Harding vs Leclaire

CronoX

Registered User
Mar 15, 2006
834
0
Hockeytown, MI
Which young goalie will have the better career? Josh Harding is on the Wild and playing behind Manny Fernandez. Pascal Leclaire is on Columbus behind Marc Denis. I haven't heard too much about Harding besides the generic "he's good." Some people have also questioned whether or not Leclaire can handle the load of a #1 goalie (if he can play ~50-60 games a year). Who do you think will be better?

::EDIT::
Harding will play in front of the Wild's stingy defense. But, when will Harding be the #1 goalie on the Wild? Will he be a starter in 2 years? on the other hand, Columbus is a young team too, so maybe their defense in front of Leclaire will improve? What do you think? Who is a better fantasy goalie?
 
Last edited:

Spetzky

Registered User
Jul 31, 2004
443
0
Edmonton
Berard :)P) ,Foote, Klesla, Tollefson, McQuiad, Hainsey, A. Johnson...

Columbus' defence for next season is look pretty good.
I'm gonna pick too close to call :P
 

HockeyMan9

Registered User
Jul 1, 2002
882
0
Columbus, OH
Visit site
Spetzky said:
Berard :)P) ,Foote, Klesla, Tollefson, McQuiad, Hainsey, A. Johnson...

Columbus' defence for next season is look pretty good.
I'm gonna pick too close to call :P

Replace McQuiad with Westcott and you have our defence, i have no clue how close McQuiad is to being NHL ready.

I think if he's healthy Leclaire will be the better goalie. As it is i think there's a strong possiblity that Marc is moved to free up budget space and allow Pascal to assume the #1 role next season.
 

Hudsey

Registered User
Mar 14, 2006
41
0
Ontario
Harding will have the better career. It'll just take him a few years probably to become the starter.
 

Lars

Registered User
Aug 22, 2005
3,317
0
Vancouver Canada
Harding By a sizeable amount. He will be a top ten goaltender in the league during his prime, im not sure if i can say the same for LeClaire. I think Harding is alot closer to being developed than people think.
 

slumpy43

Registered User
Mar 30, 2005
431
211
USA
Maybe Harding has a higher ceiling than Leclaire but would not say that it is by a sizeable margin. Leclaire has been incredibly consistent in the second half of the season, giving his team a chance to win every game. As the defense will mature in front of him, I can see him as being a top 10 goaltender as well. Harding plays very well during the regular season but has not shown that he can elevate his game come playoff time. He has not been dominant for the last 2 playoff runs in the A. He is definitely going to be good, but I still wonder if he'll be a top tier goaltender in the NHL.
 

SmokeyClause

Registered User
Feb 27, 2002
9,999
0
Miami, FL
Visit site
Spetzky said:
Berard :)P) ,Foote, Klesla, Tollefson, McQuiad, Hainsey, A. Johnson...

Columbus' defence for next season is look pretty good.
I'm gonna pick too close to call :P

Really? That's a very similar defense to the one they iced last year, and we know the results of that. Their defense will remain subpar until they get a team focus on defense. Short of four absolute pillars, their defense will struggle as long as their forwards and overall mentality keep putting them in bad situations.

As far as the question, I would pick LeClaire. CBJ has more talent, and they will eventually make defensive play an emphasis. And since he's already a better goalie than Denis, he'll be in prime position to reap those benefits if and when they do come.

CBJ is hardly a sleeping giant, but when they do get around to playing great overall hockey, they are going to make some serious, serious waves.
 

zoomba

Registered User
May 11, 2006
303
0
Unionville, ON
Spetzky said:
Berard :)P) ,Foote, Klesla, Tollefson, McQuiad, Hainsey, A. Johnson...

Columbus' defence for next season is look pretty good.
I'm gonna pick too close to call :P

That defense really isn't very good. There is one proven guy (Foote) one guy who pretty much acts as a 4th forward (Berard) and a bunch of guys who have a lot of potential but have really done nothing to show they are quality NHLers.

Anybody who plays goal for the Bluejackets is gonna have a lot of work to do. As a result I think Leclaire might struggle.

I think Harding is the better goalie anyway and in the system they have in Minnesota will porobably post very good numbers whenever he gets the chance to play.
 

shelley1142

Fire Howson!
Mar 18, 2006
587
0
Sarasota, Fl
zoomba said:
That defense really isn't very good. There is one proven guy (Foote) one guy who pretty much acts as a 4th forward (Berard) and a bunch of guys who have a lot of potential but have really done nothing to show they are quality NHLers.

Anybody who plays goal for the Bluejackets is gonna have a lot of work to do. As a result I think Leclaire might struggle.

I think Harding is the better goalie anyway and in the system they have in Minnesota will porobably post very good numbers whenever he gets the chance to play.

Towards the end of our season most of the guys on the jackets defense did prove that they are quality NHLers. They still make some mistakes but with the exception of Foote and Suchy they are all young. I have to choose Leclaire on this one and not just because I'm a CBJ fan. He has shown alot of potential. He makes incredible saves when we need them most. There have been many games when he was the only reason the jackets won. Having him in net makes me feel like we can still win on an off night.
 

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->