G Connor Hellebuyck (2012, 130th, WPG)

[StronGeer]

How doesn't this guy have a thread yet?

Corey Pronman @coreypronman · 1h 1 hour ago

WPG's Connor Hellebuyck is on fire currently in the AHL. Stops 41/42 after a .939 November.

Corey Pronman @coreypronman · 59m 59 minutes ago

Going in order of NAHL, two NCAA seasons and this yr in AHL, Hellebuyck's-WPG SV%s have been .930, .952, .941, .932.

This guy has done nothing but succeed. Hard not to be excited.

Click to read more...

 

[Koonta]

Could be the most under-rated prospect in all of Hockey at least on these boards anyway. He has a bright future. The Jets are very deep in Goaltending prospects now and had virtually none before moving to Wpg.

 

[Sweech]

It's going to be funny when he's a top NHL goalie and everyone says they had no idea who he was. The kid has been downright dominant anywhere he's played.

 

[Jesus Christ Horburn]

Kind of ironic that we have all these great goaltending prospects (Hellebuyck, Comrie, Phillips, Kasdorf and Hutchinson) and yet Pavelec is still our #1

 

[Whileee]

Why do I still feel that we'll continue to have fans from other teams proposing trades in the Trade forums that include their team's goalie prospects. The Jets look to be in pretty good shape with goalie prospects:

Hutchinson (NHL rookie, 9 games): 1.62 GAA, 0.943 save%
Hellebuyck (AHL rookie): 2.26, 0.934
Comrie (WHL): 2.44, 9.23

 

[Halfy]

Mr. "Big and Boring"

 

[Romang67]

Fine, I'll just go with a controversial statement and see if this thread can get some traffic.

Connor Hellebuyck is the best goaltender prospect in the game now that Gibson has graduated.

 

[Gump Hasek]

Fine, I'll just go with a controversial statement and see if this thread can get some traffic.

Connor Hellebuyck is the best goaltender prospect in the game now that Gibson has graduated.

He is; the funny thing about that statement is that few (if any) of the goalie experts on this board paid much attention to him whatsoever in their rankings - despite that Hellebuyck was arguably the best goalie in NCAA for the previous two seasons. It seems that, to some of them at least, that draft position equals future results.

 

[Whileee]

He is; the funny thing about that statement is that few (if any) of the goalie experts on this board paid much attention to him whatsoever in their rankings - despite that Hellebuyck was arguably the best goalie in NCAA for the previous two seasons. It seems that, to some of them at least, that draft position equals future results.

Just like for prospects at other positions, a lot of folks hang onto their goalie prospect rankings based on when players were drafted, even though there is ample evidence that the future success of a goalie is much less related to original draft ranking. Evidently, NHL scouts have a much harder time assessing draft-eligible goalies than they do players at other positions. Looking objectively at performance since the draft, Hellebuyck should have risen much more on prospect rankings than he has, but is still held back by his original draft ranking.

 

[Whileee]

Fine, I'll just go with a controversial statement and see if this thread can get some traffic.

Connor Hellebuyck is the best goaltender prospect in the game now that Gibson has graduated.

...this should get interesting. No need to throw in the qualifier about Gibson, is there?

 

[cneely]

Fine, I'll just go with a controversial statement and see if this thread can get some traffic.

Connor Hellebuyck is the best goaltender prospect in the game now that Gibson has graduated.

You're going to see an argument for Vasilevskiy, but Hellebuyck has soundly outplayed him in the AHL this year. Albeit in a small sample size.

 

[Reign Nateo]

Goaltenders are hard to predict, and a lot of their success can generally be attributed to team play, so people aren't as interested in following their development as other players. Plus he came out of college where no one really follows that closely.

He looks pretty outstanding right now and hopefully is the answer long-term for the Jets in net.

 

[Jetabre]

Fine, I'll just go with a controversial statement and see if this thread can get some traffic.

Connor Hellebuyck is the best goaltender prospect in the game now that Gibson has graduated.

Allow me to help...What's that phrase thrown around here as bait? Oh right.

AINEC.

 

[Carl33]

Fine, I'll just go with a controversial statement and see if this thread can get some traffic.

Connor Hellebuyck is the best goaltender prospect in the game now that Gibson has graduated.

Next year, the calder race will be between the 2 Connor!!!

 

[Evil Little]

I've seen it suggested somewhere around here that other goalies on defensively dominant teams have had their numbers inflated by the defensive system in front of them--specifically Carter Hutton also on UMass Lowell--and that the expectations for Hellebuyck should be tempered.

Hutton went pro with an entirely-respectable .913 sv% in his collegiate career; a far cry from the dominant, record breaking .946 sv% of Hellebuyck (who faced 29.15 shots per game versus 26.15 for Hutton).

