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Insider's Edge:
At only 20 years of age, Kari Lehtonen is a young kid, with perhaps the most potential of any player on our list.
Named the top goalie in the Finnish Elite League last season, Kari posted a league-high 23 wins (23-14-6) and a 1.98 goals-against average in 45 games with Jokerit Helsinki.
The Atlanta Thrashers selected Lehtonen with the second overall pick in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, making him the highest drafted European goaltender in the history of the league.
Our inside sources had plenty of good things to say about Kari.
“Simply put, he’s a really good goalie,” states one source. “You’re not going to beat him down low, his feet are super quick and he handles the puck really well too.”
Like most young European players, Kari has to get used to the rigors of the pro schedule and needs to learn the intricacies of the North American style of hockey.
“We want him to be more patient on the shots,” our source states. “He wants to go down right away, but I think he’s getting better at that."
“His placement in the crease is good,” he said in a reference to the European game, where goalies usually play more back on the line.
“He’s making good adjustments, and he works on it.”
The three goalies currently on Atlanta’s roster are Pasi Nurminen, Byron Dafoe, and Jani Hurme. The ultimate plan is to trade one of those three and bring up Kari next year.
One source summarized the Thrashers’ intentions in one sentence:
“Atlanta envisions [Lehtonen] as their number-one goalie for at least the next ten years.”
Insider's Edge:Ryan Miller’s biggest attributes are “his intelligence, and the fact that he’s always really focused to play each and every game,” states our inside source.
Miller won the Hobey Baker Award as the best college player in 2001 while at Michigan State, and comes from a great hockey pedigree.
He shows great poise, and a remarkable work ethic that gives him an advantage, while making him standout among his peers.
Ryan is described as having all the tools, talent and potential to be an All-Star NHL goalie someday.
He has great quickness and flexibility, drawing comparisons to another gangly goalie, future hall-of-famer Dominik Hasek.
Last month, Rochester played 3 games in 3 days with Miller starting, and winning, all three contests.
This shows that he is very durable, and can accept the heavy workload that will come with playing in the NHL.
That is, if he ever gets a chance to play in the NHL.
Miller is currently third on the Sabres’ depth chart, stuck behind the more experienced duo of Martin Biron and Mika Noronen.
Barring a major injury, it is unlikely that Miller will be in Buffalo for any extended period this season.
Though Miller is perhaps the most NHL-ready goalie on our list, it is for that aforementioned reason and the perceptible lack of commitment from the Sabers’ management that drops Miller’s stock a tad.
“He’s such a talent, that you just know sooner or later he’s going to establish himself as a NHL goalie,” our source states.
Only time will tell if it will be in Buffalo.
Insider's Edge:
Brad Boyes is a big-time scorer, who put up prolific numbers during an outstanding junior hockey career with the Erie Otters of the OHL, before tuning pro last year.
“He’s a natural scorer,” states one source. “He put up 77 points in 47 games his last year with Erie. The year before that he played 59 games and scored 90 points. He played in 80 AHL games last season, so he’s pretty durable. He’s a good all around player.”Boyes was named AHL all-rookie after tallying 64 points on 30 goals and 34 assists last year, splitting time between the St. John’s Leafs and Cleveland.
Putting up huge numbers will certainly hasten Brad’s ascent to the NHL, though our sources believe that he still needs to prove himself on the defensive end before you will see him in San Jose.
“I know what it’s really going to come down to is, the Sharks want to see what kind of defense he can play. That’s going to be the difference. They already know he can score goals, that’s for sure.”
Boyes didn’t have the greatest training camp and the Sharks are jammed at center, so he has some work cut out for him.
The Barons have been giving Boyes playing time at wing, so it is a possibility that San Jose could try to fit him in up there as a winger.
Our sources believe that the Sharks are giving Brad every opportunity to succeed.
“It’s definitely going to happen sooner or later. He’ll be an everyday NHL player and part of their future without a doubt.”
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