Your team's "goaltenders of the future" who didn't pan out

[seventieslord]

You arent wrong about any of this. But you are straying from the spirit of the thread. Did Dipietro become a legitimate, top-half starting goalie? Yes he did. That is all anyone expects from their "goalie of the future" - you hope he becomes a legit starter. That he was drafted 1st overall in a boneheaded series of moves, and that he didnt become a "superstar" are irrelevant to that.

 

[JaysCyYoung]

You arent wrong about any of this. But you are straying from the spirit of the thread. Did Dipietro become a legitimate, top-half starting goalie? Yes he did. That is all anyone expects from their "goalie of the future" - you hope he becomes a legit starter. That he was drafted 1st overall in a boneheaded series of moves, and that he didnt become a "superstar" are irrelevant to that.

I disagree. Expectations are relative.

There have been numerous goalies of the future listed in this thread that were either low-round draft selections or picked up off the free agent pile, traded for, etc. As a result of that initial start less was expected of them. The amount of investment that goes into a utilizing a first overall pick on a specific goaltender naturally engenders equivalent expectations about what level of return on the initial investment should be expected in order for the transaction to be a success. So you cannot simply state that because DiPietro became an NHL starting goaltender, and a very good one for one season, he was a successful draft pick.

Because he simply wasn't. He was expected to become a franchise-level goaltender and has fallen far below that for the majority of his career.

 

[ephmrl]

Corey Hirsch.

 

[BraveCanadian]

He was expected to become a franchise-level goaltender and has fallen far below that for the majority of his career.

I think you have to keep in mind who it was that had those expectations.

ie. Mad Mike Milbury.

Not to mention the environment surrounding the Isles the last couple decades hasn't been so hot in general. Thriving in a situation like that is going to be the exception rather than the rule for sure.

 

[Tawnos]

The funny thing about Canucks fans naming Corey Hirsch is that he was already a "bust" with the Rangers when the Canucks acquired him for Nathan Lafayette.

For the Rangers:
Corey Hirsch
Dan Blackburn
Al Montoya

Ironically, two of those guys were probably ruined by the Rangers having a fantastic starter already, so more bad timing than anything having to do with them, and the other had his career destroyed by a freak injury.

 

[seventieslord]

So you cannot simply state that because DiPietro becmika ame an NHL starting goaltender, and a very good one for one season, he was a successful draft pick.

You should know I wouldn't be stupid enough to think he was a successful draft pick. He has been a train wreck of a first overall pick, by any measure. But you are still overthinking this.

Jamie storr, robb stauber, mika noronen, corey hirsch... all good examples of goalies who showed some promise and were considered their team's "goalie of the future". Since they never became the "goalie of the present", they didn't pan out. Dipietro, in two seasons, achieved more than they ever did.

 

[IllinoisRedWingsFan]

Here's one for us Detroit fans Thomas McCollum.

 

[JaysCyYoung]

You should know I wouldn't be stupid enough to think he was a successful draft pick. He has been a train wreck of a first overall pick, by any measure. But you are still overthinking this.

Jamie storr, robb stauber, mika noronen, corey hirsch... all good examples of goalies who showed some promise and were considered their team's "goalie of the future". Since they never became the "goalie of the present", they didn't pan out. Dipietro, in two seasons, achieved more than they ever did.

Still failed as New York's goalie of the future. Two decent seasons (2004 and 2007) out of an expected fifteen or more? Failure.

 

[Johnny Engine]

Still failed as New York's goalie of the future. Two decent seasons (2004 and 2007) out of an expected fifteen or more? Failure.

How many goaltenders in each generation have been starters for 15 straight years? When you consider that players like Belfour, Giguere, Fuhr, have all lost their starting jobs for periods in the middle of their careers, players like Brodeur start to look pretty rare. Draft picks do need to be evaluated based on expectations, but I don't think it's fair to do that when the expectations are ridiculous and unreasonable.

 

[JaysCyYoung]

How many goaltenders in each generation have been starters for 15 straight years? When you consider that players like Belfour, Giguere, Fuhr, have all lost their starting jobs for periods in the middle of their careers, players like Brodeur start to look pretty rare. Draft picks do need to be evaluated based on expectations, but I don't think it's fair to do that when the expectations are ridiculous and unreasonable.

I always felt that DiPietro was overrated but I hardly think expecting him to be a competent NHL starter (and even star based on his draft position) was ever "ridiculous" or "unreasonable." Two good seasons does not an expected high-impact career make.

 

[gifted88]

Here's one for us Detroit fans Thomas McCollum.

I still have faith he'll turn it around

 

[JaysCyYoung]

Would that have anything to do with being from Guelph?

 

[Malefic74]

Habs goalies have already been covered quite well, so let's take a look at the Edmonton Oilers shall we?

