IMO, The most sure-fire goalie prospect not starting in The NHL. His ceiling might not be as high as someone like Rask, but (IMO) he's much more of a sure thing.
IMO, The most sure-fire goalie prospect not starting in The NHL. His ceiling might not be as high as someone like Rask, but (IMO) he's much more of a sure thing.
You're right about him being much more of a sure thing. The Wings have really taken him apart piece by piece and put him back together after getting all the kinks worked out (confidence, position, conditioning to name a few). But its more or less become apparent that his cieling is simply not that high. All signs point to him succeeding in the NHL, but I dont expect him to ever be anything more than a 1b...
Decent, he's a solid goalie. I don't expect a ton from him, but at the same time i'd expect Detroit to turn coal into gold as they always do.
Its funny you should say that, because at this point in time a lot of folks within the Wings organization think Daniel Larsson (4th round) is going to end up being the better of the two.
I would say #2. He needs to get some NHL time under his belt to figure out where he's at, but Conklin as a full-time back-up because he HAS had that time out there, and he is a better shot.
My impression is they'll give him some starts regardless of injuries. But they want to take full advantage of his eligibility in Grand Rapids. I'd say he takes slightly over half the starts in Grand Rapids, to be fair to Daniel Larsson who's just coming in from Sweden, and then about 15 games max in the NHL. Osgood will play about 50 and Conklin will play whatever's left.
But if he does well he's a lock for the backup spot next year. For one, he won't be able to play in the AHL without waivers, but also, I'm thinking this is a multi-year deal as the number on the NHLPA website ($600,000) is less than he made last season. Could be a case like Ericsson, who just signed a 3 year deal at a $900,000 cap hit, but he's only making $550,000 this year.
I remember two years ago, Wings fans were demanding to bring this guy up.
They've never stopped. I'd say there are more Wings fans upset that we signed Conklin to take "Howard's spot" than there are ones happy we got a great backup goalie cheap to give us depth going into the season.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kcspence
Wings fans: what's the most likely role for Howard this coming season?
backing up Osgood?
a few callup starts to assess his progress, with Conklin the fulltime backup?
only called up in the event of injury to Conklin or Osgood?
Option 3 for sure. He'll be lucky to get 5 starts next season in the NHL and likely won't get any.
Wings fans: what's the most likely role for Howard this coming season?
backing up Osgood?
a few callup starts to assess his progress, with Conklin the fulltime backup?
only called up in the event of injury to Conklin or Osgood?
I'm going to say option 2 with a bit more of option 3. I think he will be up a around 10-15 times this year barring injury and if there is injury he will start more, obviously.
