G Gabriel D'Aigle - Victoriaville Tigres, QMJHL (2025 Draft)

[Teaspoon salami]

He’s not good. Sorry, someone had to say it.

People like him because he’s athletic, a late birthday, and very tall.

He has a lot of games where he completely loses the game for his team.

He reminds me of Gibson Homer, who also got a great early reputation and then it became apparent he didn’t stop the puck well.

But he’s still young, so who knows? Maybe he’ll get better.

The mental side of his game is not there yet and he's waaay overhyped, but still a decent prospect.

 

[Dirtyf1ghter]

The level of Canadian goaltenders has been catastrophic (compared to the Canadian standard) for a very long time. There are still 2-3 years, the best were still Price and Fleury. There hasn't been a dream Canadian goaltender since Price.

 

[Nikolajs Sillers]

Daigle? I'll show myself out.

 

[scoutman1]

Everyone on here jumping on D'Aigle because of a really bad game...when i was scouting the U17s in St John's NFLD Price played for Pacific and got pulled from every single game he played and I came away from there seeing him 4 times and getting pulled all 4 times and thinking this guy is terrible....boy was i wrong on that...also goes to show you that you can not base an evaluation on a short tournament because it really means nothing

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Everyone on here jumping on D'Aigle because of a really bad game...when i was scouting the U17s in St John's NFLD Price played for Pacific and got pulled from every single game he played and I came away from there seeing him 4 times and getting pulled all 4 times and thinking this guy is terrible....boy was i wrong on that...also goes to show you that you can not base an evaluation on a short tournament because it really means nothing

No, we're jumping on him because he didn't put up good numbers last year, and he's been brutal basically every time he's put on the Red and White in high profile games that a lot of people watch. Yes, you cannot hold one or two games against him. You can judge the whole body of work though.

He could be a decent goalie prospect in a few years. Right now, he's not what he's been billed as, which is the next great goalie prospect in the sport and for Canada. He'll need to rehabilitate his stock a lot to be considered a first rounder in 2025.

I think the reason we talk a lot about him now as opposed to other goalies for 2025 is that he's a late-birthday and people know of him. There are likely better goalies that would play better, yet we don't know who they are yet.

 

[Zilo44]

The level of Canadian goaltenders has been catastrophic (compared to the Canadian standard) for a very long time. There are still 2-3 years, the best were still Price and Fleury. There hasn't been a dream Canadian goaltender since Price.

Incredible that the all time wins leaders include Roy, Brodeur, Luongo and Fleury who almost all played in the same era (stretching for Roy, but still) all from Quebec and now we don’t have quality goaltending all across Canada

 

[Wintersun]

No, we're jumping on him because he didn't put up good numbers last year, and he's been brutal basically every time he's put on the Red and White in high profile games that a lot of people watch. Yes, you cannot hold one or two games against him. You can judge the whole body of work though.

He could be a decent goalie prospect in a few years. Right now, he's not what he's been billed as, which is the next great goalie prospect in the sport and for Canada. He'll need to rehabilitate his stock a lot to be considered a first rounder in 2025.

I think the reason we talk a lot about him now as opposed to other goalies for 2025 is that he's a late-birthday and people know of him. There are likely better goalies that would play better, yet we don't know who they are yet.

To be honest, I've seen D'Aigle play a lot live and he's been absolutely outstanding in most of those viewings. He's a hard working kid too with great tools.

I also agree with the fact that he has been underwhelming in the last 12 months versus expectations, but I don't think it's fair to be so harsh on him yet. We'll see, but I do think he may have hit a bit of a wall in development. We will see if he can bounce back.

 

[scoutman1]

Incredible that the all time wins leaders include Roy, Brodeur, Luongo and Fleury who almost all played in the same era (stretching for Roy, but still) all from Quebec and now we don’t have quality goaltending all across Canada

when i was scouting we learned a lot of kids in Quebec are playing soccer now because of the money hockey costs...so there is not as many kids playing as their use to be

 

[abo9]

Here is a great take on why the quality of goaltending has gone down in Canada over the years

Saving Canadian hockey from a goalie crisis

Cole Harbour produced shot-making stars like Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon, but now, in a goalie shortage, the area's trying something new to make some great shot stoppers.

www.thecoast.ca

As a goalie dad myself, this article is 100% on the mark.

Good article
Im 27, was a goalie growing up, and I was fortunate that my dad made it a point to have coaches take care of the goalies during practice. He'd even habe the players wshoot at an emrpty net to let us practice technique at times.

And he registered me in goalie camps, so at one point I was able to come up with drills of my own in practice.

My association loved goalies though, the president's kid was a goalie as were most kid's coqches - itnwas suprr competitive lol.

Couldnt imagine just going to a practice as a kid and not working on technique for at least half of it

Edit: damn forgot i was in the Daigle thread
Hopefully he's the real deal and can spark back that fire in Quebec youth... if theres one thing Quebec should do, is produce hhof goalies

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

To be honest, I've seen D'Aigle play a lot live and he's been absolutely outstanding in most of those viewings. He's a hard working kid too with great tools.

