Confirmed with Link: Oilers sign G Nick Ellis

[McDNicks17]

Nice.

I was hoping they'd be in on Michael Garteig(goalie at Quinnipiac...just had a great game to advance to the NCAA final) or Kasimir Kaskisuo(signed by Toronto), but this works too.

 

[VainGretzky]

Agreed. LB's confidence has to have taken a hit playing behind our ass defence. Sign Chad Johnson for a year. Good numbers on some pretty bad teams.

LB's problem is he is not good enough yet for nhl shot speed which was very evident in his starts.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

its about time they signed this guy.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Goalie depth is good.

something we have not had for a very loing time

 

[OvermanKingGainer]

It's a little worrying to see that Ellis' backup, Hayden Hawkey, put up slightly better numbers (albeit in only 5 games). These goaltenders are often impossible to judge via stats because they tend to play for stronger teams who don't give up a lot of shots or goals.

For comparison, Matt O'Connor was the big prize last year after putting up great numbers for Boston University and he ended up posting a .892SV% in the AHL. At the same time, this is a free asset so there's zero risk involved and if he turns out to be a decent goaltender, we add to our depth for essentially nothing.

Just FYI, I've watched a lot of Providence games and Ellis is the real deal, but his stats did spike up when centers/dmen like Jankowski, Gilmour, and Parisi were on the ice. But when their other centers and dmen like Rooney, Pinho, and Walman were on the ice you would think Ellis was an NHL goalie with the amount of ten bell saves he made. He was older than any of Gillies' three years, and this was the best Friars team of the last four years, so him posting better stats is not a case of apples-to-apples, but he's a legit NHL prospect. He tracks the puck extremely well, and his movements are fluid. Reminds me of Jonathan Quick in some ways. He's a much, much better prospect than Matt O'Connor, who was very sloppy and prone to terrible goals even in his "good" year. Ellis has a good base to work from and should at the very least transition well to the AHL.

 

[Aceboogie]

gets the call up, likely as a black ace/insurance policy. But thats not why I want to bump this thread. Rookie AHL year is in the books and it was rather strong. 16-12-1 0.918 save % (which is really good for a rookie). Putting his 0.918 save % into context:

Ranks him 13th in the league. 6th for what id consider "legit prospects", rest are career AHLers or Halak.

Some noteable other rookie goalies: Gilies, 0.910, Demko- 0.907, Blackwood-0.907 (although Ellis is older than most).0.918 is what Vasilesvkiy posted in his rookie year, ditto for John Gibson (both younger)

So in the 2 years Ellis has been a regaular goalie, hes posted a 0.936 in NCAA and 0.918 in AHL

While Benning and Cagguila get all the hype for collge signings, Ellis might be a potential gem

 

[Senor Catface]

Nearly identical to Brossoit's first rookie year in the AHL too.

Brossoit played 53 games with a GAA of 2.56 and a save percentage of .918.

Age was a bit different though.

Great to see two good AHL goalies in a row.

 

[McFlyingV]

Nearly identical to Brossoit's first rookie year in the AHL too.

Brossoit played 53 games with a GAA of 2.56 and a save percentage of .918.

Age was a bit different though.

Great to see two good AHL goalies in a row.

Ellis was only a year older than Brossoit's rookie year. Brossoit in his 21 year old season played ECHL. His 22 year old year was his true rookie AHL year, while this was Ellis' 23 year old season.

IDK if Ellis will be an NHL goalie, but he's got decent tools. Next year will be very interesting with he and Starrett likely fighting for playing time in Bake.

 

[Tyrolean]

Nearly identical to Brossoit's first rookie year in the AHL too.

Brossoit played 53 games with a GAA of 2.56 and a save percentage of .918.

Age was a bit different though.

Great to see two good AHL goalies in a row.

Goalies are so hard to judge. Hope he makes it to the bigs.

 

[Senor Catface]

Ellis was only a year older than Brossoit's rookie year. Brossoit in his 21 year old season played ECHL. His 22 year old year was his true rookie AHL year, while this was Ellis' 23 year old season.

IDK if Ellis will be an NHL goalie, but he's got decent tools. Next year will be very interesting with he and Starrett likely fighting for playing time in Bake.

Just a small correction.

Brossoit was born in 1993, so his rookie season in 14-15 he was 21. He turned 22 in March, so there was only about a handful of games he would have been 22 that season.