Hutton:

YEAR(S) | GP | GA | SV | SOG | SOG/GP | SV%
2006-07 | 19 | 52 | 418 | 470 | 24.74 | 0.889
2007-08 | 20 | 49 | 491 | 540 | 27.00 | 0.909
2008-09 | 19 | 38 | 414 | 452 | 23.79 | 0.916
2009-10 | 27 | 55 | 706 | 761 | 28.19 | 0.928
TOTAL | 85 | 194 | 2029 | 2223 | 26.15 | 0.913

Hellebuyck:

YEAR(S) | GP | GA | SV | SOG | SOG/GP | SV%
2012-13 | 24 | 32 | 628 | 660 | 27.50 | 0.952
2013-14 | 29 | 52 | 833 | 885 | 30.52 | 0.941
TOTAL | 53 | 84 | 1461 | 1545 | 29.15 | 0.946

 

[Dfresh429]

*cough* Go Riverhawks *cough*

 

[BillyShoe1721]

I've seen it suggested somewhere around here that other goalies on defensively dominant teams have had their numbers inflated by the defensive system in front of them--specifically Carter Hutton also on UMass Lowell--and that the expectations for Hellebuyck should be tempered.

Hutton went pro with an entirely-respectable .913 sv% in his collegiate career; a far cry from the dominant, record breaking .946 sv% of Hellebuyck (who faced 29.15 shots per game versus 26.15 for Hutton).

Hutton:

YEAR(S) | GP | GA | SV | SOG | SOG/GP | SV%
2006-07 | 19 | 52 | 418 | 470 | 24.74 | 0.889
2007-08 | 20 | 49 | 491 | 540 | 27.00 | 0.909
2008-09 | 19 | 38 | 414 | 452 | 23.79 | 0.916
2009-10 | 27 | 55 | 706 | 761 | 28.19 | 0.928
TOTAL | 85 | 194 | 2029 | 2223 | 26.15 | 0.913

Hellebuyck:

YEAR(S) | GP | GA | SV | SOG | SOG/GP | SV%
2012-13 | 24 | 32 | 628 | 660 | 27.50 | 0.952
2013-14 | 29 | 52 | 833 | 885 | 30.52 | 0.941
TOTAL | 53 | 84 | 1461 | 1545 | 29.15 | 0.946

Hutton never played under Norm Bazin at Lowell. Hellebuyck spent his two years there under Bazin. The team sucked before Bazin came, and he was the one that installed the defensive system.

That being said, I believe Hellebuyck is one of the best goalie prospects in the world and very underrated. Just look at the numbers of the Lowell goalies now to see that Hellebuyck was as much a part of their success as the system.

 

[CorgisPer60]

Hutton never played under Norm Bazin at Lowell. Hellebuyck spent his two years there under Bazin. The team sucked before Bazin came, and he was the one that installed the defensive system.

That being said, I believe Hellebuyck is one of the best goalie prospects in the world and very underrated. Just look at the numbers of the Lowell goalies now to see that Hellebuyck was as much a part of their success as the system.

For further extrapolation, look at UML's current netminder's numbers and at Hellebuyck's in St. John's. It's not just defensive systems, as the IceCaps are great at giving up shots per game.

 

[Patman]

Hutton never played under Norm Bazin at Lowell. Hellebuyck spent his two years there under Bazin. The team sucked before Bazin came, and he was the one that installed the defensive system.

That being said, I believe Hellebuyck is one of the best goalie prospects in the world and very underrated. Just look at the numbers of the Lowell goalies now to see that Hellebuyck was as much a part of their success as the system.

The other thing to realize is that Hellebuyck is earlier in his career than Carter, IIRC. Helly came in as an 18 y/o... Hutton at 20... and as stellar as defense was this guy was pretty lockdown. For that matter, Hellebuyck came to the pros at 20 and Hutton 24.

I love how Hutton has progressed... but if you ask us Lowell fans who we would put in net tomorrow, its going to have to be Hellebuyck.

edit: and, god I love this one, to knock Hellebuyck you'd have to knock Miller... the former best NCAA goalie ever

 

[StronGeer]

Hellebuyck going to the AHL All star game. One of 6 goalies selected. Of those, only he and Forsberg are rookies.

Statline this season:
24 GP, 13-9-2, 0.923 sv%, 2.54 GAA, 2 SO

 

[pucka lucka]

Another 33 save shutout tonight.

 

[Whileee]

Hellebuyck going to the AHL All star game. One of 6 goalies selected. Of those, only he and Forsberg are rookies.

Statline this season:
24 GP, 13-9-2, 0.923 sv%, 2.54 GAA, 2 SO

Another 33 save shutout tonight.

He's having a very nice rookie pro season. A strong winning percentage on a losing team. He's been the difference in a lot of those wins. Save% up to .926 now.

 

[StronGeer]

So far in his rookie year, Helle has:

Played almost 500 minutes more than any other tender in the league
Faced over 1350 shots in 43 games (31.6 SA/GP) (28% more than the next highest goalie)
Maintained a 0.925 sv%
Earned all but one of his team's wins (the one win by another goalie only happened on Feb. 15)

 

[umwoz]

So far in his rookie year, Helle has:

Played almost 500 minutes more than any other tender in the league
Faced over 1350 shots in 43 games (31.6 SA/GP) (28% more than the next highest goalie)
Maintained a 0.925 sv%
Earned all but one of his team's wins (the one win by another goalie only happened on Feb. 15)

Must be that Budaj mentoring.

 

[StronGeer]

41/44 tonight after going 43/46 last night.