I also agree with the fact that he has been underwhelming in the last 12 months versus expectations, but I don't think it's fair to be so harsh on him yet. We'll see, but I do think he may have hit a bit of a wall in development. We will see if he can bounce back.

That’s fair. I definitely see the talent and I’m not saying he’s on a bad path for a 2025 draft eligible. There’s so long to go before he’s drafted and goalies also develop later.

The expectations are what they are though. He didn’t ask for that, so maybe it’s unfair to him. I guess we’ll see how his next few years go. Hopefully he can bring his best performances (or at least his average performances) more often. If he can do that, it’ll go a long way for his progression.

 

[Goldenhands]

No, we're jumping on him because he didn't put up good numbers last year, and he's been brutal basically every time he's put on the Red and White in high profile games that a lot of people watch. Yes, you cannot hold one or two games against him. You can judge the whole body of work though.

He could be a decent goalie prospect in a few years. Right now, he's not what he's been billed as, which is the next great goalie prospect in the sport and for Canada. He'll need to rehabilitate his stock a lot to be considered a first rounder in 2025.

I think the reason we talk a lot about him now as opposed to other goalies for 2025 is that he's a late-birthday and people know of him. There are likely better goalies that would play better, yet we don't know who they are yet.

Bad take, the kid is not even draft eligible... He is big, athletic and has alot of potential. Goaltenders are the longer to develop, especially big kids like him. Facing adversity and fighting some inconsistency at that point of his development is part of the learning process. there is nothing alarming here. Kid is 6'4 210 lbs and still growing into his body, only 16 yrs old.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Bad take, the kid is not even draft eligible... He is big, athletic and has alot of potential. Goaltenders are the longer to develop, especially big kids like him. Facing adversity and fighting some inconsistency at that point of his development is part of the learning process. there is nothing alarming here.

Do you know how many goalies are big, athletic, and have a lot of potential? Almost all of them are not put on this pedestal of being the next great goalie prospect in the sport and for a country like he has been. What has he done to justify that? Because if you look at the best recent pre-draft goalie prospects, they were not this erratic. Obviously 16 year old goalies have some bad performances and sometimes they give up a lot of goals because it’s junior hockey and their teammates play no defense, but I don’t know how you could really deny that he’s not on the same track as those best pre-draft goalies of recent times like Askarov, Knight, Wallstedt. They weren’t this erratic. Could he reach their level eventually? Sure, why not, but we’re discussing the early expectations and how he’s doing in relation to that, not whether he could eventually turn into a very good goalie.

 

[WeThreeKings]

He's very young and it's August.. I'm a goalie and getting back to form as a goalie takes a lot longer than any of the other positions out there.

Let's calm down on the requiems for his career.. The only true fact in this thread is that Canada sucks at developing goalies and it's because they are still teaching technique, antiquated techniques, using goalies as shooter tutors in practice until they make it to the junior level, and they don't develop athletes in net.

 

[Zilo44]

when i was scouting we learned a lot of kids in Quebec are playing soccer now because of the money hockey costs...so there is not as many kids playing as their use to be

Yeah soccer and football are taking over slowly

 

[Mathieukferland]

Yeah soccer and football are taking over slowly

Where are you from? Cause where I’m from it’s too cold 9 months of the year to play soccer or football, hockey is by far the number one where I am from (Jonquière in Saguenay), second is probably baseball

 

[Michoulicious]

Do you know how many goalies are big, athletic, and have a lot of potential? Almost all of them are not put on this pedestal of being the next great goalie prospect in the sport and for a country like he has been. What has he done to justify that? Because if you look at the best recent pre-draft goalie prospects, they were not this erratic. Obviously 16 year old goalies have some bad performances and sometimes they give up a lot of goals because it’s junior hockey and their teammates play no defense, but I don’t know how you could really deny that he’s not on the same track as those best pre-draft goalies of recent times like Askarov, Knight, Wallstedt. They weren’t this erratic. Could he reach their level eventually? Sure, why not, but we’re discussing the early expectations and how he’s doing in relation to that, not whether he could eventually turn into a very good goalie.

I don't know many goalies prospects that were 6'4 at 15 y old. His athletic tools by themselves are special.

I think people are overreacting. He's a top prospect for 2025.

 

[Zilo44]

Where are you from? Cause where I’m from it’s too cold 9 months of the year to play soccer or football, hockey is by far the number one where I am from (Jonquière in Saguenay), second is probably baseball

Quebec city

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I don't know many goalies prospects that were 6'4 at 15 y old. His athletic tools by themselves are special.

I think people are overreacting. He's a top prospect for 2025.

But he's not 15, he's 16 (and a few months from 17). And there actually are quite a lot of goalies that are 6'4 at 15. For all those goalies that end up 6'7 or 6'8, do you not think they were at least 6'4 in the 15-17 age range?

My opinion is that he does have a very good combination of size and athleticism, so I agree with you, to an extent. Obviously though, you have to end up stopping the shots. I think to be a real top prospect for a draft as a goalie (so the level of prior goalies like Knight, Askarov, Wallstedt in recent drafts), you have to match the physical tools and the production. He might have the physical tools, but I think the production is lacking for now.

