How many guys play 50 more games in the AHL? The schedule there is terrible so its tough to get a lot of games in for a goalie.
Someone like Oettinger played 38 games and then the next year in the NHL played 29. Vasilevskiy split time in his first two years between AHL and NHL, never playing more than 30 in AHL. Shesterkin played 25 games while splitting time. Sorokin never played in AHL. Saros played 38 games before splitting time in NHL.
Look at the other younger goalies: Hart 18 games, Knight 11 games, Swayman 14 games between two years.
This narrative of the AHL being some development league for goalies is wild to me.
Vasi had 38 games in the KHL before his 37 in the AHL. That's two full years of men's league development.
Saros had 47 games in a men's leage (Liiga) before his 39 AHL games. That's two full years of men's league development.
Sorokin had -- guess what? -- 184 KHL games -- FIVE full men's league seasons (KHL)
Shesterkin had -- guess what? -- THREE full men's league seasons (KHL)
Hart hasn't come close to reaching his potential, possibly because Philly rushed him.
Knight is back down in the AHL and currently in the players' assistance program. Maybe they're not related, maybe the are.
Swayman is playing behind a stupidly good defensive team.
The ONLY valid outlier you've cited here is Oettinger.....but even he played a whole season in the AHL.
The point is also flying by your head. It's not that the AHL is some development league. It's that young goalies often need years of experience in a men's league (Liiga, SHL, KHL, AHL) before succeeding at the NHL level.