Okay fantasy phenoms...here is the completed fantasy scouting chart for Brandon Maxwell.
Please leave your feedback!!! What do you think of the ratings system?? Maybe I should let Dobber dig into this and adjust it??? I did this entire project in less than 24 hours and so there's a good chance I may have missed something super obvious.
I am going to love collecting these and I am already planning on doing this again tomorrow for one of the other goalies. Should I do Peter Delmas?? I don't want to scout Trevor Cann it will be excruciating LOLOL.
I like the over all look of this chart Justin. There is a lot of very good information here and once there are a few more goalies analyzed with this methodology, the chart will become much more useful.
Now, how does one evaluate what a rating of 73.5 is? Considering his very young age, I'd say quite highly.
Perhaps there needs to be a baseline established here. What would Varlamov, Rask, Bernier and Neuvirth rate, for example? How about someone like Luongo, Brodeur, S. Mason, Price? How about Ward?
To me, if I had some other goalies to compare Brandon Maxwell with, then this chart becomes much more useful.
Excellent start though, I must say. I am looking forward to many more of these in-depth charts.
Thanks for the post!! I e-mailed the original to Dobber so hopefully when he has some time he can give me some pointers on the actual rating process and how to make it more valuable for Dobber Nation. I would be some kind of major stupid for not getting his help on it.
The rating process is very simple. It's origins are rooted in my own personal twist on charts I've collected at goalie camps I have been to over the years. Whereas Dobber's ranking system is much more mathmatically sound and more in-depth than anyone else in the world, these goalie scouting cards are done BY a goalie FOR goalies and then I add the fantasy twist.
These charts are based solely on what I see during ONE day in the goaltender's career. I'm not basing one player on another or when they were drafted, etc. I am only scouting a goalie or two for the time they are on the ice. That's why some of the skills boxes are left blank...he didn't face any shots of that manner (deflections, etc).
So let me break down what you should be extracting from scores and rankings and what a "73.5" is. You can trust that my scouting reports are not biased and extremely consistent. I weigh mental and situational aspects more than any other as I have been ever since I started learning the position.
1. Every goalie affiliated with an NHL team is pretty darn good compared to every single prospect in every single North American and European collegiate and major junior league. Therefore, you have to apply this scouting report knowing that most goalies I'm scouting already have close to elite skills in certain areas.
For example, Jaroslav Janus is not the best prospects out there, but he certainly has elite reactions and quickness. Roberto Luongo is not the best stickhandler or skater in the world, but man does he take up a lot of the net and score huge points in positioning.
So you are literally breaking down every component and every feature of the goaltender's game in a small window (90 minutes or a game). The key is that these will become folders for each goalie in which you track the goalie over a course of two or three years. These are scouting report cards, not one-shot, tell-all fantasy breakdowns.
2. My goal with these charts is to bring Dobber Nation a more well-rounded view of what to watch for in a goalie. I did a four-part series on it last summer and base all of my analysis off that information.
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Ranking for "Skills Analysis"
E5 = Very rarely have you ever seen that amount of skill
E3 = Elite skills and proficiency ... the best of the best
E1 = Extremely strong and positive skills or features in any one area
S5 = Very noticeable and consistent skills or features in any one area
S3 = Solid skills, but lacks consistency or swims in mediocrity
S1 = This is not a skill set that stands out, or the feature is adequate
W5 = This skill set or feature needs to develop or improve with no delay
W3 = This skill set doesn't cut it and is downright glaring and ugly ... BLECH!
W1 = Not worth my time filling out the sheet!! I should never see one of these!
WEAK means I easily notice it or really lacks, etc. It means it won't cut it in the pro ranks. I do take into account a goalie's age. Most NHL goalies will not be weak in any area, but they will pop up from time to time. Weak, boys, weak!!!! Get out of my house with that trash.
STRONG is what you will find in all NHL goalies and most prospects (AHL, CHL, NCAA, ECHL). This is where most ratings will fall....From 1 being the lowest to 5 being the highest, STRONG includes a vast number of goalies compared to those in the E1-E5 and W1-W5 range.
ELITE is the best of the best ... Luongo's size, Kipper's agility, Turco's stickhandling, Fleury's footwork, etc.
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Breakdown of "Goalie Skills Ratings" section
After I've completed the top half, it's time to throw in some of my special fantasy ingredients and then toss it all into my giant black cauldron. There I come out with a rating number that should rank the goalie in an appropriate manner. See below:
These numbers are not supposed to be concrete, they are more of a representation. That's why I don't have exact figures.