Could he end up combining them eventually? Sure, he's still young, but I think the early prognostications should be taking into account that the production isn't really there and that's taken him off that top prospect track as a goalie that some suggested he was on.

 

[Teaspoon salami]

The level of Canadian goaltenders has been catastrophic (compared to the Canadian standard) for a very long time. There are still 2-3 years, the best were still Price and Fleury. There hasn't been a dream Canadian goaltender since Price.

Maybe the problem is the hype about height. There are crazy athletic talented and technical goalies that are labeled too small that are miles ahead of their taller counterparts, but you never hear about the shorter guys, because they never get the media attention due to their size. They never get an opportunity at the next level, and by the time their draft eligible/junior years are done, they are already commited to play Usports or Europe. There are loads of talented Canadian goalies, i really don't think it's a development problem, it's a scouting problem as well as the fact that other countries also have great goaltending development with a larger height average compared to Canada. I follow goaltending pretty closely in Canada, and the development is miles ahead of where it used to be. We pay attention to the wrong attributes when looking at goalies here and other countries have caught up.

 

[Dirtyf1ghter]

Maybe the problem is the hype about height. There are crazy athletic talented and technical goalies that are labeled too small that are miles ahead of their taller counterparts, but you never hear about the shorter guys, because they never get the media attention due to their size. They never get an opportunity at the next level, and by the time their draft eligible/junior years are done, they are already commited to play Usports or Europe. There are loads of talented Canadian goalies, i really don't think it's a development problem, it's a scouting problem as well as the fact that other countries also have great goaltending development with a larger height average compared to Canada. I follow goaltending pretty closely in Canada, and the development is miles ahead of where it used to be. We pay attention to the wrong attributes when looking at goalies here and other countries have caught up.

It's not even caught up. Several nations have overtaken Canada on this position. Russia is very far ahead.

The selection in relation to the size, I never understood.

Take less good but bigger goalkeepers... This year several goalkeepers have been selected but Sweden's number one goalkeeper of his generation, Noah Erliden, has not been selected.

If he is the best with the national team and in the league, it will be no different in the NHL.

The argument I hear is that there is no small goalie in the NHL who works. But that's normal since the doors are closed for them.

 

[Michoulicious]

But he's not 15, he's 16 (and a few months from 17). And there actually are quite a lot of goalies that are 6'4 at 15. For all those goalies that end up 6'7 or 6'8, do you not think they were at least 6'4 in the 15-17 age range?

My opinion is that he does have a very good combination of size and athleticism, so I agree with you, to an extent. Obviously though, you have to end up stopping the shots. I think to be a real top prospect for a draft as a goalie (so the level of prior goalies like Knight, Askarov, Wallstedt in recent drafts), you have to match the physical tools and the production. He might have the physical tools, but I think the production is lacking for now.

Could he end up combining them eventually? Sure, he's still young, but I think the early prognostications should be taking into account that the production isn't really there and that's taken him off that top prospect track as a goalie that some suggested he was on.

He was 6'4 last September as a 15y old rookie in the Q. Dunno what to tell you, but that is the truth. There are not that many 15 y old with that size that play goalie, so I also disagree with your assessment that this is common.

He was picked #2 OA in the Q for a reason as well, and it is not just because of his size. I trust more people that have been scouting Quebec minor leagues for decades that think this kid is the real deal than a few people over the internet that saw him for 3-4 games total.

We'll know who is right in a few years, I guess.

Biggest concern is that kid has been hyped for a bit too long, sometimes it can **** with their heads with too much expectations.

That is him at 10 y old, already a YouTube star. He always been dedicated.

 

[HansSachsFan]

Haven't seen him play but these are my highlights impressions. The issue I see with him is his stance and (partly as a consequence) his skating. His legs are too straight and his torso too angled down, his skating is incredibly raw and erratic. I would go as far to say that it's borderline terrible. But these issues can be fixed fairly easily if he starts working on them. Filling his frame over time should help too, kids that grow a lot in a short span commonly have issues with coordination. The potential seems to be there.

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

He's very young and it's August.. I'm a goalie and getting back to form as a goalie takes a lot longer than any of the other positions out there.

Let's calm down on the requiems for his career.. The only true fact in this thread is that Canada sucks at developing goalies and it's because they are still teaching technique, antiquated techniques, using goalies as shooter tutors in practice until they make it to the junior level, and they don't develop athletes in net.

I agree with everything you said and i'll add as a goalie myself as well that goalies don't even get any position specific coaching unless they are in AAA programs or the parents send them to goalie camp.

Most coaches are just some kids dad who never played goal and wouldn't have the first idea on how to teach an 8 yr old kid how to play the position.

 

[LesCanadiens]

Anyone watch Victoriaville that can provide any input on his play so far this season? Seems his numbers are terrible and Victoriaville looks like a decent team. He's under .900 and the starting goalie is at around .913. Seems like he's not progressing at all at this point.

 

[Czechboy]

I think the second a kid gets named the next great Canuck goalie that they should probably retire. Kiss of death.