Is Schneider elite?

[Scurr]

You said;



which is what I was responding to. I don't agree that he's considered an elite goaltender right now, based on his limited body of work. If you read my earlier comment, I said that he would be a top 10 goalie in this league at his peak.

The question isn't if he's considered elite, the question was whether or not he is elite. He has been playing at an elite level for two seasons.

You can question whether or not he can keep it up but he has been playing at an elite level. Why would we judge it on anything else?

He hasn't done it is not an argument against him being elite. He has done it and for a considerable amount of time. If you don't think he can keep it up, I'd love to know why.

 

[pahlsson]

not as elite as this thread

 

[Hammer79]

The question isn't if he's considered elite, the question was whether or not he is elite. He has been playing at an elite level for two seasons.

You can question whether or not he can keep it up but he has been playing at an elite level. Why would we judge it on anything else?

He hasn't done it is not an argument against him being elite. He has done it and for a considerable amount of time. If you don't think he can keep it up, I'd love to know why.

Elliot played at an elite level in limited starts last year too, that is until the playoffs started. Schneider played 3 playoff games, and got his first playoff win. Promising start to his career? Sure. Does that mean he's elite right now? No.

 

[Amused To Death]

Being elite means being able to perform at a high level consistently over a period of years. Schneider hasn't had the years for him to prove himself one way or another. Let's put on some Van Morrison and come back to this thought in 2-4 years.

 

[Phrazer]

I suppose it depends on you definition of elite. Personally I think there are only 3 "elite" goalies in the NHL, and Schneider isn't one of them.

 

[mossey3535]

He is elite now in terms of his physical prowess and skills.

Whether or not he will become a premiere netminder in the league is yet to be determined with playoff success or at least regular season consistency.

He's faced 2000 shots which for some indicates the time at which you can reasonably assess the level of talent the goalie has. Over this time he's 43-21-5 with a 2.31GAA and .925 save percentage.

Nor does he have any glaring technical problems to my eyes. Yes, he gives up some ugly goals sometimes but I find that the best goalies give up the worst goals - mainly because we expect them to stop EVERYTHING, which is impossible.

However, neither does he have the kind of dumb luck that some goalies around the league seem to have like Niemi. When he's unlucky, he is really unlucky, which is something he shares with Luongo.

If anything I attribute his poor start to the way the team has handled both goalies. This is a tougher situation for Schneider than it is for Luongo since for Roberto the pressure has been removed but for Schneider he probably can't help but think that he lost the starter's job. It's hard for a number one to really become entrenched when he knows in the back of his head that he's not going to get the opportunity to work out a bad game or two.

 

[YouCantYandleThis*]

Schneider certainly looks to be an elite goalie, but as Hammer already pointed out, the last two seasons and especially the first season here, he was spoon-fed starts.

We still have no idea how he'll handle being a starter, but Luongo's playing too well at the moment to give him that role. All thats been clear, is that this season Schneider has been decidedly average, and Luongo has been pretty ******* good.

 

[Virtanen2Horvat]

I think Schneider is a good goalie and has been having a few off games. In the future he will probably get close to a elite level it is hard to say. Overall he was pretty impressive in the start of the 1st against Phoenix but has been giving up a few soft goals this could be a bit of rust but your goalie can't hold the team in all the time. I say start Schneider on Saturday. The Canucks were tired and need a day or two of rest and they need to practice on Friday/Saturday. GO CANUCKS GO!! I hope they do well without Kesler.

 

[BoHorvatFan]

He's only proven he can be an elite back up he hasn't proven to be an elite starter or even a starter yet.

 

[SaucyNavel]

How can he be anything more than average right now?

 

[VanCanucks53]

There's usually only a couple to few elite goalies in the league at a time. Schneider is playing average right now but I expect him to be a good starter in the league for many years to come. Even great. He hasn't been exactly given the opportunity just yet.

 

[tc 23]

I feel Schneider will end up in a tier above "Good" but not quite "Elite". IMO "Elite" should be reserved for perennial Vezina contenders.

 

[mriswith]

I feel Schneider will end up in a tier above "Good" but not quite "Elite". IMO "Elite" should be reserved for perennial Vezina contenders.

Exactly what I think.

It's not really worth hating on Schneider yet this season... our defense has been poor to say the least.

 

[Proto]

Cory is an elite goalie.

Ignoring the last two seasons + playoffs in favour of 20 games this season is crazy. Crazy.

His 10 starts this year make up 1/8th of his career total starts.

Schneider has played so few games that I don't feel comfortable projecting much of anything. Technically he looks good, with a few notable exceptions (his play on short-side shots and his puck handling are both very weak).

Concentrating on 10 games isn't that much different than calling him "elite" based on such a small body of work. He looks promising, but we'll have to wait to find out.

 

[ItsAllPartOfThePlan]

I think he'll get there by the end of the season.

 

[TheStroker]

I don't think he is at the upper echelon of goalies, but he certainly could be. However like someone said, prepare to be dissapointed if you expect him to contend for the Vezina every season. But Schneider is a goalie that gives the team a CHANCE to win every night, and that's what should be expected of him.

