Historical precedent for Saros's early performance?

[BreadManPanarin]

I am just curious... is there any precedent in history for a goaltender putting up equal or better numbers than Saros's 1.45 GAA and .949 save% through their first 9 career starts in the NHL? If so, I am curious to know who else did it. Trying to get an idea of just how significant or insignificant this small sample size is. If it was insignificant then I imagine there would be at least a few other goalies who put up similar early performances. No idea where to look to find such information, but if someone comes up with a good answer then I have rep for you.

[MasterByte]

I always find that if there is some obscure record being broken in any given game, the media coverage is gonna stuff it down our throats.

Haven't found any formal data relating to that though.

[Jouko-Pouko]

At least Andrew Hammond and Viktor Fasth looked unbeatable in their first year. Hammond with 1.79 GAA and .941 SV% in 24 games. So don't go crazy over such a small sample size.

I still think small goalies cannot handle starter's load and be awesome doing it. Their lack of size means they need to spend much more energy in every game which probably means they cannot start 60+ games in one season. Maybe not even 50+ games. And after that, you're more of an 1A/1B goalie rather than a true starting goalie. Big goalies can just stand there blocking shots which allows them to be real workhorses over a full season.

Tim Thomas is the only smaller goalie who has been great lately, and even he only had one season with 60+ games (although he also had three seasons with 55+ games). Jaro Halak has zero seasons with 60+ games, two seasons with 55+. And those are the only below 6' starters I can think of from recent years. I'm not liking small goalies because of those odds.

[LeTrefle]

Patrick Lalime went 13-0-2 (4 SO) to start his carrer in 96-97.
0.942 save% and 1,82 GAA

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Patrick Lalime went 13-0-2 (4 SO) to start his carrer in 96-97.
0.942 save% and 1,82 GAA

[hockeyrobot]

I am just going to continue to let the good times roll here. Where is the Monster Saros thread??

[davemoosehead]

On a more positive note, here's a couple of guys that had hot rookie starts and are currently having great success: Martin Jones and Cam Talbot

As a Preds fan, I was skeptical at first. But after watching him closely this season, I'm sold. He's legit.

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On a more positive note, here's a couple of guys that had hot rookie starts and are currently having great success: Martin Jones and Cam Talbot

As a Preds fan, I was skeptical at first. But after watching him closely this season, I'm sold. He's legit.

[Eskimo Brother]

I have really enjoyed watching him too. He's looking good, and the numbers are outstanding. However, I am a little skeptical and don't want to jump all in on a rookie goalie. Too many flashes in the pan to be jumping on it too quick. Once he makes his way around the league and teams have a book on him, then I want to see how he does.

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I have really enjoyed watching him too. He's looking good, and the numbers are outstanding. However, I am a little skeptical and don't want to jump all in on a rookie goalie. Too many flashes in the pan to be jumping on it too quick. Once he makes his way around the league and teams have a book on him, then I want to see how he does.

[Jouko-Pouko]

There was interesting information shown during the Nashville game today. Apparently there are only 5 goalies below 6' tall who have played an NHL game this season, and Saros is the only one currently on NHL roster. All others have been sent to the AHL.

I'm not saying Saros will be a bust, I'm just saying that I wouldn't pay top dollar for him right now. He wouldn't be the first goalie to have great success in other leagues but not being able to do that on daily basis at the NHL level. The odds are stacked against small goalies, otherwise there would be more of them playing in the NHL. It's not like small guys don't play the goalie position and it's not like small goalies are not skilled enough. But when it comes to the goalie position at the NHL level, size does matter.

But hey, maybe Saros beats the odds and becomes the next Tim Thomas or Jaro Halak. That would be great because Finland hasn't produced a great young goalie since Rask.

[ShawneePanthers]

He's 21, and under 6 feet. It hasn't held him back so far.

[Jouko-Pouko]

He's 21, and under 6 feet. It hasn't held him back so far.

Like I said, it's very common that small goalies can have great success in other leagues. But at the NHL level, they just don't have much success. I don't know if it's because NHL players are such great shooters or because NHL coaches just don't trust small goalies but you can't just ignore the fact that no other small goalie is even playing at the NHL level. There are plenty of small forwards and small D-men but Saros is the only small goalie.

Small goalies can be great in small samples at the NHL level but most of them quickly turn into 1A/1B goalies, then backups and then possibly to the AHL or some other league. This has been a league wide trend for years now. It's possible Saros is the exception to that rule but I just wouldn't pay top dollar to take that chance.

[BreadManPanarin]

Damn... That game was going so well for Saros. 5 min left up 4-0 with 28 saves made, and then Johansen commits consecutive minor penalties, flames get one on the board and then two more quick. I was getting pretty excited for another Juuse shutout and it really went downhill fast. At least he got the win.

[Schneider]

I think Saros' biggest asset is his ability to read the game. Hockey IQ is a very underrated part of being a netminder, which is why you see many goalies with good attributes on paper like size and/or agility flop in the NHL. Saros, from what I've seen, has the technical ability and mental fortitude to be an elite netminder...but obviously his size is a huge hill to climb. But to me, he should be viewed as an elite goaltending prospect and no different from prospects like Vasilevskiy, Hellebuyck, etc. Vasilevskiy struggles this year stem from his poor ability to process plays, something that was present even in last year's playoffs. Hellebuyck's struggles tend to be from his inconsistent technique and inability to make the big save. The point is, all these prospects have their shortcomings. Whether or not and how they grow as players will determine how their careers will progress.

[BreadManPanarin]

I think Saros' biggest asset is his ability to read the game. Hockey IQ is a very underrated part of being a netminder, which is why you see many goalies with good attributes on paper like size and/or agility flop in the NHL. Saros, from what I've seen, has the technical ability and mental fortitude to be an elite netminder...but obviously his size is a huge hill to climb. But to me, he should be viewed as an elite goaltending prospect and no different from prospects like Vasilevskiy, Hellebuyck, etc. Vasilevskiy struggles this year stem from his poor ability to process plays, something that was present even in last year's playoffs. Hellebuyck's struggles tend to be from his inconsistent technique and inability to make the big save. The point is, all these prospects have their shortcomings. Whether or not and how they grow as players will determine how their careers will progress.

I have Vasi, Helly and Saros... any chance I could smash them together into one 6'4 high IQ goalie with technical ability, mental fortitude, and ability to make the big save?

No? Damn.

[cmambro]

I am just curious... is there any precedent in history for a goaltender putting up equal or better numbers than Saros's 1.45 GAA and .949 save% through their first 9 career starts in the NHL? If so, I am curious to know who else did it. Trying to get an idea of just how significant or insignificant this small sample size is. If it was insignificant then I imagine there would be at least a few other goalies who put up similar early performances. No idea where to look to find such information, but if someone comes up with a good answer then I have rep for you.

Without doing research, I would guess Ken Dryden had great numbers in his first 9 games (in the playoffs)