Chrisd said:both...
Harding is the best wild prospect, over o'sullivan, voloshenko/pouliot forsure.
Chrisd said:im not sure if he'll need his numbers inflated...(Harding that is)
quite frankly ...
his Regina pats teams played HORRIBLE defense, and he was unreal there..was the only reason they were respectable.
Also in his last 7 AHL starts, he has faced 40 or more shots each game, so his defense hasn't been good in his minor league career, and he's posted unreal numbers.
Caniacforever said:Well, take a look at Cam Ward's AHL statistics from last season and you'll see what i'm talking about.
Here are Harding's from this year: 2005-06 Houston Aeros AHL 33 0 3 8 1906 81 0 2 2.55 25 7 0 1024 0.927
Here are Ward's from last year: 2004-05 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL 50 0 0 19 2828 94 0 6 1.99 27 17 3 1393 0.937
Keep in mind also that there was FAR more talent in the AHL last season than there is this season, and Ward eight months younger than Harding this year. Those numbers are impressive at any level, but you can see that his numbers in Carolina are taking a beating because he has yet to adjust fully to the pro game and the system that Carolina plays this year isn't very good for numbers. Gerber, as seen in the olympics, has only a 2.6 goals against average and a .907 save percentage. He's played worlds better than that, but his numbers don't back that statement up. Same with Ward.
What i'm saying is that both are great prospects, but the NHL system they play for is going to make a differance in the numbers for those that are so inclined to misread them. Not saying Ward has been great this year, but he hasn't been as bad as the numbers indicate. I go on a very subjective system when judging goaltenders, and it's how I "feel" when they're in net for my team. I still get the feeling that Ward can come up with huge saves when needed, so i've still got a lot of respect for him for that reason.
Chrisd said:Well if you're going off stats I could point out Cam wards less then stellar .877 numbers, but it's not all about stats. Like I said in my orginal post I don't think one is better at this point then the other, Cam got his shot first, cuz Josh has 2 guys in front of him, but long term who knows.
DoobieDoobieDo said:Personally I would take either or. I'm biased since I'm a Wild (among other teams) fan. But Harding has put up great numbers on some crappy teams. If I had to be forced to choose, I would say Ward. There was a reason he was drafted in the first round. The goaltender depth in 2002 was ridiculous.
Here's my rankings:
1) Kari Lehtonen
2) Hannu Toivonen
2) Cam Ward
4) Josh Harding
5) David LeVeneu
6) Jeff Deslauriers
7) Maxime Daigneault
8) Tobias Stephen
That's a great group of goaltenders in the 1st and 2nd round.
Chrisd said:im not sure if he'll need his numbers inflated...(Harding that is)
quite frankly ...
his Regina pats teams played HORRIBLE defense, and he was unreal there..was the only reason they were respectable.
Also in his last 7 AHL starts, he has faced 40 or more shots each game, so his defense hasn't been good in his minor league career, and he's posted unreal numbers.
CrossCheck said:Obviously putting Lundqvist right after Lethonen if ever...