Do you think a goalie will ever go 1st OA again?

[MMC]

Seems like teams are very cautious about drafting goalies in the first round since DiPietro and MAF.

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[Church of Toews*]

Don't see it happening unless we get some sort of McDavid esque goalie that just blows everyone away

 

[Mickey Marner]

Goalies have such a volatile development curve its hard enough to justify selecting them in the first round. I personally wouldn't select anything less than a prodigy first overall.

 

[NHL Fanatik*]

Probably not - then again I don't know goaltender prospects enough.

Anyone with any insight on an elite goaltending prospect in a weak draft year?

 

[Nynja*]

With goaltenders tending to bloom in their mid-20's, theres no reason to draft them high, unless they're unquestionable to be a generational talent goaltender. And even then...a lot of Habs fans at the time felt such a high pick was wasted on Price.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

Never.

 

[BruinsBtn]

Maybe if it was a goalie that was like 6-foot-10 and insanely athletic and it was a weak draft year.

 

[Dirty Dog]

I think a goalie will certainly go first overall at some point again. Like others have said, he'll be seen as a prodigy or something, also will take a weak skater class.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

Only if scouting gets better at identifying which goalies are going to end up being elite. Carey Price was taken #5 and certainly hasn't disappointed.

 

[FissionFire]

I can see it happening in a year with a weaker forward group. Weaker drafts tend to have goalies and D go earlier than others.

 

[GTA]

EVER? Of course there will be...are some of you guys suggesting that in the next 5000 years, a goalie won't go first when a goalie went first twice in the past 15? Statistically as likely as it gets.

 

[Jeti]

Just because every GM probably knows it's risky to take a goalie first overall doesn't mean there won't ever be another one to think they've found the exception, or that such an exception won't legitimately occur.

Dipietro was a failure for the organization but more so due to injuries than play (not that he was good enough to live up to the pick or moves that ensued because of it, but he was a legitimate starter). Fleury wasn't too bad - there were better picks to be made after him but they still ended up with a decent starting goalie that they may not have won the cup without.

Price is another good example to consider; While he didn't go first overall, he was a very high pick that could have been considered just as risky (as a top-5 pick is still nothing to throw away) and he easily could have gone first in many other years (without a talent like Crosby). In turn, the Habs got a franchise goalie out of that pick.

 

[jpchabby]

Don't see it happening unless we get some sort of McDavid esque goalie that just blows everyone away

That's pretty much what I think too... It would have to be a pretty insane goalie for it to happen again.

 

[bambamcam4ever]

Maybe if a goalie had 4 arms.

 

[OneMoreAstronaut]

Ever is a long time.

 

[CanadienShark]

One day, yes, but don't count on it being anytime soon.

 

[CanadienShark]

With goaltenders tending to bloom in their mid-20's, theres no reason to draft them high, unless they're unquestionable to be a generational talent goaltender. And even then...a lot of Habs fans at the time felt such a high pick was wasted on Price.

It was a risk, no doubt. In retrospect, I'd make that choice again, but if we didn't know that Price would be the goalie Price is today, then there's not a chance I'd take that risk. I'd have gone for Kopitar in that case. That said, I'm glad we have Price.

 

[Hisch13r]

Ever is a really long time so yes

 

[Sniped]

Don't see it happening anytime soon, probably not.

 

[kingsholygrail]

If there's a draft that's pretty weak, it's not impossible.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Never say never, but I doubt it. You'd need to have a combo of a clear-cut phenom goalie available, likely a fairly weak prospect pool for forwards and defensemen, and probably a halfway decent team getting first overall that's missing a dependable goalie and only got first overall through a trade or some lottery luck.

 

[Kristopher Letang]

Yeah, my son.

 

[Stuzchuk]

if there's a 1996esque draft again and there's a GL who has Roy/Hasek/Brodeur potentials... I could see it happens yes, but besides that a big no

 

[tucker3434]

Sure. There will be a year with a dominant goalie and below average defense and forwards.

 

[Voight]

Most likely not. You can grab guys like Gibson, Allen, Elliott and Rinne in the later rounds so theres no reason to use a 1st round pick on them.

Its failed and worked in recent years. Pickard was a bust for NSH but Vasilevsky (TB) looks like he's going to be a great pick. Campbell I'm not sure yet.