Let's talk about goalies.
Actually, let's talk about why Canada hasn't been developing goalies.
Scott Wheeler's list of draft-eligible goalies includes just four goalies of 12 that are Canadian. All of the four are in the third tier, which he lists as a "has a chance to play in the NHL" tier.
The goalie crop in the 2024 NHL Draft isn’t the flashiest group. Which goaltenders are likely to be selected?
www.nytimes.com
The Athletic is also reporting on a specific initiative that USA Hockey is running to make a point of developing goalies.
How can more young players be attracted to play in goal? It might start with the way practices are conducted.
www.nytimes.com
And.... here comes my rant.
The easy thing would be to run off at the mouth and say Hockey Canada needs to get its act together and do more to specifically improve goaltending in Canada. I mean, the federation should, but fundamentally the problem is that Hockey Canada is not in the business of developing high-end players. Sure, we have the elite programs where top-end Canadian players get the ability to play together against international competition - the U17s, the World Junior A challenge, and the rest, but we have for decades essentially outsourced development to the private sector.
Junior hockey in this country is a business, and becoming more so. Junior hockey teams exist for one reason, and that's to make money. Sure, clubs get a boost when they have high end stars like Bedard, but teams are focused on winning. Winning and skills development at the 15-19 age bracket are not always compatible.. Teams are focused on systems and team play, which hinders creativity.
Moreover, junior teams who bring in foreign players, thereby limit playing time from Canadian players. I'm not one of those nativist, kick-the-furrieners-out guys, but this is just another example of why major junior isn't really a development stream for Canadian players. For a spell, major junior teams were prohibited from signing foreign (European) goalies, but that's since been relaxed somewhat. Those handful of foreign goalies take away playing time from developing Canadian goalies.
And finally, you've got Junior A leagues clamoring for trying to evade any responsibility for developing Canadian talent, with some threatening to emulate the BCHL's breakaway model. The BCHL, claiming it was doing it to support BC players, finished its most recent with a top 20 scoring race that included just eight Canadian players - just two of which were from BC.
What's the path forward?
I'd like to see Hockey Canada either take an active role in development or put greater requirements on the junior hockey teams to put more effort into development. I'm a fan of threats; if major junior doesn't start actually developing players, Hockey Canada will fund US-style national development U18 programs and play in a few of the stronger Junior A leagues.
I mean, major junior needs reform, anyway, so maybe we kill two birds with one stone.
My sense is that Canada can proceed on the current path for decades and still win a lot of international events. We are still churning out talent, as some Bruins fan on this thread keeps reminding us.
But we could be doing so much better. We develop a lot of great players, but development slows or stops as soon as players hit the win-at-all-costs junior leagues. That's the place we need to work on. We need more Canadian players in those leagues, playing fewer games and getting more development work.
Don't ask me about details. I'm a big picture person. But I think this all starts with another summit like we had after the 1998 Olympics.
