Gudlevskis thoughts

[AndrewGaze]

How did Gudlevskis look in the goal in the previous preseason game?
What are your thoughts on him in general?

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[2MinutesforGiraffing]

How did Gudlevskis look in the goal in the previous preseason game?

In the first preseason game he played (last Friday), the goal he gave up was a fluke bounce. He looked a bit shaky and nervous, but was generally doing what he needed to do. He made some nice saves.

Tuesday was not his finest hour. He was caught out of position several times. The defense wasn't necessarily doing him favors, though. Again, he showed his potential in making some nice saves.

What are your thoughts on him in general?

He's younger, in development terms, than his age might suggest. He's inconsistent, which isn't uncommon for his level of experience. The talent and skills are mostly there, but he needs to find some consistency and be able to mentally stay in the game when he makes a mistake. He needs to work on tracking the puck better, too. When he's good, he's really, really good. When he's bad, you'll want to drink an entire bottle of bourbon in the first period.

I don't see anything to suggest this new guy, Poulin, would be a marked upgrade on Kristers as temporary backup while Vasy heals. It really comes down to whether the team wants to give him solid minutes in Syracuse early this season and/or don't want to send Poulin down through waivers.

(I am not an unbiased party, but tried to provide a generally reasonable assessment)

 

[The Macho King]

He's not ready. I'm saying hail mary's every day until Vasilevskiy is healthy.

 

[Hoek]

I still think he's got potential. He just needs more time and to work harder. He's not a natural born talent like Vasi. Tuesday was a bad look at him, but he still did better than Poulin for sure.

 

[Werewolf]

Inconsistent but has all the tools. Scary good when he puts it all together. Should be a quality backup at the NHL level and as he improves his consistency can see him getting an opportunity at the #1 goalie position similar to Cam Talbot last year.

 

[MrClutch86]

struggles at tracking the puck. when you lose sight of the puck on every other play you aren't an NHL goaltender. needs some more time in the AHL.

 

[The Macho King]

struggles at tracking the puck. when you lose sight of the puck on every other play you aren't an NHL goaltender. needs some more time in the AHL.

Yeah - that was the big adjustment Vasilevskiy had when he first came over, too. Not used to the traffic in front.

Honestly, I think Wilcox might have that same issue, seeing the goals he let in this preseason. Luckily I do think that's something that can be coached. As is his over-aggressiveness.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

He's capable of playing in the NHL. We've all seen glimpses of how good he is, or how good he could be. His reputation as a big game goalie and hype are still sailing around the league from some of the stuff he's done with the Latvian national team in the past. Right now his inconsistency is the biggest thing that's stopping him. That's not uncommon for a young goalie, but it's also been what has stopped a lot of promising prospects from making it. So I think he still has potential but his future's up in the air.

The battle for the backup spot between Poulin and him didn't go so great when we played Pittsburgh. It became a contest of who was worse instead of who was better. If I were Yzerman, I would be patently waiting to see who's available on the waiver wire when the last cuts need to be made.

Who ever the backup ends up being I expect the bolts to ride Bishop as much as possible. So if it's Gudlevskis it's possible he'll only play scarcely like on one of our back-to-backs. Ideally, it's not the best situation for his development getting spot starts behind Bish, but without Vasy it's next man up. And as we saw with Vasy last season, it's hard to be consistent and stay sharp if that's not a role you're use to. With Gudlevskis' consistency issues, that could spell trouble.