G Akira Schmid - Langnau U20, Elite Jr. A (2018, 136th, NJD)
- Thread starter Jason MacIsaac
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No matter what happens in the future its certainly already a great underdog story. He had to battle so much adversity to get where he is today. First getting let go in Lethbridge so they could keep VHL-legend Danila Pavliko after one bad exhibition game, his first on NA ice. Then having to stay in his billet family's basement for months trying to find another team. Then after he established himself in the USHL the hip injury that almost ended his career. Then he couldn't go to the NCAA either, because of one lousy pro game he had played back in Switzerland. He got constantly passed over for inferior goaltenders on the Swiss junior national teams as well. He certainly never got anything handed to him for free, thats for sure.
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- Sep 29, 2016
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I mean I agree they continued to play worse goalies with limited upside over him which was clearly a mistake but at the same time he still got lots of looks. I mean Schmid played lots of international games for Swiss junior teams and he's been consistently poor. It has to be said. His talent was always visible but his performances were almost always underwhelming. Stéphane Charlin for example has been a consistently better junior than Schmid and got even less opportunities. So yeah, playing guys like Hollenstein or Wüthrich over Schmid was a bad joke but let's not act like Schmid would have earned more opportunities than he got. That's not at all the case. Schmid was mostly underwhelming as a junior, both at club and international level. He was mostly living off his talent. Some of that injury related as you pointed out but still. Just kinda goes to show how goalies are complete voodoo. I used to like Schmid a lot, then almost gave up on him until he suddenly started to stand on his head in first AHL then NHL just as the Devils once very good looking goalie depth started to fade away. So now I'm not even surprised he's doing well in the playoffs. I was more surprised he was able to make that big step from a potential bust to standing on his head on a consistent basis in pro hockey. But like I said, that's sometimes how it goes with talented goalies. They got the tools but you never know if and when they're gonna put it together.
Do you guys think he is just on a hot run or will he establish himself as a premier top 5 netminder?
- Sep 29, 2016
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Neither. He's a good goalie and he's gonna keep it up. Top5 though? I don't see it. Top5 we're talking Oettinger, Vasilevkiy or Hellebuyck category. I don't see that happening.
John Pedro
Registered User
probably a good starter, a bit above league average. Basically what Vanecek gave us this season
True, I was mostly referring to Holenstein getting the starter position over Schmid in three separate tournaments (1 x U18, 2 x U20 WJC). That is not insignificant. You have admitted yourself that you considered Holenstein the inferior goaltender back then.
Thats not true. He played well in the WJC U18 in 2017 and was absolutely lights out in the Ivan Hlinka memorial tournament a few months later. I'd say that he was inconsistent rather than consistently poor. He was also often thrown into the fire back then as a number two for Holenstein in tournament games vs Canada and other heavy favorites, while Holenstein got the "winnable" starts. This sometimes made him look worse than he actually was. This is comparable to Kirschs role at this years U18s.
Can't say I remember much of Charlins play outside his lone WJC because he was such a non factor in international tournaments otherwise. Maybe he was a better junior goalie than Schmid overall but I wasn't even referring to him anyway. He was never remotely tested to the same degree as Schmid and Holenstein in high stakes situations though, wich needs to be pointed out as well.
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The reason he was looking like a bust was his second season in NA that was basically lost due to the injury. In his other two seasons in the USHL he was basically the best goaltender in the league. The USHL might not be the best major junior league but he coulnd't move up to the NCAA for the reasons I mentioned. Of course, he made another huge jump in Utica but it wasn't as out of the blue as you are implying here.
- Sep 29, 2016
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I'm not just talking about WJC's. He got to play in lots of tournaments or exhibitions. I didn't count the games but there were many and with the rare exceptions you mentioned he was never did anything to justify even more playing time.
Playing Hollenstein was always a brain fart. I never understood that obsession.
Charlin didn't just play in the one WJC20. He also played other tournaments and exhibitions and has always looked great. Schmid didn't. That was my point. Schmid may have been unlucky but his junior career was underwhelming.
If you're not surprised by his sudden improvements then props to you...I probably wasn't the only one who lost faith long ago. And I used to like him for years despite his poor performances.
I agree being thrown into a tournament like Kirsch isn't the greatest of opportunities but there's better ways to deal with it than Kirsch or Schmid...if you're actually any good at the time that is. Doesn't mean anything in the long run as we see now (that's also why I'm not really worried about Kirsch as I also posted the other day when he got his net filled with pucks). However, it does mean you're, at the time, not really good enough to justify more playing time. I'd still rather play a promising goalie than a complete bum like Hollenstein (who was never really good either) but still...if you're consistently underwhelming you can't really complain about not getting looks. Charlin was pretty consistently good and still didn't get the looks.
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I only said he was never handed anything for free in the swiss NT and was passed over for inferior goaltenders wich you agreed on, basically. He was never one of the players that got treated as a "coaches pet" so to speak as some have in the past. I also never claimed he had an outstanding junior career overall but there certainly were some highlights that indicated his high upside. I also only heared good things about him playing in the Langnau system but I can't comment on that first hand, outside a couple of games.
I was definitely surprised by how fast he progressed in the last two years but I certainly hadn't seen him in bust territory either when he signed in Utica.
But according to some Ranger fans on Twitter, he gives up massive rebounds and doesn’t track the puck well
