Stana -
Only seen him play twice. One time he looked very good, the other like he didn't belong. Both times he got pelted with shots. Oullet is ahead of him on the depth chart, but he's worth keeping.
Gladskikh -
Evegeny is regarded as a long shot with some decent potential. I wouldn't expect too much out of him, or too soon considering Vancouver's bottleneck at forward. No one is writing him off, he's still a very unknown quantity.
Cam Ward -
Memorial Cup winner with Red Deer in '01
Cam has played for one of the best junior teams in the world, the Sutter coached Red Deer Rebels of the WHL. This has made Cam's stats a bit skewed, since playing in front of Dion Phaenuf (#9 overall to CGY '03) and Jeff Woywitka (#27 overall to Phi '01) is quite a desirable postion. Team GAA was 2.16 last year. That said, Cam has been spectacular production wise.
Since being drafted, Cam has been named CHL player of the week and WHL player of the week. He lead the WHL in both gaa and sv% last year. Despite his accolades and production, there are still worries about Ward. He has always had the solid but unspectacular label. He is a known quantity in that barring injury I'm nearly certain he'll play in the NHL. The doubts are whether Ward has the physical assets (aside from his glove) to become an NHL #1. He hasn't progressed much since being drafted, which worries some; I don't buy that the only way to tell if a keeper is ready for the NHL is to play him.
Technique wise Cam is a butterfly dominant goalie. He moves well across the net and is pretty solid in coverage. His best asset has always been his glove hand, which is extremely quick. Although he is solid in his positioning, he has developed some glove use habits which could leave him vulnerable at the NHL level. His reliance on his glove can easily be remedied during apprenticeship. Basically he still needs someone to tell him when to stay up and have it stick.
Cam was regarded as a "reach" when Carolina snagged him 25th overall. I still think Carolina jumped the gun when they took Ward. They're happy to have him, but he could have been had later on by trading down and picking up some assets. Cam was rated the #60 undrafted prospect by THN in his draft year.
I would regard Cam as a low risk low ceiling prospect. It would surprise me if Cam became an all-star goaltender. However it would surprise me if he did not become a solid back-up, who could play a significant role a la Glenn Healy, Manny Legace, Mike Dunham for a long time and maybe get a starting job later in his career. The fact that Carolina had some much interest in trading to get MA Fleury speaks seems to bolster this evaluation.
Stats
'01-'02 46g 2694m 30w 2.27gaa .911sv%
'02-'03 57g 3368m 40w 2.10gaa .920sv%
'03-'04 25g ----m 15w 2.25gaa .915sv% * in progress
). Has been stuck on the 4th line for 2 years but was finally given 3rd line icetime a few weeks into the season this year and has started scoring at a respectable rate, especially for a 3rd liner.
