Who immediately comes to mind when you think of some "goaltenders of the future" who were supposed to tend goal for your club for many years, but for some reason or another it didn't pan out?
Doesn't necessarily have to be players who were considered future elite netminders, but goaltenders who were looked upon highly by the organization and fans.
For the Habs I think of:
Steve Penney - Was immediately considered a future star after his performance as a rookie in the 1984 playoffs. He won 9 playoff games to go along with 3 shutouts. He went on to have a decent season in '84-'85 before becoming the backup in '85-'86. He played 15 games over the next 2 seasons for Winnipeg before being out of the league for good. Thank god for Patrick Roy. I remember reading in Roy's biography that Penney didn't really take his training seriously and that the early success may have gone to his head.
Randy Exelby - After 4 seasons playing in the CCHA, the undersized goaltender moved on to the Sherbrooke Canadiens where in his 2nd season he would be named to the AHL's First All-Star Team, was the co-winner of the the Harry "Hap" Holmes trophy for fewest goals against allowed, and captured the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award for the AHL's Top Goaltender. He was rated 5th overall (top goaltender) for Habs prospects in THN's '89 "In The System" issue.
Les Kuntar - In an early 90's issue of THN's Future Watch, it was said he was considered what many believed to be the Habs "goaltender of the future." He played 3 seasons in Fredericton (AHL) and ended up playing 6 career games for the Habs. Now I'm not sure if he was actually a highly rated prospect, or if the writer of that particular article was just very high on him. That was the only time I ever read or heard of him being considered a "goalie of the future."
Mathieu Garon - Some fans believed he was the better goaltender of the two during Theodore's time as a number 1 goalie in Montreal. When Jose struggled, many were quick to offer him up in trade proposals because they believed Mathieu was the better goalie of the two. Also, many scouts were said to believe Mathieu had much higher potential than Theo.
I also remember some fans being very high on Vadim Tarasov (7th rounder in '99) after we got him under contract.
Doesn't necessarily have to be players who were considered future elite netminders, but goaltenders who were looked upon highly by the organization and fans.
For the Habs I think of:
Steve Penney - Was immediately considered a future star after his performance as a rookie in the 1984 playoffs. He won 9 playoff games to go along with 3 shutouts. He went on to have a decent season in '84-'85 before becoming the backup in '85-'86. He played 15 games over the next 2 seasons for Winnipeg before being out of the league for good. Thank god for Patrick Roy. I remember reading in Roy's biography that Penney didn't really take his training seriously and that the early success may have gone to his head.
Randy Exelby - After 4 seasons playing in the CCHA, the undersized goaltender moved on to the Sherbrooke Canadiens where in his 2nd season he would be named to the AHL's First All-Star Team, was the co-winner of the the Harry "Hap" Holmes trophy for fewest goals against allowed, and captured the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award for the AHL's Top Goaltender. He was rated 5th overall (top goaltender) for Habs prospects in THN's '89 "In The System" issue.
Les Kuntar - In an early 90's issue of THN's Future Watch, it was said he was considered what many believed to be the Habs "goaltender of the future." He played 3 seasons in Fredericton (AHL) and ended up playing 6 career games for the Habs. Now I'm not sure if he was actually a highly rated prospect, or if the writer of that particular article was just very high on him. That was the only time I ever read or heard of him being considered a "goalie of the future."
Mathieu Garon - Some fans believed he was the better goaltender of the two during Theodore's time as a number 1 goalie in Montreal. When Jose struggled, many were quick to offer him up in trade proposals because they believed Mathieu was the better goalie of the two. Also, many scouts were said to believe Mathieu had much higher potential than Theo.
I also remember some fans being very high on Vadim Tarasov (7th rounder in '99) after we got him under contract.
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