Superb rookie NHL goalie: Vitek Vanecek

[Neil Racki]

He's most definitely not bottom 10 of starting goalies. He's in the top half in terms of SV% (.913) among goalies who have started more than 20 games.
His .913 SV% is behind 12 goalies only:


2020‑2021 NHL Goalie Stats

I have him tied for 14th out of 22 or so goalies who played 20 or more games. (Thats not counting 6 goalies with higher Sv% that had started 15-19 games).

Im a Caps fan, he has played well in an unexpected situation but he is currently not one of the top 20 best goalies in the league imo. Arguments could be made hes maybe 16th or 21st best but hes not top 15 by any objective metric.

 

[txpd]

"Superb" .. "excellent"? Hes probably bottom 10 of starting goalies.

Hes been okay and serviceable ... but considering he wasnt supposed to see the ice at all this year and got thrust into a starting role, the 25 year old certainly gets credit

Caps goaltending is suspect right now.

Suspect? Sure. They have effectively 2 rookie goalies. Thats suspect. Nobody saw Vanecek as a legit Phillipe Grubauer level goaltender and by all appearances, he is.

 

[Sempiternal]

"Superb" .. "excellent"? Hes probably bottom 10 of starting goalies.

Hes been okay and serviceable ... but considering he wasnt supposed to see the ice at all this year and got thrust into a starting role, the 25 year old certainly gets credit

Caps goaltending is suspect right now.

They are in A LOT better place than if they had current state Brayden Holtby and he has been superb from a 'rookie' expectation point of view. 25 years old is the average age for an NHL rookie goalie. Sorokin and Shesterkin are also 25.

PS - I don't like you.

 

[rocketdan9]

Vitek Vanecek, has had an excellent first NHL season and so I thought he deserved an HFBoards shout-out!

His performance has pretty much created a platoon system in Washington and he actually deserves the first pad tap... for now.

Let's look at his stats for the HFBoards nerds:
GP:29 W:17 GAA:2.60 SV%:.913 SO:1

He has become quite the blessing for the Caps and will only cost them $716K next season.

Is he really a rookie though?

He was stuck in the AHL for a long time

I would say so far... he looks pretty good. Better than Samsonov

 

[TheKrebsCycle]

there is no way that Seattle does not take Vancek...IMO unless the caps give them something to not take him...

Can't they just protect him? Isn't Samsonov expansion exempt?

 

[CloutierForVezina]

Is he really a rookie though?

He was stuck in the AHL for a long time

What does spending time in the AHL have to do with being a rookie in the NHL?

 

[rocketdan9]

What does spending time in the AHL have to do with being a rookie in the NHL?

If a prospect spends 7 years down at the AHL for example, are they really a rookie? Or a mini vet?

 

[Dr John Carlson]

Vanecek really isn't very good, but luckily for him, Samsonov isn't either. So he's gonna get a lot of opportunities here.

 

[CloutierForVezina]

If a prospect spends 7 years down at the AHL for example, are they really a rookie? Or a mini vet?

If they're 25 or under when they make the show they're a rookie.

 

[Connor McConnor]

No way Caps protect him over Samsonov and he's probably the best goalie available so have fun this year Vitek! See you in the Pacific next year.