But I honestly feel like Brandon Maxwell falls into the W4/W5 category. He has some very impressive and solid features for his age and there are also a number of things he needs to improve upon. Considering it was a 90-minute session and my first time seeing him, I think you can get a good idea of where he stands.
The fun part about this will be seeing him in six months and pulling out this very first chart and seeing how he has improved!! Or watching Bryzgalov play in September and then again right before the Olympic break!!! WOW...should be really insightful for me to see what pace these goalies improve at.
Getting YOUR suggestions and questions on the fantasy impact on this will make these charts completely unique. As usual I will always be looking at ways to catch more NHL and goalie prospects as time goes on!!!!
My guess is that this type of assessment will be useful to around 10% of the fantasy hockey GM population. That would reflect the distribution of leagues that need to consider goalie prospects on greater than a 2 year window. Any goalie closer or in the NHL can more readily be assessed on recent results and their team situation.
If this thing really works and is tested and proven over a 5 - 8 year period, I think you might have a market in NHL scouting.
I think anyone with a need to make decisions on deeper or longer term goalie assets will truly benefit from these assessments, Justin. You might not get the reception you hope for from a large pool of fantasy hockeyists - we are largely meatheads that go for blood in our hamburgers and ketchup on our eggs. I honestly believe that the vast majority of us want a goalie guru to use their immense skill to boil it down to some simple statements about what they believe are good buys in the goalie market over 1 to 3 or 4 years in keepers and who to target for the draft in 1 years.
This is not to discourage you on this project, I find it absolutely fascinating to watch you work through this stuff. Your enthusiasm and dedication is amazing. I am just trying to say that if you want to capture a significant fantasy hockey market, you need to know the preferred menu of the market and feed them that. I don't think this is it.
I'm highly entertained by these charts and as a scout, they are valuable. They help me gain a better understanding of a goalie's overall skill set at that given moment of time in their career. That in turn allows me to answer those "simple statements" you referred to with more information available in my mental library.
These charts also allow the casual goalie enthusiast to get a more in-depth look at a goalie's technique, assets and trouble areas. It helps them gain a better understanding of their own unique goalie questions and situations.
I already know that these scouting charts aren't the end-all resource for the "meathead" fantasy manager. In fact, they have pretty much no fantasy value, except for the analysis I provide in 3-4 lines. But that's not really the reason I created this chart.
If you're guessing that only 10% of fantasy managers see a direct value in these charts, that's totally cool with me haha. It doesn't hurt my feelings, nor does it upset me or discourage me from continuing to do them.
I analyze and cover pro goaltending in a very unique fashion that is not always received well or recognized at first, but then again it's not my goal to appeal to the largest percentage of fantasy managers out there. It's just something I enjoy offering to goalie fans and will offer to those on this site. Regardless of how much fantasy value it has, it still improves someone's understanding of the goalie position. It is content that you won't find anywhere else.
If the vast majority of fantasy managers want a goalie guru that will boil things down to a few simple statements about what they believe is a good buy over "X" amount of time, I can easily provide that, and have been for a while now. I am always pretty good at answering specific questions relating to fantasy leagues when they are posted in School of Block. And if people on here have a specific question on a goaltender or goaltending decision, they know where to find me
If they want a short, brief, simple response, I can provide that for them also.
But then again, they won't be getting the well-rounded and complete answers I am used to providing. I type fast and try to bring as much information to my "answers" as possible.
I appreciate your response and thoughts on these charts, but I am in no way trying to capture a large fantasy hockey "market" through these charts. I just do them for fun and because I enjoy scouting so much =)
Take them, my School of Block column, my analysis and insight for what it's worth. If you see value in it, great. If not, then feel free to ask me specific questions and request a short answer. I am here for you guys and to make your understanding of the position stronger!!!
Thanks buddy =) I appreciate that big time! Your feedback was exactly what I was looking for. I could never underestimate the value of sound advice like that!!
Seriously, the best advice I have ever found from hockey analysts (not just fantasy decisions) seriously comes from Dobber and the Dobber Nation. That is why I am fortunate to be given the opportunity to do School of Block - because you all make me a better fantasy goalie guru and you all see at least some value in the different perspectives I bring to this site. Dobber's understanding of the goalie position and the mental game is stronger than anyone else's I've seen, which is what brought me to the site in the first place. It's crazy, all these other websites provide fantasy ANALYSIS, but Dobber's is the only one that offers good ADVICE. We solve headaches, heartbreaks, conniption fits and spaz attacks HAHA.
I'm dedicated to spending more time on here, so I get more accustomed to the fantasy realm and therefore making my insight better!
Brandon Maxwell Chart!!
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