Devils drafted goalies

Wondering if you guys could help with this. It seems like several Devil goalies have shown promise but never made it either in NJ or elsewhere. I realize there's an obvious reason why they haven't started in New Jersey, but it would seem that somewhere along the line some of these guys would have received opportunities with other clubs.

Going back to the late 90's, when the team drafted J-F Dampphouse and Judd Lambert, it seems like they've put up pretty good numbers in the minors but never gotten opportunities above that.

I was also curious as to whether the Devils still have the rights to Josh Disher? I know he's playing Canadian university hockey but is he now a free agent or still part of the organization?

Thanks for any info.

Devils drafted Chris Mason, whos currently the Predators starting goalie

Yeah but who knows how he would have turned out had he stayed with NJ (Mason i mean). At some point, NJ will have to start thinking about Brodeur's replacement.

Mason was a Devils pick, so was Mike Dunham.

Ari Ahonen went back to Finland....but is now playing in Sweden and is one of the best in the league here.

Jeff Frazee is a solid goalie prospect the Devils have right now. Not like Brodeur but good enough to have good future with us.

Leafs backup Clemensson was a former Devil. I cant remember if he was drafted by them or not.

Leafs backup Clemensson was a former Devil. I cant remember if he was drafted by them or not.

Yes he was.

Jeff Frazee is a solid goalie prospect the Devils have right now. Not like Brodeur but good enough to have good future with us.
Don't hold your breath on Frazee. He's been awful in his junior year @ Minnesota. The kid's incredible in international competition (I think the only game he's lost in like 3 tournaments was the shootout last year vs. Canada) and frighteningly average in college. I would be stunned if he becomes a reliable NHL goalie.

The only goalie prospect in the last 8 or 9 years that I had faith in was Ahonen. I thought it was a good pick at the time, not knowing what would happen with Brodeur. At the very least I thought we could move him for a good player that could help us in our cup contending years. He started out fairly well in Albany, but the team's suckiness was all encompassing. I guess he lost confidence because the team was so bad and he tried to do too much. I don't think the Devils have his rights anymore, but I think he could rebuild himself mentally in Europe and return to the NHL as a solid goalie in a few years. Not as a star, but as a good backup.

To the OP, the Devils lost the rights to Josh Disher when they didn't sign him a couple years ago. IIRC, Devils scouts told him to change his style and it didn't work, and they didn't sign him in the end. He may have had higher demands than the Devils were willing to pay, or he just wasn't worth giving a contract to.

Don't hold your breath on Frazee. He's been awful in his junior year @ Minnesota. The kid's incredible in international competition (I think the only game he's lost in like 3 tournaments was the shootout last year vs. Canada) and frighteningly average in college. I would be stunned if he becomes a reliable NHL goalie.

The only goalie prospect in the last 8 or 9 years that I had faith in was Ahonen. I thought it was a good pick at the time, not knowing what would happen with Brodeur. At the very least I thought we could move him for a good player that could help us in our cup contending years. He started out fairly well in Albany, but the team's suckiness was all encompassing. I guess he lost confidence because the team was so bad and he tried to do too much. I don't think the Devils have his rights anymore, but I think he could rebuild himself mentally in Europe and return to the NHL as a solid goalie in a few years. Not as a star, but as a good backup.

To the OP, the Devils lost the rights to Josh Disher when they didn't sign him a couple years ago. IIRC, Devils scouts told him to change his style and it didn't work, and they didn't sign him in the end. He may have had higher demands than the Devils were willing to pay, or he just wasn't worth giving a contract to.


I was just going to say the same thing about Frazee....I watched the RIT Minnesota game Saturday Night (Way to Go RIT BTW) and Frazee was pretty shaky. If you ask a lot of the Gophers Fan base, I think they are sick of his inconsistentcy. He let in a few softies Saturday Night. The few other games i have watched him in at Minnesota, he hasn't stood out to me.

A good site for Devs Draft pick is the www.hockeydb.com http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/teams/dr000051.html

Starting at '95
'95-Chris Mason (122) Nashville
'96-No Goalie
'97-Jean-Francois Damphousse (24) bumped @ AHL
'97-Scott Clemmensen (215) TOR
'98-No Goalie
'99-Ari Ahonen (27) Frolunda SWE
'00-Matus Kostur (154) ECHL
'01-NO Goalie
'02- No Goalie
'03- Jason Smith (197) ECHL
'04- Josh Disher (185) (#'s arent bad in the ECHL)
'05- Jeff Frazee (38) WCHA Minn
'06- No goalie
'07-No Goalie

We picked up Jordan Parise, David Caruso, Frank Doyle as Free Agents now in the system. I think Jared can tell you more about each one that i could though

Doyle has been playing exceptionally well this year (faced 56 shots in one game but lost in the shootout) and has had a large part in the Devils current 4 game winning streak. He always seems calm, cool, and collected in the net and moves very well and doesn't get rattled easily. When he is on his game can play with the best. The last 2 years he has had very strong training camps with the NHL Devils and posted amazing preseason stats. Who knows what his future is with this organization?

Doyle has been playing exceptionally well this year (faced 56 shots in one game but lost in the shootout) and has had a large part in the Devils current 4 game winning streak. He always seems calm, cool, and collected in the net and moves very well and doesn't get rattled easily...

Interesting point about Doyle and brings up questions about the way goalies are acquired and evaluated. It would seem he pretty much did the same thing at U of Maine but was not their highly recruited goaltender (whose name escapes me) and as a result has had to go the free agent route.

What is it about some goalies that make them prospects (Ahonen and Frazee for instance) and how is it that production isn't taken into account more than it is?

Interesting point about Doyle and brings up questions about the way goalies are acquired and evaluated. It would seem he pretty much did the same thing at U of Maine but was not their highly recruited goaltender (whose name escapes me) and as a result has had to go the free agent route.

What is it about some goalies that make them prospects (Ahonen and Frazee for instance) and how is it that production isn't taken into account more than it is?

Ben Bishop?

Actually, it was Jimmy Howard (who was drafted by Detroit) that shared time with Doyle at Maine. If you look at the two stats for these guys right now in the AHL they are not significanlty different. So Detroit uses a pick and New Jersey signs Doyle as a free agent. Not sure how these things come about but goalies do seem to take more time to develop and thus some can be significant signings later in their careers without a team having to use a pick.