I think that Harding and Ward will be good, but there seems to be something about WHL goalies...or maybe something about the WHL. It seems like the league just does not produce star goalies...
that is not to say that solid NHL guys don't come out of the WHL, it just seems that some of the talent that would've gone to the WHL went the US college route (Belfour)..
When I think of WHL grads in the NHL I guess guys like Osgood and Kidd come to mind..obviously starters and pretty good at times, but never really stars..not that Ward or Harding can be judged by the production of past WHL goalies either..
--The earlier point about Emery is well taken...after his first encounter with Mr. Ville Nieminen, one or both of them may be in jail
It just seems like there has been some recent hand-wringing about toughness and grit in Ottawa, espcially vis-a-vis the Leafs and having a guy like Emery, if he stays reasonably sane, would give the team some attitude...plus he would seem to have an unobstructed path to the top job if he wants it.
So much of what a prospect can become is judged by who is in front of him... Guys like Bryzgalov and Ahonen can attest to that. I guess it could be said that cream does rise to the top, but if you can't get a trade, you might never get that break.