Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Import Goalies Need Not Apply



As a current coach in Germany and a former goaltender in Switzerland my ears always perk up when hearing about goalie jobs overseas. I, along with many Canadian goaltenders, played in an era where there was a tremendous demand for North American goalies. Today is a different story where European clubs have the luxury of signing a national born player and save one of their import spots for a forward or defensemen.

For a quick snapshot of how the tables have turned over the last ten years I compared this weeks German DEL top 10 goalies with the top 10 goalies from the 2005/2006 season. Currently, eight German goalies appear in the 2015/2016 top 10 with the two non national goalies being one from Finland and the other from Sweden. The highest ranked current North American goalie is 14th*. In the 2005/2006 season, Germany only had three goalies in the top 10. Seven imports were at the top of the DEL with four of the top 10 goalies being Canadian.

Goaltending has improved around the world thanks to information technology, European goalies coming to North America to play junior and the North American goalie coaches that traveled to Europe 10 and 20 years ago to coach at camps, clinics and to share information. Will their own home grown supply of goalies and limited import spots, clubs are opting to go with local talent which has made if more difficult then ever for North American goaltenders to find job overseas.

* Chet Pickard, currently #2 in the DEL playing for Iserlohn, is a duel Canadian/German citizen.

Current DEL 2015/2016 Top Ten Goalies

TOP TORHÜTER

Spieler
Nat
Größe
Gewicht
Geb.Datum
SH
Mannschaft
Sp.
Min.
S
U
N
SO
GT
GTS
SV
SV%
1Dennis EndrasGER183 cm78 kg14.07.1985LAdler MannheimAdler Mannheim191142:5814054361.8953593.7%
2Chet PickardGER188 cm98 kg29.11.1989LIserlohn RoostersIserlohn Roosters8478:033041162.0126994.4%
3Mathias NiederbergerGER180 cm80 kg26.11.1992LDüsseldorfer EGDüsseldorfer EG16931:388071322.0645493.4%
4Gustaf WesslauSWE193 cm88 kg05.02.1985LKölner HaieKölner Haie16965:3010060362.2452193.5%
5Dimitrij KotschnewGER184 cm80 kg15.07.1981LHamburg FreezersHamburg Freezers11603:383071232.2927192.2%
6Felix BrückmannGER180 cm83 kg16.12.1990LGrizzlys WolfsburgGrizzlys Wolfsburg13791:136072322.4331290.7%
7Andreas JenikeGER179 cm80 kg14.07.1988LThomas Sabo Ice TigersThomas Sabo Ice Tigers201187:2113072492.4860292.5%
8Petri VehanenFIN187 cm84 kg09.10.1977LEisbären BerlinEisbären Berlin181083:1411070452.4951491.9%
9Danny aus den BirkenGER186 cm87 kg15.02.1985LEHC Red Bull MünchenEHC Red Bull München14830:507070372.6737591.0%
10Dustin StrahlmeierGER193 cm87 kg17.05.1992LStraubing TigersStraubing Tigers7396:512040192.8719791.2%

DEL 2005/20006 top Ten Goalies

TOP GOALKEEPER

player
Nat
size
weight
Date of birth
SH
team
Sp.
Minute
S
U
N
SO
GT
GTS
SV
SV%
1Tomáš PöpperleCZE185 cm85 kg1984-10-10LEisbären BerlinEisbären Berlin11655: 290001232.1129092.7%
2Jimmy WaiteCAN185 cm82 kg1969-04-15LERC IngolstadtERC Ingolstadt7395: 270001172.5817991.3%
3Lukas LangGER188 cm84 kg1986-07-27LThomas Sabo Ice TigersThomas Sabo Ice Tigers121:56000012.741292.3%
4Roman ČechmánekCZE191 cm91 kg1971-03-02LHamburg FreezersHamburg Freezers6366: 170000172.7817191.0%
5Jeff MaundCAN186 cm80 kg1976-04-08LERC IngolstadtERC Ingolstadt120:00000013.001292.3%
6Thomas GreissGER185 cm98 kg1986-01-29LKölner HaieKölner Haie9533: 130001273.0423989.8%
7Andrei TrefilovRUS183 cm82 kg1969-08-31LDEG Metro StarsDEG Metro Stars14839: 010000433.0829587.3%
8thTrevor KiddCAN188 cm88 kg1972-03-26LHannover ScorpionsHannover Scorpions10596: 410000323.2228689.9%
9Robert MüllerGER172 cm85 kg1980-06-25LKrefeld PinguineKrefeld Pinguine5297: 090000214.2413386.4%
10Jean-François LabbéCAN175 cm78 kg1972-06-15LThomas Sabo Ice TigersThomas Sabo Ice Tigers4220: 070000174.639685.0%