Prospect Info: 2019 71st Overall Pick | G Hugo Alnefelt

[TheDaysOf 04]

After a shutout in the QF, he had some highlight reel saves and some he'd like back today in the Semis against a much tougher opponent. He battled, but a few mistakes cost him. Would have been amazing to see him take Sweden to the gold medal game after winning gold last year in the U-18s. Going to have to wait a little longer before any appoints him Prince Hugo, heir to King Henrik's throne.

 

[Zwui21]

In his Midseason prospects ranking, Pronman put Alnefelt at 6th overall in the goalies ranking, under the category "Very Good/Legit Bubble"
Pronman: 2019-20 midseason NHL prospects ranking

6. Hugo Alnefelt, Tampa Bay
June 4, 2001 | 6-foot-3 | 183 pounds
Drafted: 71st-overall (2019)
Previous ranking: Not Ranked
Going into the draft last season I wasn’t all-in on Alnefelt, while I knew some scouts who loved him and right now it looks like I may have gotten that one wrong. Tampa’s third-round pick in 2019 has been great this season in the SHL in limited starts and was a top goalie at the world juniors. There is a bit of a small sample size warning on his season, but it’s hard to be too critical. He’s a fantastic athlete who can make spectacular saves and is creative in between the pipes. I think his game this season has more control and less scramble than I saw in his draft season.

 

[theslatcher]

Made a whale of a save.

 

[DeeVeeUss]

After a shutout in the QF, he had some highlight reel saves and some he'd like back today in the Semis against a much tougher opponent. He battled, but a few mistakes cost him. Would have been amazing to see him take Sweden to the gold medal game after winning gold last year in the U-18s. Going to have to wait a little longer before any appoints him Prince Hugo, heir to King Henrik's throne.

Pince Hugo & Prince Magnus, would love if either of our Swede boys rise through the ranks for us

 

[Zwui21]

This guy is a beast

 

[Point21]

He has really turned things around in his 2nd year, 11-5-1 with a 2.20 GAA and .929 SV%. Looks like he is ready to take the starting job from Legace.

 

[Hoek]

Pretty great to see. I wonder what flipped for him as he sure looked like a bust for a while there.

 

[Master P]

Pretty great to see. I wonder what flipped for him as he sure looked like a bust for a while there.

Goalies take longer to develop. Could be he simply just needed a little more time.

 

[brakeyawself]

Goalies take longer to develop. Could be he simply just needed a little more time.

Think they'll have him spend another year in the A or try him out as backup? I'm curious what their plans will be, since he's obviously not going to replace Vas any time in the next... well, decade maybe if he's lucky lol.

 

[Five Alarm Fire]

Think they'll have him spend another year in the A or try him out as backup? I'm curious what their plans will be, since he's obviously not going to replace Vas any time in the next... well, decade maybe if he's lucky lol.

He's the current feature of a long line of goalie prospects who get stuck behind Vasilevskiy and eventually traded. He's the first one we've had that I feel has true starter potential.

If we could somehow get him 30 games a year moving forward and it goes well, we could get a decent haul for him. Similar to what guys like Georgiev were worth in the open market. There is a shortage of goalies in the league right now, I would hate to see another goalie prospect go to waste in this organization.

 

[Point21]

Think they'll have him spend another year in the A or try him out as backup? I'm curious what their plans will be, since he's obviously not going to replace Vas any time in the next... well, decade maybe if he's lucky lol.

hes only 21 and will be 22 when next season starts. i think we will have a stop gap like Elliott next year with Alnefelt having the AHL starting job and if he continues to put up good numbers, he will get his shot in the 2024-25 season in a back-up role.

 

[DFC]

Yeah, he probably follows Elliott, although at Elliott's age, sometimes the cliff is really steep and come out of nowhere. So it could happen sooner than 24/25.

Then I think we play it by ear. Might be we get into that situation that it seemed like SJ and Anaheim were always in, developing goalies who could start elsewhere and trading them in their mid-twenties.

The only way I see Vasy not being The Man here for the duration of his contract is if Hedman, Stamkos, and Kucherov all fall off the age cliff and we're forced to burn it down. JBB seems cold-blooded enough for a hard tank if it's best for the future of the franchise. I know that seems disloyal, but keep in mind Kane and Toews might both be moving on from Chicago this year. Our cupboard is pretty bare right now, so, for the first time in about a decade we can see a realistic end of our window. There will be all time greats who don't want to go through a rebuild in their early thirties.

 

[BoltzManConstant]

Yeah, he probably follows Elliott, although at Elliott's age, sometimes the cliff is really steep and come out of nowhere. So it could happen sooner than 24/25.

Then I think we play it by ear. Might be we get into that situation that it seemed like SJ and Anaheim were always in, developing goalies who could start elsewhere and trading them in their mid-twenties.

The only way I see Vasy not being The Man here for the duration of his contract is if Hedman, Stamkos, and Kucherov all fall off the age cliff and we're forced to burn it down. JBB seems cold-blooded enough for a hard tank if it's best for the future of the franchise. I know that seems disloyal, but keep in mind Kane and Toews might both be moving on from Chicago this year. Our cupboard is pretty bare right now, so, for the first time in about a decade we can see a realistic end of our window. There will be all time greats who don't want to go through a rebuild in their early thirties.

Wouldn't be surprised if JBB games this out a bit to keep his contract down. Alnefelt comes up at the end of next season as an RFA, and we probably want to lock him up for a few more years on something close to minimum (or at least fully bury-able, which I think is around $1.05m right now) before we give him the chance to show himself in the NHL and potentially drive up his asking price.

I mean, with Vasy able to iron-man it through the playoffs (I think we've gone three straight playoffs, playing the max 4 series each time, without a single minute played by the backup G) there's very limited value in our backup. It's that rare case - the exception to the rule - where slowing down a guy's development won't hurt, might even help.

So I do think we're in for at least one more season of Ingram (or a similar vet), unless we re-sign Alnefelt with term before his contract is up at end of next season.