Future of Calvin Pickard?

[RookieInsider]

Does he have the skill to become an NHL presence in COL? Could he be the replacement of Varlamov in the future? Does he have the skill to thrive well in the NHL? ETA to the NHL? Just tell me about Pickard, whats he about? :P

[The Bottlenecker]

Still tagged as the goalie of the future for the Avalanche, but regressed a bit last year and has Sami Aittokallio nipping at his heals on the depth chart. Barring injury to Varlamov or Berra, Pickard will have to wait until next year before he gets a chance as a backup for the Avs.

[petegreg21]

Right now I like Aittokallio better and long term I like Spencer Martin quite a bit (maybe to a fault). I've seen him play multiple times for the Steelheads and despite poor numbers and a poor team in front of him, Martin looks solid and strong in his net and mentally he seems very locked in too.

It's waaaaaay too early to count Pickard out, i just don't know if he's developed into the standout everyone expected. With success stories like Miller, Howard and Crawford jumping from AHL starters to NHL starters in the matter of a year (at age 25 I might add), I'm still out to lunch on Pickard.

[uofmehockey]

Call me skeptical at the moment. Having used a 2nd round pick to acquire Berra and then following that up by signing Berra for a three year extension. Something tells me Pickard won't be spending a lot of time in Colorado soon.

[Dobber]

Yeah, Aittokallio has passed him IMO. Calvin hasn't been doing bad and he's still very young at 22, but I would not expect anything from him before he's 25. Ryan Miller was 25 before taking a big NHL step.

But it would be nice to see a couple of call-ups next season

[ericdaoust]

Still tagged as the goalie of the future for the Avalanche, but regressed a bit last year and has Sami Aittokallio nipping at his heals on the depth chart. Barring injury to Varlamov or Berra, Pickard will have to wait until next year before he gets a chance as a backup for the Avs.

Varlamov is the goalie of the future for the Avs. Pickard may be the backup of the future but that's it.

[The Bottlenecker]

Varlamov is the goalie of the future for the Avs. Pickard may be the backup of the future but that's it.

Varly certainly looks like the man in Colorado, but things can change mighty fast in the NHL. Especially amongst the goaltenders. Ask Craig Anderson, Jonas Hiller or Antti Niemi.

That doesn't mean Pickard is necessarily the guy to topple Varlamov, but never say never.

[ericdaoust]

Varly certainly looks like the man in Colorado, but things can change mighty fast in the NHL. Especially amongst the goaltenders. Ask Craig Anderson, Jonas Hiller or Antti Niemi.

That doesn't mean Pickard is necessarily the guy to topple Varlamov, but never say never.

If things change and Varlamov is out of the picture then I would say the odds are very high that it would be someone other than Pickard that takes over.

[The Bottlenecker]

If things change and Varlamov is out of the picture then I would say the odds are very high that it would be someone other than Pickard that takes over.

Agree completely, I just like being the devil's advocate.

[BradyJets]

It would be nice to see Pickard plays a couple of games in the NHL to get him some experience in the Show, but I don't see him making much of an impact for at least another two or three years. Varly and Berra are steady, and Aittokallio has passed him with Martin moving up the depth chart quickly also, so it will be hard to break in, but he's got the talent. They've also got a decent goalie in Kieran Millan who might get a shot.
I wouldn't give up on him yet.

[petegreg21]

It would be nice to see Pickard plays a couple of games in the NHL to get him some experience in the Show, but I don't see him making much of an impact for at least another two or three years. Varly and Berra are steady, and Aittokallio has passed him with Martin moving up the depth chart quickly also, so it will be hard to break in, but he's got the talent. They've also got a decent goalie in Kieran Millan who might get a shot.
I wouldn't give up on him yet.

Kieran Millan was released by the team and is currently a UFA. Roman Will was signed from the Czech league as opposed to re-signing Millan or Kent Patterson.