounds more like a senseless rite of passage than a rational developmental decision.

 

[Klank Loves You]

Why should playing in a much weaker league in North America benefit his career more than a better and more professional environment in Europe? Sounds more like a senseless rite of passage than a rational developmental decision.

I imagine the idea was to give him time to adjust to NA ice. No, the EHCL didnt challenge him, but i doubt management thought it would.

Seems like the conflict is over a miscommunication. Husso expected better conditions and a way to immedietly prove himself while management wanted him to get comfortable while they figured out the goalie log jam in Chicago.

Were going to be partnered officially with the Rampage next year. I see no reason why they wont give Husso a fair shot to play minutes. If hes good, he'll play.

 

[Bluesnatic27]

Why should playing in a much weaker league in North America benefit his career more than a better and more professional environment in Europe? Sounds more like a senseless rite of passage than a rational developmental decision.

Why would being thrown into a league he was clearly not ready for at the time, in an environment he wasn't comfortable with, be better for his development?

Some people act as if there is nothing to gain from playing in a NA league, even if that league is the ECHL.

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

Why should playing in a much weaker league in North America benefit his career more than a better and more professional environment in Europe? Sounds more like a senseless rite of passage than a rational developmental decision.

The AHL is not "much weaker" than any league in the world outside of the NHL or KHL, and even then I'd still take most AHL squads over all but the top KHL teams in a head-to-head scenario. It doesn't have the notoriety other leagues have, but the competition is absolutely there.

He needs to be getting used to the North American ice surface, the angles, the pace, the traffic, the puck movement. He can't do that in Finland, even if he's starting 70 games there. If he wants to play in the NHL (really as soon as next year, with a strong likelihood he gets a cup of coffee or two this season), he needs to be on the same continent right now.

Should Petr Mrazek have gone back to the Czech Republic when he was still toiling in the AHL after 3 seasons? He started out in the ECHL too. Greiss is the only starting NHL goalie who came over, went back, and came out better off later, and he ended up starting about half the games in Sweden he would have gotten in North America anyways.

AFAIC, Husso is in the right spot, and he'll be fine in the long run. Put your head down, go to work, and set your sights on taking a backup role next season. I'd rather have him taking fewer reps the right way than maximum reps in a context that doesn't really help anything but his ego.

 

[Ranksu]

I agree that the situation with Husso (and AHL in general) is potentially worrisome. It is even more worrisome for Husso, than others. First, there are less goalie spots available, and one goalie plays the whole game. So if someone else gets the start, chances are Husso gets no ice time that game. A skater, on the other hand, would get at least some time. Secondly, ice-time for skaters is more a in the heat of the moment decision. If a skater is doing well and the team is down, a coach may favor that player regardless of any directive from on-high to develop team-owned prospects. But goalie decisions are made before the game, and can be more calculated.

However, looking up the information about the Rampage in particular, I am less worried. They are not owned by the Avalanche, and only have an affiliate agreement. I don't know the particulars of that agreement, but I assume it is similar to Chicago where being competitive and selling tickets is balanced with player development. They don't have a long standing relationship with the Avs either, and have changed teams twice before in their short lifetime. I doubt the Avs have a ton of leverage against them. They are owned by a purely for-profit sports management company, the same one who owns the Spurs and several other San Antonio sports teams. Their loyalty is to San Antonio, and San Antonio sports. So they will be more concerned with giving San Antonio fans a good product, than developing Colorado assets.

Therefore I think if Husso proves himself the best goalie, he will be given minutes over lesser guys. He may have to be head and shoulders better, but he should be capable of that given the competition. Canaata is a throwaway. He was traded for in a deadline deal last year to replace Smith who was called up. He is a 27-year old career AHL'er. Brittain is an AHL signee. He is purely practice squad in case of injuries signee. So he only has to beat out Martin, and Martin's stats last year were not great. Even if he can't, he will be the primary back-up, which will probably be close to a 50-50 split.

Bolded: gives me some relief, but as a Blue fan I always fear the worst so I don't count on that. We'll see what happends.

But its interesting so see how big difference is between ECHL and for example finnish league (Liiga), training facillities. And generally how badly organized NHL team can be if they face prospect who is coming from Europe. Lack of coaches or systematic program for young guy who's first time in NA.

To me its interesting that Blues don't have real goaltender coach today? Didn't Conklin get fired?

 

[Majorityof1]

Bolded: gives me some relief, but as a Blue fan I always fear the worst so I don't count on that. We'll see what happends.

