help me draft the right goalie in the draft

[Savages]

I am keeping Halak. We start 2 goalies and use wins gaa sv% so. Guys in the draft include.

Quick (but said to be going #1 in the draft) I have the 2nd overall pick

Ward
Nemi
Crawford
Howard
Backstrom
Varlamov
Anderson
Kipper

I have the 2nd overall and the 7th overal pick and plan on taking a goalie with one of the picks. Who do I take and why? what order to you rank these guys.

Thanks

[bondon]

Ah I hate ranking goalies because a lot of the time it comes to preference.

Ward - best goalie IMO
Quick - second best goalie on the best team
Niemi - strong team and locked into starter role with new contract


Crawford - one of the better goalies but plays for fickle coach
Kiprusoff - undisputed #1, but team is not good and he is prone to destroying ratios (in a bad way)
Howard - good team, but inconsistent goaltender, always fear of them bringing in Nabokov or someone else
Backstrom - good goaltender but on a not so good team
Anderson - see above
Varlamov - Avalanche are not expected to be very good in the near future.

Quite honestly with regards to the bottom six to me it comes down to personal preference IMO, they all have their pros and cons. That is why I would suggest that you tackle a goalie with your #2 pick and get Ward or Quick (whichever one doesn't get picked #1), as to me there's a significant drop-off thereafter.

[Savages]

thanks for the great reply. +1 Do you think that Ward can improve his gaa? I know his wins will be 36+ and his sv% should be over 920% and he will get you 4-6 shutouts but his gaa always seems to be on the high side.

Are the cans a better team this year then last overall? on defence?

Thanks

[bondon]

They have a lot of puck-movers on the back-end and a couple of good shutdown guys but I wouldn't say they are a whole lot improved compared to last year.

I wouldn't be too worried about Ward though, I think the thing to note is that while he has a higher GAA than the other elite goalies in the league, he also played A LOT more games and faced A LOT more shots. It must have been exhausting. The only goalies that came close to the number of GS or SA were Price and Bryz and their GAA's weren't that far off (Price-2.35, Bryz-2.48).

Now that Boucher is the Hurricanes backup I think it helps Ward more than it hinders him. They have a capable backup that can shoulder the load in B2B's, etc. I think ward is capable of dropping his GAA and did have a GAA of 2.44 two seasons ago.

Anyways that's just my opinion. I quite like Ward a lot..I think whoever you have between Ward and Quick and even Niemi you will be very pleased with the results.

[Chili con Carne]

I would echo b0ndon's thoughts on this - I see Ward, Niemi and Quick as the preferred choices (don't read this as ranking them 1-3). I would take Quick if you have the chance, otherwise it is a toss up between Niemi and Ward, with Ward being the better goalie but Niemi on the better team.

Howard is one guy I do not trust this year and I could see Conklin stealing a lot of starts. Conks is one of the best back-up goalies in the league and any inconsistency from Howard could spell trouble.

I would also snag a goalie with your #2 pick - would hate to have those top three guys gone already when you pick again at #7. With a little luck, two goalies going with the first two picks could start a goalie run and leave you a top 3 skater (from what's available) at #7.

Which skaters are available?

[Savages]

a few skaters include Vanek, Cammy, Mike Richards, Miko Koviou, Streit, Myers, Marleau ,Downie, JVR, Benn There are lots of great players cause were only a 8 team pool where we keep 10. I think your right I should grab a goalie at #2 and then a skater at seven.

I also pick at #15 #18 #20 #24 #28 #29 #32 #41 #42 #48 so I should end up with a good third goalie as well as a few good skaters.

[Chili con Carne]

Yeah, you should have something good left at spot #7. With 4 of 11 cats for G you need to take a goalie with #2 IMO.

Good luck.

[horrorfan]

I echo other comments about taking a goalie at #2, and I would choose Ward over Niemi. He has more consistent seasons under his belt and is getting better. Niemi could be great again but last year was his first full season, so there is a bit more risk IMO. At best I don't see much difference so I would rather the guy who's done it for longer - Ward.

[kevinsrangers]

ward


quick

niemi

[SeaDawg]

Quick
Ward
Niemi
Crawford
Howard

none of the others should even be in the discussion

in short, go with Ward if Quick is gone

[CascadeFilly]

Great comments by everyone. Here's my two cents:

Do pick a goalie at #2. As others have noted, the drop down from those top few guys is substantial.
I would grab Ward, as he's the full package. He's the franchise goalie, and if you can nab one of those in a keeper, you're laughing. Quick is great, but he's also got an excellent goalie behind him, and who knows what the future will bring. Niemi's good and on a fantastic team, but he can falter at times, and I don't think SJ is very loyal to him yet, so that could go bad one day (see Nabokov).
Ward's a terrific goalie, and he's got by far the least question marks. He's perhaps the only goalie on your list who you know exactly what you're going to get, year in and year out. Carolina is also back on the rise, in my opinion. They're headed in a great direction.

[MacLiii]

If Quick is indeed going #1, which he should, Ward should be your guy. Outstanding skills, still young and on a good team that is getting better. After that, Probably Niemi and as stated in other posts, the others all have pros and cons. Howard will get you the wins, but his inconsitent play is always a worry. Crawford is scary as Salak may steal the job away