Is Lukas Dostal Quietly Elite?

FiveTacos

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Oct 2, 2017
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Right now I don't think I'd label him elite. 0 playoff games, no vezinas, etc. I keep "elite" reserved for the Hasek and Brodeur level goalies.

Holy smokes, so you're talking HoF level only? Well okay, but then why even use the term elite at all, just say HoF caliber goalie.

Now, has Dostal played at an extremely high level the first few weeks? Yeah, that's pretty undeniable. Long way to go though.
 

Stive Morgan

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Jul 25, 2011
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Yes he's good I like Dostal. Reminds me of montembault alot. Both play similar style, both on dumpy teams. And both quietly underrated.
Anaheim and Montreal merging rosters is lowkey one of my fantasies. So many players/prospects I like on both teams.

Zegras to Caufield!
Carlsson to Demidov!
Hutson to McTavish!
 

BB79

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Apr 30, 2011
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Holy smokes, so you're talking HoF level only? Well okay, but then why even use the term elite at all, just say HoF caliber goalie.

Now, has Dostal played at an extremely high level the first few weeks? Yeah, that's pretty undeniable. Long way to go though.
Elite is the best or most skilled of a group.

It depends on perspective (or group being compared). If you're considering us everyday fans, beer league losers and blue collar bums in the equation, then obviously only the elite make it to the NHL. As in all of them. Even the lowest end NHLer would school the crap out of all of us.

If you're looking/comparing all-time NHL players to one another, the elite class would be Hasek, Brodeur, Roy...the cream of the crop best. They nearly always make the HOF. This is what I interpreted the OP was saying.

If you're only comparing active NHLers and considering their career numbers, I don't believe the sample size is there yet.
 

Figgy44

A toast of purple gato for the memories
Dec 15, 2014
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They have have a constant stream of legit starters the whole existence of the franchise. Literally not one year without one of those guys in the roster and tha TDS just the home grown guys. Not even including the really good backups like Miller they have had.

Yup. Also, most of the guys who left, ended up struggling on their new teams. Giguere was a Flame before he went to the Ducks.

If I could take any asset on the Ducks right now for the Flames, I wouldn't bother with your best prospect or player. I'd take Sudsie and co. You guys are lucky to have that. Flames have had like 3 legit starters for the last several decades. It's brutal.
 

Zegs2sendhelp

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He played 44 games to a 3.33GAA last season. 7 games this season with a 2.00GAA according to hockeydb. He's looking like a very good solid young goalie for the Ducks.

Right now I don't think I'd label him elite. 0 playoff games, no vezinas, etc. I keep "elite" reserved for the Hasek and Brodeur level goalies. If he keeps playing like this those will come. Just too early to say.

To be fair he had a killer world championship… which is kinda a playoff atmosphere against a lot of great nhl talent
 
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Raistlin

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Aug 25, 2006
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I see Hudson is elite, Caufield is elite, Pionk is elite, Lundell is elite, Clarke is elite, so in that strain of thought, Dostal is obviously elite.
 

Zegs2sendhelp

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I see Hudson is elite, Caufield is elite, Pionk is elite, Lundell is elite, Clarke is elite, so in that strain of thought, Dostal is obviously elite.


He’s got a 977 sv percentage today…. So raising his unsustainable season total

43 saves in regulation
 

Hussar

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Smartest move I’ve ever made in fantasy was picking him up. Thank Gibson for really giving him a chance to shine, now the ducks know who’s better.
 

Ducks

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If Dostal sustains this level of play, he'll absolutely be considered elite, but I think he needs a full season as a starter first to prove it.
 

GermanRocket7

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I know 99% of the hockey world don't care about the Ducks and, furthermore, tend to significantly undervalue everyone and everything that comes out of Anaheim, despite the Ducks having produced a huge chunk of quality players they didn't even keep in the past 10+ years (most notably William Karlsson, Shea Theodore, Brandon Montour, Hampus Lindholm).

With that being said, Dostal most surely is among the NHL's best goaltenders as of right now. Is his stellar play sustainable for a whole season? Most assuredly not. Does he look like a bonafide 1A elite goaltender in the making, who has played at a very high level already for more than a year? Well, everyone who follows/followed the Ducks will tell you that this is case.

If Dostal played for a coach who actually knew what to do and behind a competent defense, would he be considered a Vezina candidate. Imagine him on a team like the Rangers or Florida. Hard to argue against him being deserving of some silverware so far. But of course, there's a lot of ifs and not enough sample size to fully project his foreseeable future.
 

HanSolo

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He played 44 games to a 3.33GAA last season. 7 games this season with a 2.00GAA according to hockeydb. He's looking like a very good solid young goalie for the Ducks.

Right now I don't think I'd label him elite. 0 playoff games, no vezinas, etc. I keep "elite" reserved for the Hasek and Brodeur level goalies. If he keeps playing like this those will come. Just too early to say.
Lol. That's preposterously restrictive.

Edit: and just to get ahead of the debate, you're talking about two of the 5 best goalies to ever play the position. Which means you're requiring generational level performance to apply a lower standard of "elite." To me and many others, there's a difference between Elite level play and a player who can be classified himself as elite.

Right now, in this limited sample, Dostal has been playing at an elite level. Has he been doing it long and consistently enough to join guys like Shesterskin, Vasilevsky, Hellebyuck, etc. as the elite goalies of this league? No. But he could and that's the point of discussion here. No one is saying he's there yet. They're saying he's showing the potential to get there.

But if you're requiring Brodeur/Hasek level performance and consistency just to be called elite in the present I think you can fairly argue that no one in the league is truly "elite" which would be an absurd proposition.
 
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Czechboy

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Apr 15, 2018
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I know the regression is coming but this has been a fun start to watch. Most Duck's games I've watched since they eliminated my Oilers in playoffs.lol
 

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