How did this guy go undrafted? from all ive read he looks like a great prospect. Heres a little story
Team Finland did not medal at the 2010 Ivan Hlinka Memorial, but it wasn’t any fault of their goaltender, as Richard Ulberg was sensational in the nets. The 6-foot-3, 183-pound backstop made numerous acrobatic saves in each of the two games he appeared in, going 1-1, with a 3.47 goals against average, and .921 save percentage. During the year, Ulberg played 13 games with HIFK U18 posting a 10-2-1 record, with a goals against average of 2.32 and a save percentage of .925, and led them to a Jr. B SM-sarja Championship. In the playoffs he was lights out, with a 5-0 record, a 1.40 GAA and .956 save percentage. The talented tender also spent 5 games with HIFK in the SM-sarja Q division as well, and had a 2.37 goals against to go with a .917 save percentage. His numbers are truly remarkable, and he should be on the radar for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft as he has all the makings of a quality pro. Ullberg plays a butterfly style, but he also has very quick reflexes that allow him to cheat every so often. The 17-year-old rarely gets rattled, plays a very calm and collected game, is very good at using his size to cut down his angles, anticipates the play exceptionally well, and makes highlight real saves on a regular basis.
What stands out to me is those save percentages.
Any more info on him?
Above are hie 2010 stats. here is what happen in 2011 and should explain why he wasnt drafted.
What the hell happened to this guy? Like Perhonen, Ullberg is the stereotypical Finnish butterfly goalie with size and a wide stance who takes up huge portions of the net and brings terrific reflexes and blocking/recovery abilities to the table. He started strong in some international competition, but faded fast and the wheels completely came off as his season on the HIFK J20 season progressed (.887 save percentage, 3.35 GAA in 15 GP). Ullberg was dominant as a 15- and 16-year-old, so scouts are left scratching their heads over his disastrous season. Did he peak too soon and this sieve what Ullberg really is, OR- do you spend a late pick on him in hopes that he gets his head back on straight and gets back on the developmental track. If you believe the latter, you could end up with a steal of a prospect, because he certainly has the physical attributes to be a top prospect. It's one gamble that just might be worth taking, but only if a team thinks he can pull it together with some good coaching and handling.
Ullberg is not member of HIFK anymore. He got kicked out of U20 team because... well, because of the reason that shouldn't be published(which i cant find). He signed a two-year deal with SaiPa in January and didn't play much better for them mainly because SaiPa was worst team in the league. In a nutshell his talent hasn't disappeared anywhere but attitude is the reason holding him back right now.
To be honest, I know very little about Ullberg, other than he's an interesting prospect now in SaiPa's system. Going from Jr. B to the Jr. A SM-liiga. Won a championship in the Jr. B league in 2009-10.
I know where you got that inforrmation so I have seen that before, as I read that interview on Dan Sallows website and that is about the extent of what I know about him, aside from his Elite Prospects profile.
It is not easy for me to find video and a lot of information on him, so this is great stuff and I will definitely ask some of my contacts in Finland about him.
A lot of what helps a European prospect that's only 17 years old to get drafted is straight up exposure. If he's playing in the Junior-B league in Finland, he is just not getting the "talk" or exposure in North America he needs to land on Central Scouting's radar or rankings.
It seems like he is still a very raw talent and still has a lot of maturing to do. I don't mean that in a bad way, I just mean that he maybe needs to focus more on his off-ice training and just grow up a little more. Again I mean that in a development aspect, not attitude.
He still has a few years of draft eligibility. Let's see if he's ranked by CSS at the start of the season. That will go a really long way getting the exposure he needs over here to maybe have some scouts look closer at him.
I can say at his frame of 6-foot-3 and around 185 pounds, if quickness is one of his assets and he's being compared to Samu Perhonen and plays a style similar to Kari Lehtonen, if he has a really strong first half of the season, I could see him being a draft-eligible Internationally-ranked goaltender for 2012 Entry Draft.
Undrafted Prospect- Richard Ullberg
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