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Top 5 goalie prospects in 2018 NHL Draft

By Nick McAdam

BOISBRIAND, QC - OCTOBER 27: Goaltender Olivier Rodrigue #33 of the Drummondville Voltigeurs protects his net against the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada during the QMJHL game at Centre d'Excellence Sports Rousseau on October 27, 2017 in Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada. The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada defeated the Drummondville Voltigeurs 2-0. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
BOISBRIAND, QC - OCTOBER 27: Goaltender Olivier Rodrigue #33 of the Drummondville Voltigeurs protects his net against the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada during the QMJHL game at Centre d'Excellence Sports Rousseau on October 27, 2017 in Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada. The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada defeated the Drummondville Voltigeurs 2-0. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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It should be a good year for goalies in the upcoming NHL draft. Who are the top goalie prospects for teams in need to keep an eye out for?

Goalie prospects through the draft are usually a dime-a-dozen. Selected in the later rounds of the cycle usually means they will take years to develop before even considering gearing up at the NHL level.

There have been some surprises with goalies in the past, however. It’s a risky part of the draft to predict because keepers tend to change rapidly over a short period of time.

Think about it; Pekka Rinne and Braden Holtby were both late-round picks and have turned out to be Vezina Trophy candidates year-after-year. On one hand, Marc-Andre Fleury was a top pick for the Pittsburgh Penguins and everybody knows how successful that was for them and the current Vegas Golden Knights.

On the other hand, some don’t turn out to be so great after all. Rick DiPietro is widely considered the biggest bust in draft history as injuries plagued his career and the New York Islanders into a ton of salary cap issues resulting from his huge contract.

That’s the business of a keeper. It’s likely the hardest position to find for a team because there’s so much trust involved in it. Teams can play the guy that is riding a hot streak, or they find the goalie that was meant to be the franchise netminder.

Luckily, this year sees a boast of talent in between the pipes within the course of the upcoming NHL draft. In fact, three keepers are projected to go in the second round alone, which is something that hasn’t been done in a few years.

It will be really interesting to see who selects the next top five goalies in this piece in the 2018 NHL Draft.

BUFFALO, NY – JANUARY 05: Jakub Skarek #1 of Czech Republic defends his net against Kieffer Bellows #23 of United States who was hooked on the play and awarded a penalty shot during the second period of play in the IIHF World Junior Championships Bronze Medal game at KeyBank Center on January 5, 2018 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Nicholas T. LoVerde/Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY – JANUARY 05: Jakub Skarek #1 of Czech Republic defends his net against Kieffer Bellows #23 of United States who was hooked on the play and awarded a penalty shot during the second period of play in the IIHF World Junior Championships Bronze Medal game at KeyBank Center on January 5, 2018 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Nicholas T. LoVerde/Getty Images) /

5. Jakub Skarek

Jakub Skarek is an experienced keeper from the Czech Republic who has played with a multitude of U18 and U20 teams over the course of his young career. HC Dukla Hihlava was his boyhood team growing up while he represented the Czech Republic in net on numerous occasions.

The 18-year-old is set to play in Liiga next season with the Pelicans. Skarek is still eligible to enter the upcoming draft, but the team that selects him will have to send the goaltender over to Finland for the season. It wouldn’t be a bad thing, as Skarek would get plenty of pro experience in a growing European league.

Skarek has posted an array of save percentage seasons above .900. In fact, the keeper has only posted three domestic seasons with a percentage just a tad bit below that number.

International play, if anything, is where Skarek struggles; he’s never been able to post at least a .900 save percentage for the Czech Republic. In the recent World Junior Championship cycle, Skarek posted a .848 percentage in just five contests.

DraftSite‘s mock draft has him falling in the third round to teams in the range of the Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks or the New York Rangers. Skarek is considered the 95th ranked player in the draft by Future Considerations, so selecting him there would be a bit of a steal.

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