G Carson Bjarnason - Brandon Wheat Kings, WHL (2023, 51st, PHI)

[Frk It]

Goalie with good size (listed at 6'4" 180 lbs on Brandon's roster page) who has had 2 strong showings for Brandon to start his draft year. Also had a win for Canada against Slovakia at the Hlinka. May get a look at the U18s in the spring, if he continues playing well.

Carson Bjarnason at eliteprospects.com

Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Carson Bjarnason, 2005-06-30 Carberry, MB, CAN Canada. Most recently in the WHL with Brandon Wheat Kings. Complete player biography and stats.

www.eliteprospects.com

Click to read more...

 

[JohnWillow]

Goalie with good size (listed at 6'4" 180 lbs on Brandon's roster page) who has had 2 strong showings for Brandon to start his draft year. Also had a win for Canada against Slovakia at the Hlinka. May get a look at the U18s in the spring, if he continues playing well.

Carson Bjarnason at eliteprospects.com

Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Carson Bjarnason, 2005-06-30 Carberry, MB, CAN Canada. Most recently in the WHL with Brandon Wheat Kings. Complete player biography and stats.

www.eliteprospects.com

The last name tells me that he might have some roots from Iceland.

 

[Joe Hallenback]

Guys is killing it to start the season

Don't sleep on him as the draft approaches

 

[Lavar Ball]

 

[Bubbles]

1st shut out of the season against a high powered offensive team in the Rockets.

1st star, 29 saves.

 

[Bubbles]

Verrrry interesting that NHL Central Scouting has him rated him an A prospect.

Could he be the first goalie taken in 2023?

 

[BKarchitect]

How does he compare to another huge WHL goalie in Cossa? Bjarnason is on track to match or surpass Cossa’s draft year stats while being in a team not even remotely close to being as loaded as the Oil Kings were and being 7 months younger.

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

The last name tells me that he might have some roots from Iceland.

Imagine a team with a Nord, Dane, Swede, Icelander, and Finn all at once? OMG I hope that can happen. Heck when is there going to be someone with Faroe Islands descent joining the ranks?

 

[Bubbles]

How does he compare to another huge WHL goalie in Cossa? Bjarnason is on track to match or surpass Cossa’s draft year stats while being in a team not even remotely close to being as loaded as the Oil Kings were and being 7 months younger.

Hard to say at the moment. He certainly has the height that NHL teams covet. Haven't had the chance to see him in action.

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

Maybe Seattle drafts him hehe. Then they can ice an entirely Nordic team minus Faroe Islands and Aland. Carolina also works.

 

[Lavar Ball]

34 Saves on 36 shots against Seattle last night.

Button has him as the top Goalie, for what it's worth

 

[Frk It]

Pulled after I believe allowing 5 goals on 7 shots to Sweden

16 year old D'Aigle getting a shot now

 

[MMC]

Welcome to Philadelphia

 

[enjar21]

Rough night tonight versus Portland; 4 goals on 12 shots in the first period, then pulled. 3/4 goals came from the glove side. To be fair though, the final score was 11-1 Portland, so it seems that both goalies were left out to dry.

Another thing to keep in mind is that he played last night and tonight. Last night had 5 goals against on 29 shots, then started and pulled this game.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Was always surprised he went in the 2nd round. Especially considering Fowler was still on the board

 

[Hinterland]

Was always surprised he went in the 2nd round. Especially considering Fowler was still on the board

Posting because Moose Jaw leads Brandon 2-0? That's not Bjarnason's fault. He let in three poor shots from bad angles over those two games and he probably should have had those but even that Firkus goal in game 1 was a difficult one to prevent because he had to respect the pass as well on that 2vs1 the Warriors had. Never ideal to give up goals from bad angles and Bjarnason has to do better on those but he's not the reason the Warriors have the series lead. They're just the better team with more offensive firepower. This series was always gonna be an uphill climb for Brandon. I'd argue that Bjarnason, despite his mistakes, still outplayed Jackson Unger. Especially in game 2 it was alone his fault the game even went to OT.

Bjarnason is a project. I'm not worried about him because of a few soft goals.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Posting because Moose Jaw leads Brandon 2-0? That's not Bjarnason's fault. He let in three poor shots from bad angles over those two games and he probably should have had those but even that Firkus goal in game 1 was a difficult one to prevent because he had to respect the pass as well on that 2vs1 the Warriors had. Never ideal to give up goals from bad angles and Bjarnason has to do better on those but he's not the reason the Warriors have the series lead. They're just the better team with more offensive firepower. This series was always gonna be an uphill climb for Brandon. I'd argue that Bjarnason, despite his mistakes, still outplayed Jackson Unger. Especially in game 2 it was alone his fault the game even went to OT.