 

[CoopALoop]

He is elite now in terms of his physical prowess and skills.

Whether or not he will become a premiere netminder in the league is yet to be determined with playoff success or at least regular season consistency.

He's faced 2000 shots which for some indicates the time at which you can reasonably assess the level of talent the goalie has. Over this time he's 43-21-5 with a 2.31GAA and .925 save percentage.

Nor does he have any glaring technical problems to my eyes. Yes, he gives up some ugly goals sometimes but I find that the best goalies give up the worst goals - mainly because we expect them to stop EVERYTHING, which is impossible.

However, neither does he have the kind of dumb luck that some goalies around the league seem to have like Niemi. When he's unlucky, he is really unlucky, which is something he shares with Luongo.

If anything I attribute his poor start to the way the team has handled both goalies. This is a tougher situation for Schneider than it is for Luongo since for Roberto the pressure has been removed but for Schneider he probably can't help but think that he lost the starter's job. It's hard for a number one to really become entrenched when he knows in the back of his head that he's not going to get the opportunity to work out a bad game or two.

I agree 100%

Throughout watching Cory for the few years he's been with us, it has been fairly evident that we'd encounter this scenario.

He's a technically sound goaltender and has great reads on plays.

Though, he's prone to mental lapses that usually end up in our net or close to. Think about him filling in 2 years ago in the playoffs against CHI. Some of the plays behind the net and some of his save selections were, for lack of a better word, odd.

I think in a few years this guy is going to be dynamite and I'd consider him a solid starter for now. Elite? Only time will tell.

I just don't think he's going to go the way of how Vancouver used to be knows as the Goalie Graveyard. If he doesn't end up fitting here, he'll find a home somewhere else in a heartbeat and be a solid goalie there.

 

[theripper]

lol at people who thought he was elite because of his play last year, which mostly consisted of games against bottom feeder teams. go look at the stats,they don't lie.

this year,hes wetting the bed. if the playoffs were here today,we would have got eliminated in the first round if he was playing like this. hell,both Toronto goalies are outplaying him.

Luongos play is elite. most of his games had elite level goaltending.Sure he had one bad game,but all goalies are allowed to have a bad game. Pekka Rinne got pulled after the 2nd period last night after letting in 5 goals,and he's an elite goaltender too.

 

[Grumbler]

From last years 3 CONSISTENT games in the playoffs, and all the "big" games hes started in the regular he has came up big or has atleast held the team in the game and that is elite imo.

Also this discussion is pointless, we should assess his "eliteness" after this years playoffs. He has not played as much as luongo or all the other "elite" goaltenders in the league on the big stage.

 

[Dr Awesome]

with options provided good started. Needs to play more and or handle number one role to prove elite.

 

[arsmaster*]

Not at playing the puck.

 

[Orca Smash]

He should stay in his net, but I remember elliot freidman last year I believe talked about vokoun playing it badly, they made him stay in net, and not play the puck and his game just got worse and worse, he went to management and said he needs to play it or he does not feel involved in the game anymore.

Still i almost wish cory would just stay in his net.

 

[PG Canuck]

Schneider seems to wait behind the net far too long when playing the puck, which makes the defensemen hesitate whether or not to go towards the puck and retrieve it, or stand put so they're a pass outlet for Schneider.

When Schneider is playing the puck, he needs to make a quick decision which is either A) fire it around the boards, B) pass it off to the defensemen, C) leave it for the defensemen to come and retrieve. Schneider gets stuck behind the net because he makes a slow decision and ultimately just get's in the way of the defender trying to make a play to breakout.

Luongo isn't great at puck-handling either. I think a big part of Luongo and Schneider puck handling deficiencies stems from the fact that they both are right-handed shots. They work a lot at moving the puck as left handed shots of course, but it's not a strength to begin with.

 

[StringerBell]

Schneider has come out before and said he struggles making quick decisions when he doesn't play regularly. His puck handling itself is fine, he just takes too long to read the play and get rid of it. Should be mitigated once he settles into a true starter's role, wherever/whenever that may be.

 

[mossey3535]

TO be honest he has the same problems as almost every goalie in the league except Smith and maybe Price. One of the 'Brodeur effects' besides coaches suddenly thinking their starter should be in 70+ games is most goalies started playing the puck too much, when in reality on a handful of guys can do what Smith, Turco (yes I know he is retired but he is a good recent example) and Brodeur can in terms of helping their team as a puckhandler.

All Schneider has to do is leave or pass. If he restricts his decisions it will speed up his read of the play. To be honest 99% of the times the goalie handles the puck it is best for him to just leave it for the D. A goalie ringing the puck around the boards is one of the dumbest plays I see since even the guys who are good at it barely get it out - and for what, an icing? Next time you see a goalie ringing it around the board, see if his team wins the puck battle for it. They usually don't. Overhandling the puck is a disease endemic to NHL goaltenders.

The D-core probably has some responsibility here too, they should be communicating with him so that everyone knows what Schneider is going to do. That's standard hockey.