Can ypu provide context to the Saskatoon PO performance?
Did you watch the games in question?
Did they have a great BUG?
Was it Elliotts fault? Soft goals ect.....
If your just number crunching your not being consistent in criteria as,Otto pointed out.
If you saw the games please elaborate.
Kids done well in London and contrary to your opinion that he is getting the easy ride is contradicted also by reality. He isn't being sheltered. Both goalies have played well. Glad Medvedev is here and Elliot.
Elliot got how many of the starts this weekend against top teams in the West? ( 2 of 3 with 2 Ws )
Last week and week before schedule?
This isn’t about stats. It is about trends.
2023:
Elliott was in his sort of rookie season. Technically a rookie. 18 years old. Posted a stellar 25-6-3 2.20 .911. Took over the net as the starter about the same time is the trade deadline. He was their guy. Saskatoon went 49-15-5. Winnipeg was tough though. Saskatoon was honestly the #2 team from a ranking perspective in the Conference. Winnipeg went 57-10-1. I don’t think anyone expected Saskatoon to run through to the Finals.
They started round one at home vs Regina who had a decent team but nothing special. It was basically the Connor Bedard show surrounded by not much.
Game one, Elliott saved 19 of 24 for the loss.
Game two, Elliott didn’t make it out of the 2nd period after giving up 4 goals on 13 shots.
Chadwick takes over the net and wins the next three games. Loses Game 6. Elliott gets back in for Game 7. Wins.
Elliott opened round 2 vs Red Deer. Good team. Finished with 92 points so it should be a competitive series.
Game one: Loss
Game two: Loss (pulled half way through the 2nd period…again.
Game three: Loss
Chadwick comes in again and wins the next two games. Elliott gets back in net and plays Game 6&7 and they win the series.
Round three vs the mighty Winnipeg Ice. Not expected to win the series so not a big deal when they lose 0-4
Chadwick gets the net for that series. Gets pulled in Game two and Elliott gets mop up duty in the 3rd.
Loses Game 3 and 4.
Finishes his first playoff 3-6 3.34 .882
Gets pulled and loses his net twice in the playoffs after being the starter going in. Not awful for what is his true rookie season. Definitely not great.
2024:
Next season, Elliott starts as their #1 goalie. His backups are an ‘06 and an ‘08 so young rookies.
Has a pretty good season. Pretty similar to his previous. Goes 29-8-3 with 2.39 and .904. But, the 17 year old (Evan Gardiner) goes 21-5 with a 1.91 and a .927. Looks capable enough. But, Saskatoon was a very strong team.
Elliott starts game one of round one. Gives up 4 goals on 20 shots. Loses the game. Loses the net.
Gardiner wins the next three games and tweaks something in game five. Leaves the game. Elliott comes in to mop up and finish off Prince Albert.
Elliott gets one more mop up duty game the remainder of the playoffs. Loses his net to a 17 year old rookie. Never regains it.
Saskatoon loses round 3 to Moose Jaw Going to Game 7. They lose three of the four in OT including Game 6 and 7. Maybe if their experienced 19 year old could have kept the net and was the veteran leader, the 17 year old wouldn’t have had to play in those types of games that early? Speculation on my part but Elliott lost his net three times over two playoff years going in as the starter. Played for two excellent teams.
Plays three games to start this year. Gets waived through the league. Net goes to Gardiner because Elliott was an OA and no longer the trusted starter. Ends up on London where we see him pretty much doing what he did in Saskatoon. Putting up some solid regular season statistics for a very strong team.
I mean, London can obviously do what they want. The OHL is short on strong goaltending. OA’s are holding down the fort on a handful of teams and some teams are really struggling to find a solid goalie. So, I understand where London is coming from reaching out to Elliott, even considering his pretty big playoff struggles. I’d even go so far as saying EPIC playoff struggles. Losing his net three times over two seasons is not an easy feat.
So, again, I stand by my original comment. If London can find a better 18 or 19 year old option OR make the decision to roll with Medvedev opening the OA slot currently held down by Elliott, they may be able to strategically configure a better roster. I would be concerned with Elliot’s playoff performances. It is not like he was suiting up for a middling team. Saskatoon was very strong. Very strong again this year.
Maybe third time is a charm. Maybe not. Regular season isn’t an issue for Elliott so what you are seeing now isn’t something new. This would be year three of three with stellar regular season performances. We will need to wait to see what he does in the playoffs. If we look at trends, it doesn’t look positive.
