Top 5 goalie prospects in 2018 NHL Draft

By Nick McAdam | May 29, 2018

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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GUELPH, ON – JANUARY 25: Kevin Mandolese #31 of Team Orr faces a shot in the warm-up prior to action against Team Cherry in the 2018 Sherwin-Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects game at the Sleeman Centre on January 25, 2018 in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Team Cherry defeated Team Orr 7-4. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

3. Kevin Mandolese

Kevin Mandolese will most likely be a borderline player between the second and third rounds of the upcoming draft.

The Canadian is a big prospect at six-foot-four, which is great when combined with his stats. Mandolese is a shadow of keepers like Ben Bishop with his size and playing ability.

The 17-year-old was a first round draft pick to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles back in 2016 and has played his past two years there. The Eagles like to play high-tempo hockey with risks at the back, so it might not be a surprise that Mandolese collected above a 3.00 goals against average in both of his seasons there.

At the same time, it’s also a bit worrying. The NHL or even the AHL are not usually the leagues to post football scores that often. Too much in Mandolese’s young career, that has been exactly the case.

What might be the issue is the guys in front of him. Mandolese will likely need to protected by at least one or two stable defenders on a game-to-game basis in any pro league. We can see this with his record with Canada internationally, as he posted a .931 save percentage with the Reds’ U17 squad.

Mandolese is ranked No. 2among North American goalies by NHL Central Scouting, so there must be something in-game that his stats aren’t telling. The keeper falls in the range of the Colorado Avalanche and the Boston Bruins.

Like most goalies on this list, Mandolese will need some time. However, Mandolese might need more time than any keeper in the draft with the eye-seeing risk that lays right into this production line.

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