G Kevin Mandolese - Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, QMJHL (2018 Draft)

[Emerz]

Catches: L
Height: 6'03"
Weight: 168
Birthdate: 2000-08-22

.898 SV% on the year thus far, 7-1 in his last 8 games and just stopped 54 of 57 shots vs a loaded up offensively Charlottetown squad for a win.

I'm not great at evaluating goalies but he just looks so calm in the net, and with his size at 6'3 I could see him being a top goalie prospect in the 2018 draft.

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[Jason MacIsaac]

Seems to be stealing games as of late. Brought his sv% up to .898

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

Probably the best '00 born goalie in the QMJHL and the 3rd best rookie goalie in the QMJHL. Started off the season struggling which is understandable for a 16yo rookie goalie in Major Junior. His past 5 of 6 games have been Quality Starts so you can tell he's definitely hitting his stride. He currently has a 0.643 Quality Starts % on the season which is 3rd best among QMJHL rookies who have at least 10 starts. He's also 5th among QMJHL rookies with a 2.331 raw GSAA.

What I personally like about Kevin Mandolese is whenever he has a bad game he always comes with a Quality Start. He's had three games below replacement level and the games following those he's had a combined 0.932 SV% which is 4th in the entire QMJHL. It's promising to not only see him becoming consistent but also not allowing himself to have multiple bad games in a row. He's the only QMJHL goalie who has a 1.000% Quality Starts % in Bounce Back situations with at least two Bounce Back Starts.

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

Some thoughts on when I watched him play against Sherbrooke on Friday.

As a 16yo goalie he is playing like a seasoned QMJHL goalie. Like Fitzpatrick, he had eyes on every movement the puck made. Even when the puck deflected in front of him, Mandolese stayed square to it. He was smart in combining his size and positioning to give Sherbrooke nothing. What scouts will primarily love about Mandolese is that size/speed combination. He’s getting around the crease quickly and in good form. Has a stellar glove hand too. The only hiccup in his game was when he was playing the puck. During this game Mandolese just couldn’t get a handle on the puck which lead to situations where he was fighting through a crowd to get back in net. Mandolese agreed with that assessment as he rarely ventured outside of the net to play the puck after the 1st period.

By the eye test Mandolese dominated and analytically it was even more domination from the 16yo. As mentioned above on average a CHL goalie will direct HDA shots into non-dangerous areas at a 46.9% rate. Mandolese directed those HDA shots into non-dangerous areas at a 63.6% rate. That is significant when you also factor in that he faced 22 HDA shots. Mandolese was just as dominant on shots outside of the HDA directing 74.1% of shots into non-dangerous areas compared to his peers who did it at a rate of 68.46%.

If he keeps up this play into next year scouts are going to go crazy for this kid. From what I've seen some scouts are already regarding him highly and with good reason. He'll be interesting to watch next season and might push Cape Breton into moving Jessiman.

 

[Emerz]

Started the season on the right foot, stopping 28/29 shots along with a penalty shot taken by Joe Veleno.

He just looks so calm in the net all the time, never any panic in this game or scrambling.

 

[scoutman1]

Started the season on the right foot, stopping 28/29 shots along with a penalty shot taken by Joe Veleno.

He just looks so calm in the net all the time, never any panic in this game or scrambling.

this year is a super strong year for goalies in the QMJHL

Gravel, Rodrigue and Mandolese...it reminds me of the 95 NHL draft with Giguere, Biron and Denis

 

[Sens72]

After missing quite a bit of time with an injury, he now holds a record of 11-5-1, a GAA of 2.50 and an SV% of .916.