Prospect Weekly: Goalie Appreciation

Goaltenders are difficult to keep track of and the Colorado Avalanche system makes it even more challenging with their goalie prospects scattered all over the globe. Collectively this group has been a strength for the pipeline in the early returns of the 2019-20 season, which is a notable change from the question marks in previous years.

First of all, everyone knows the story of Adam Werner becoming the hero for the Avalanche in relief of the knocked out Pavel Francouz by registering 40 saves for a “shutout” win in his debut against the Winnipeg Jets. What’s less known is the fact that Werner had taken the reins on the job in the AHL for the Colorado Eagles including four straight wins in October once Antoine Bibeau went down with injury after just one start. Werner is now back with the Eagles hoping to keep the net and has a 5-4 record with a .908 save percentage and a 2.88 goals against average.

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It’s a big year for Justus Annunen who has been on a roll in his first full season in the top men’s league and then broke a Liiga record for consecutive shutout minutes. Once Annunen finally let a puck past him he set the new record at 302 minutes and five seconds and he then followed that up with a fifth shutout. Annunen’s second job is to take the net for Finland’s U20 squad and in a recent World Junior Championship warm-up event at the Four Nations he saved 49 of 53 shots against Sweden and Russia. Annunen backstops Kärpät, the best team in Finland, with some gaudy numbers such as a 10-0-2 record with a .940 save percentage and 1.28 GAA.

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Trent Miner was named WHL goaltender of the week with a 1-0-1 record stopping 53 of 55 shots good for a 0.96 GAA and .964 save percentage over the week of November 4-10. He’s still sharing the crease with Arizona Coyotes prospect David Tendeck but more performances like that will get Miner more starts. It’s been an inconsistent year for Miner with a 5-5-2 record plus a .904 save percentage and 2.80 GAA.

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Shamil Shmakov was spotted in Cedar Rapids in this interview with the local media. After a strong debut in which he only gave up one goal in each of his first three starts he has been placed in backup duty and hasn’t seen the ice in nearly a month. A minor injury and two losses seem to have contributed to the situation. As it stands Shmakov is 3-2 with a .900 save percentage and a 2.87 GAA.

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Petr Kvaca has taken the net over in the Czech Republic’s top league for Trinec. This month he recorded his first shutout and added an assist in the same game as well. Kvaca’s record is 9-5 with a .925 save percentage and 2.27 GAA.

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