But its interesting so see how big difference is between ECHL and for example finnish league (Liiga), training facillities. And generally how badly organized NHL team can be if they face prospect who is coming from Europe. Lack of coaches or systematic program for young guy who's first time in NA.

To me its interesting that Blues don't have real goaltender coach today? Didn't Conklin get fired?

We have an NHL level goalie coach, David Alexander, who took the position Corsi had. He might be handling all the organizational coaching as well, taking both Corsi and Conklin's jobs. Or maybe they will send Brodeur down to work with the prospects. I don't know why they didn't replace Conklin's position, or even why they fired him since he was part of coaching Allen to his turn around with Brodeur.

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

Bolded: gives me some relief, but as a Blue fan I always fear the worst so I don't count on that. We'll see what happends.

But its interesting so see how big difference is between ECHL and for example finnish league (Liiga), training facillities. And generally how badly organized NHL team can be if they face prospect who is coming from Europe. Lack of coaches or systematic program for young guy who's first time in NA.

To me its interesting that Blues don't have real goaltender coach today? Didn't Conklin get fired?

David Alexander is our goalie coach.

 

[Majorityof1]

David Alexander is our goalie coach.

Beat you to it

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

Beat you to it

 

[STL fan in MN]

Besides Alexander, the Blues have a new organizational goalie instructor to replace Conklin - Dave Rogalski.

I don't know much of anything about Dave other than he's been a college goalie coach for years but they do have a guy.

 

[Majorityof1]

Besides Alexander, the Blues have a new organizational goalie instructor to replace Conklin - Dave Rogalski.

I don't know much of anything about Dave other than he's been a college goalie coach for years but they do have a guy.

You are right, apparently. Was that announced? I just googled it, and only saw an obscure tweet by a Minnesota youth hockey league that even mention the hire.

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

Besides Alexander, the Blues have a new organizational goalie instructor to replace Conklin - Dave Rogalski.

I don't know much of anything about Dave other than he's been a college goalie coach for years but they do have a guy.

You are right, apparently. Was that announced? I just googled it, and only saw an obscure tweet by a Minnesota youth hockey league that even mention the hire.

Super weird, I hadn't heard of that either. Good to have another young guy aboard I guess; he's 36. He coached Charlie Lindgren at St. Cloud State, who is now a top goalie in the Montreal system. He also coached Pheonix Copley (BRING! HIM! BACK!) with Tri-City in the USHL several years ago. On that same team was Adam Wilcox, who has been with the Syracuse Crunch the last several years, being coached by none other than our very own David Alexander. So, decent track record there I guess?

Some stuff:

He was a coach at Impact Hockey in MN for 11 years: http://www.impacthockey.com/goalies

He coached Bruins goalie Zane McIntyre as a kid: https://www.nhl.com/news/zane-mcint...hrills-goalie-coach-dave-rogalski/c-283140832

He's also coached Jake Oettinger, Dayton Rasmussen, Jared Moe, Alex Stalock, and Adam Wilcox: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2017/05/12/minnesota-goalies/

 

[STL fan in MN]

You are right, apparently. Was that announced? I just googled it, and only saw an obscure tweet by a Minnesota youth hockey league that even mention the hire.

I had no idea. This thread prompted me to look at the Blues front office listing and noticed this guy's name and then googled him.

So no idea when they hired him. But he seems to have a pretty good resume. I'd assume Alexander knows him and perhaps recommended him but that's just a guess.

In any event, good that they have that 2nd organizational goalie coach.

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

I would prefer Husso is in the AHL or back in Finland. The ECHL isn't somewhere I want a guy in a critical year of development, when he needs higher level competition.

Husso's ex liiga team HIFK not have free goalie spots right now.
HIFK has three goalies ( Engren,Backstrom and Lankinen) looking for SM liiga icetime so competition is tough.

HIFK's goalie situation right now
Lankinen is injured he received knee injury which required surgery during pre-season in early August.
He should be back late December or early January 2018.

Niklas Backstrom returned to HIFK last season when he retired his NHL career.
But he won't play much he's been injured and there's no guarantees how much he can play during the regular season.
And it's really likely he'll retire after this season.

When Lankinen injured HIFK signed Atte Engren.
Engren is national team caliber goalie and he's represented twice Team Finland in hockey world championships.

If Husso wants back to HIFK, HIFK needs at least bought Backstrom out his contract and loan Lankinen other liiga team because Lankinen do not want be 3rd goalie.
So Husso can't return to HIFK if HIFK can't make changes their goalie pool.