Darryl Reaugh 2nd 1984 (7 games)
Jaoquin Gage 5th 1992 (17 games played)
Mike Minard 4th 1995 (1 NHL game)
Mike Morrison 7th 1998 (21 NHL games)
Ty Conlkin Undrafted 2001 (solid career back-up)
Jussi Markannen 5th 2001 (5 year back-up career)
Jeff Deslauriers 2nd 2002 (has the tools, still hasn't put them together)
Devan Dubnyk 1st 2004 (jury still out, but seems promising)

Sprinkle in some recycling of other teams problem goalies (Brathwaite, Essensa, Reddick, Gerber, Roussel, Tugnutt, Valiquette, Ing) and the track record since Fuhr and Moog is not good. Reaugh was highly touted out of the WHL, Deslauriers seems destined to career back-up status.

All of their solid starting goaltending since Fuhr has been acquired by trade. Ranford, Joseph, Salo, Roloson and now Khabibulin.

 

[hannes_ko]

Jussi Markannen 5th 2001 (5 year back-up career)

Was he really considered to be Oilers' goalie of the future? I would say he was more of a longshot for a back-up job, and that's what he did. He even gave Oilers a bonus effort: he nearly won them Stanley Cup as a starter. I think he had pretty good NHL career considering his talent.

 

[Johnny Engine]

I always felt that DiPietro was overrated but I hardly think expecting him to be a competent NHL starter (and even star based on his draft position) was ever "ridiculous" or "unreasonable." Two good seasons does not an expected high-impact career make.

You did say "expected fifteen years or more," which pretty much means Brodeur or bust. That's a similar thing to all those fans who demand 3 60+ point players on their teams' second line.

When someone says "goalie of the future," I take that to mean a goaltender who is hoped to eventually become the "goalie of the present" at some point. When someone asks about GOTFs that don't pan out, we're asking for GOTFs that didn't manage to become GOTPs.

Now, if someone wanted to make a thread titles "#1 picks who teams cleaned house solely to make room for, and ignored several other huge talents in order to draft, who didn't pan out," Dipietro should be the first and only name on the list. Because Dipietro didn't justify that kind of investment. Khabibulin or Nabokov would be considered busts under those conditions.

 

[JaysCyYoung]

And again, I disagree.

Based on the parameters of the question, I interpreted that to mean a goaltender who did not pan out relative to the expectations placed on them. The expectations of a Tyler Moss becoming a goaltender and a Rick DiPietro becoming a goaltender in the NHL are not equivalent. They are relative based on the corollary factors of their addition to their team's organizational talent pool. DiPietro's expectations are heightened by virtue of becoming a first overall pick. When a team expects a highly-prized goaltender to be in net for them at some point in the future, they generally do not plan that tenure to last for just one season. There is an expectation that they shall provide stability and fill that void for years to come.

You're taking the fifteen years comment far too literally in this instance as well. It was as much of a reference to DiPietro's albatross contract (which was spread out to an obscene length as a tactic to lower the annual cap hit) as it was a colloquial way of saying what I just mentioned: there is the expectation by teams that said goaltender will provide stable, productive netminding for many years. It's reasonable to suspect that virtually no one drafts a goaltender in the first two rounds under the belief that they be provided with just one or two decent seasons. You're generally banking on adding a cornerstone player to build a team around in most cases -- a lower-drafted player does not become burdened with such expectations. In DiPietro's case, he certainly cannot be said to have panned out in that regard, and thus to me he is a failed goaltender of the future. A goalie like Marc-Andre Fleury is a perfect example of a goaltender in similar circumstances who has made the most of his situation and met expectations.

But you may feel that a first overall pick with two seasons of decent contributions constitutes panning out. I don't.

 

[JaysCyYoung]

Highly-regarded Leafs goaltending prospects that never panned out:

*Eric Fichaud - 1st round, 1994
*Mikael Tellqvist - 3rd round, 2000
*Justin Pogge - 3rd round, 2004

 

[Johnny Engine]

But you may feel that a first overall pick with two seasons of decent contributions constitutes panning out. I don't.

Did you miss the part where I said if we made a thread about "1st overall picks that...blah blah...and didn't pan out," that Rick Dipietro would be exhibit A? Why are you attributing an opinion to me that I straight up contradicted?

Rick Dipietro made good on being the Islanders' goalie of the future, but didn't make good on anything else.

Also, care to quote where the OP said that it should be relative to expectations?

 

[JaysCyYoung]

Did you miss the part where I said if we made a thread about "1st overall picks that...blah blah...and didn't pan out," that Rick Dipietro would be exhibit A? Why are you attributing an opinion to me that I straight up contradicted?

I did no such thing.

Rick Dipietro made good on being the Islanders' goalie of the future, but didn't make good on anything else.

He really didn't, as they have employed a rotating circus of goalies in his absence.

Yann Danis, Peter Manning, Joey MacDonald, Martin Biron, Dwayne Roloson, Al Montoya, Kevin Poulin, Mikko Koskinen, Nathan Lawson, Evgeni Nabokov, and Anders Nilsson over the last three-plus campaigns as a result of his injuries and ineffectiveness when he has played.

If he had panned out as their goaltender of the future he would be racking up 60-65 starts a season without issue. That has not been the case.

Also, care to quote where the OP said that it should be relative to expectations?

I never attributed that statement to him. I simply stated that was my personal interpretation what of the thread question asked. Again, if you choose to disagree with my interpretation you are free to do so. I'm not sure why you have such an objection to me taking a different stance than you.