Robin Lehner - AHL playoffs MVP

FolignoQuantumLeap

Don't Hold The Door
Mar 16, 2009
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Ottawa
19 year old, Robin Lehner led the B-Sens to the Calder Cup rocking a .939 save % going 14-4 with 3 shutouts.

What many thought to be a wasted year of development for the Gothenburg native ended up turning into an unforgettable run when the Sens' farm team went down 3 games to 1 against the Manchester Monarchs. Team regular season MVP, Barry Brust got the hook in favour of Robin for game 5 of the first round in an attempt by coach Kleinendorst to spark the club. The Sens managed to fight off elimination in OT that night (a game which I was able to make the trip to :yo:) and went on to win three consecutive OTs... In game 6's double OT, Lehner had to stop a penalty shot and the rest is history.

Bingo had plenty of solid contributers along the way but Lehner was a no brainer choice for the Butterfield and was by far their best player vs the Aeros in the championship round.

Lehner is solidifying his place among the top goaltending prospects in the NHL.

lehner.jpg
 
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Fuzzy Bunny

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Mar 5, 2007
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He will get a few years to round out before taking over for Anderson. Lehner is going to be a great one I believe. One of the real bright spots in the Senators future.
 

SuperSaiyanBeastmode

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May 20, 2010
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cool, but if he busts on you, i'm calling that the philly goaltending curse has moved onto the sens;)


also props to the binghamton sens, how the hell do you miss the playoffs 5 years in row and then win the calder cup??
 

Gil Gunderson

Registered User
May 2, 2007
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cool, but if he busts on you, i'm calling that the philly goaltending curse has moved onto the sens;)


also props to the binghamton sens, how the hell do you miss the playoffs 5 years in row and then win the calder cup??

Our goaltending curse has been around almost as long as Philly's. :laugh:
 

R S

Registered User
Sep 18, 2006
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Love this kid. Congrats to him.

I also found it odd that Corey Pronman was saying on Twitter how the Baby Sens were going to win it, but really had no major prospects getting the job done for them.....well....what the hell is Lehner?
 

Lehner

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Jul 2, 2009
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"We don't win it unless Robin's between the pipes," Kleinendorst said. "I'm not saying that Brust wouldn't have been able to get it done, but there's no question that Robin was the difference."
 

4thliner*

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Love this kid. Congrats to him.

I also found it odd that Corey Pronman was saying on Twitter how the Baby Sens were going to win it, but really had no major prospects getting the job done for them.....well....what the hell is Lehner?

And Jared Cowen, they missed his presence big-time especially in period 2. Lehner bailed them out all night long.
 

FolignoQuantumLeap

Don't Hold The Door
Mar 16, 2009
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Ottawa
Love this kid. Congrats to him.

I also found it odd that Corey Pronman was saying on Twitter how the Baby Sens were going to win it, but really had no major prospects getting the job done for them.....well....what the hell is Lehner?

Bobby Butler? 13 goals, 1 back from leading the playoffs?

Also Kaspars Daugavins and Zack Smith with 20 pts in 23 games. Erik Condra with a strong showing... Cowen was fantastic.

They got plenty of contributions from the veterans: Potulney, Locke, Keller and Benoit but its not like the Ottawa prospects were passengers.
 

Pyke*

Guest
There's no doubt the mid-season acquisition of Potulny, along with Captain Keller, the AHL Regular Season MVP Locke and experienced Benoit helped the team....

However, the Senators did have at least three "top 6/top 4/starter" type prospects on the team (Butler, Cowen, Lehner). There's also several reasonably good prospects (Weircioch, Smith, Greening, etc.) It was a fairly deep team, by AHL standards. It's true Rundblad wasn't there (nor Da Costa or Silfverberg) but it was still a good team
 

KingLB

Registered User
Oct 29, 2008
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Jeez its so embarrassing how the Monarch's blew it in the first round vs the Sens, but it looks like that got the team rolling.:(
 

PensFreak

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Jun 5, 2007
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Weren't the Aeros last in the league last season? Great run by them, glad to see Mike Yeo did so well
 

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Peter The Great
Aug 17, 2005
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The problem for Lehner is that Craig Anderson is a very, very good goalie, tough competition. If they let both goalies play it can turn out being one of NHLs better goalie tandems, will be very intersting to follow.