Bjarnason is a project. I'm not worried about him because of a few soft goals.

Posting because his stats haven't been good all year

 

[Hinterland]

Posting because his stats haven't been good all year

I disagree. He played a good season. Backstopped a poor team into the playoffs. Jackson Unger couldn't have done it. Calgary has a much better team than Brandon. Brandon made the playoffs because they had the better goaltender.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I think a little like Gajan he's not having a bad season, but for a second round pick it is a little underwhelming.

Fowler and Augustine look like better picks. They probably were better options on draft day also.

I don't buy into the idea that you randomly take goalies who you think have potential who don't perform that well. Take the goalie who performs well every single time. They have a better chance to be able to translate their game to the NHL.

But these players are all like one year into being drafted. There's a long way to go. Too early to know who will be the goalies from this draft that make the NHL.

 

[Hinterland]

I think a little like Gajan he's not having a bad season, but for a second round pick it is a little underwhelming.

Fowler and Augustine look like better picks. They probably were better options on draft day also.

I don't buy into the idea that you randomly take goalies who you think have potential who don't perform that well. Take the goalie who performs well every single time. They have a better chance to be able to translate their game to the NHL.

But these players are all like one year into being drafted. There's a long way to go. Too early to know who will be the goalies from this draft that make the NHL.

You repeated it several times in this thread alone so I'm starting to wonder how and where you came up with the curious theory that Fowler and Augustine had better seasons than Bjarnason?

Fowler and Augustine were not better options at the draft either. They were actually head scratchers in the spots they were taken while Bjarnason was picked around where he was widely expected to go.

You almost always draft for upside, no matter if we're talking goalies or not. You draft the guy you think will be the best 5-10 years later, not the one who's the best now because that simply doesn't help you and it won't matter either if it's not translatable. Goalies are even tougher to project than skaters because so much is decided between the ears.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

You repeated it several times in this thread alone so I'm starting to wonder how and where you came up with the curious theory that Fowler and Augustine had better seasons than Bjarnason?

Fowler and Augustine were not better options at the draft either. They were actually head scratchers in the spots they were taken while Bjarnason was picked around where he was widely expected to go.

You almost always draft for upside, no matter if we're talking goalies or not. You draft the guy you think will be the best 5-10 years later, not the one who's the best now because that simply doesn't help you and it won't matter either if it's not translatable. Goalies are even tougher to project than skaters because so much is decided between the ears.

I repeated it several times in this thread? Can you point me to those posts? I’m not seeing them.

Goalies are the hardest position for scouts to predict in the sport. All but the elite NHL goalies vary year to year a lot, and that’s speaking of the finished products, not 18 year olds. The easiest way to scout them is by save percentage. Do you consistently stop the puck at a high rate? The best in the NHL usually were the best prior to the NHL. Too many try to play expert and find a minute reason for why a certain one is better than those playing better hockey. I’ve done it before and have learned to stop. The best indicator is who consistently puts up very good save percentages for their situation.

 

[Hinterland]

I repeated it several times in this thread? Can you point me to those posts? I’m not seeing them.

Goalies are the hardest position for scouts to predict in the sport. All but the elite NHL goalies vary year to year a lot, and that’s speaking of the finished products, not 18 year olds. The easiest way to scout them is by save percentage. Do you consistently stop the puck at a high rate? The best in the NHL usually were the best prior to the NHL. Too many try to play expert and find a minute reason for why a certain one is better than those playing better hockey. I’ve done it before and have learned to stop. The best indicator is who consistently puts up very good save percentages for their situation.

You mentioned Fowler for the 2nd time already. Completely unrelated.

Also, you're comparing apples and oranges by looking at save percentage only. I shouldn't have to explain you this. Context matters.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

You mentioned Fowler for the 2nd time already. Completely unrelated.

Also, you're comparing apples and oranges by looking at save percentage only. I shouldn't have to explain you this. Context matters.

Which post #? I’m not seeing it.

 

[Hinterland]

Which post #? I’m not seeing it.

Nevermind. It was actually somebody else. My bad. Sorry

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Needs a big summer and early start to the season if he wants to make the World Junior team. George, Ravensbergen, Ratzlaff, and even Leenders will push for a spot.