If Senators don't let Lehner play much in the NHL next season I hope another NHL team pick him up.
 

Benttheknee

Registered User
Jun 18, 2005
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Ottawa
Love this kid. Congrats to him.

I also found it odd that Corey Pronman was saying on Twitter how the Baby Sens were going to win it, but really had no major prospects getting the job done for them.....well....what the hell is Lehner?

While Lehner won the MVP none of the other kids did anything special... except Butler did score 13 goals..... oh and Cowen he really solidified the defense that what short manned. Gryba and Boroweicki played really well too.

I would have to say though that the forward group of prospects were lead by the AHL vets like Potulny and Keller. Guys like Greening, Condra, Wick, O'Brien were not big time scorers. So my guess, is that who he was referring to.
 
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joe89

#5
Apr 30, 2009
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The problem for Lehner is that Craig Anderson is a very, very good goalie, tough competition. If they let both goalies play it can turn out being one of NHLs better goalie tandems, will be very intersting to follow.

If Senators don't let Lehner play much in the NHL next season I hope another NHL team pick him up.

19-20 year old goaltenders don't change clubs just because they don't get NHL playing time. Lehner would be good with a full AHL regular season or two to feel the grind that comes with it. Playing 50+ games in the AHL, and then maybe taking the step as a fulltime backup in the 2012/13 season. And later if it pans out, when Craig's contract is up or in the last year of his contract, he's ready to be the starter.
 

Dr.Sens(e)

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Feb 27, 2002
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It really is great for Lehner's development to have this run at the end of the year as a teenager. Carey Price pulled a similar feat several years ago, and I think this bodes well for Lehner's development and confidence (although confidence has never been a problem for him, he definitely had some humble pie at times this year playing for the big club). I also think the fact Anderson is firmly in front of him helps, because it keeps the immediate expectations tempered. Like we saw with Price, there were a lot of ups and downs in the years that followed that Calder run, and I think it will be good for Lehner not to be thrust into the fire too quickly (even though Price came through those years just fine and is poised to be an elite goalie for years).

Zack Smith's play also has been tremendous. He really is looking more and more like a fierce checking line center that we can build around with decent offensive upside. A bigger and meaner version of Jeff Halpern basically, which is key come playoff time.

Also nice to see Cowen play so well in his limited time there, and of course, what The Butler did, as always, was score goals.

At least there was some upside to calling up all these guys (Condra, Greening, Smith, Smith, Butler, Lehner etc.) for a good part of the year. They were stoked with confidence by the time the Calder playoffs started.
 

21

Peter The Great
Aug 17, 2005
4,389
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Sweden
19-20 year old goaltenders don't change clubs just because they don't get NHL playing time. Lehner would be good with a full AHL regular season or two to feel the grind that comes with it. Playing 50+ games in the AHL, and then maybe taking the step as a fulltime backup in the 2012/13 season. And later if it pans out, when Craig's contract is up or in the last year of his contract, he's ready to be the starter.

Yes, you have a point. :)

I guess I'm a bit over excited becauase I've kept an eye on this guy a couple of years.

In the same way it's difficult at this level to know if he is a world class super talent or "just" a very good talented goalie. The signing of Craig Anderson made things a lot more complicated, that's for sure because Craig is a great goalie. I wish for a great goalie tandem and for Lehner to take the #1 spot when Craig's contract is up.

Lehner is all heart, strong mentally and probably a big game goalie but he has to prove he can play good and stable an entire season. He is the kind of guy who really gets pissed when loosing, perhaps not like Forsberg but he for sure hates loosing, I like his passion.
 
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SpezDispenser

Registered User
Aug 15, 2007
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Amazing performance from what we could watch (the Finals and some streams). The thing that impressed me the most was that he controlled his temper and stayed focussed 99% of the time. He's such a massive frame in net and so athletic that the rest of it was mental - and he passed the tests in spades! Congrats Lehner - congrats B-Sens!!!!!
 

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