Driedger Ranked By Central Scouting
Early season success has helped Calgary Hitmen goaltender Chris Driedger bolster his reputation on the ice, and others are noticing.
After receiving the honour of being named the Ed Williams Player of the Month, Driedger was most recently ranked as number two amongst WHL goaltenders for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Central Scouting Service in their preliminary rankings.
“You have to view it as a challenge. I am going to take the status and make sure that I continue to get better. Now that I am on the radar, I can challenge myself to improve,” said Chris Driedger, following Thursday afternoon’s practice.
With the speedy pipeline that is today’s social media, Driedger was not the first of his teammates to find out about the rankings.
“[Brandon] Glover tweeted me this morning and said something like ‘congrats on being number two on the WHL goalie list.’ I knew the lists were coming out soon, but I didn’t know it was today. I was pretty excited about that,” said Driedger.
And, although Thursday’s practice session held its share of teasing for the net-minder, Driedger acknowledges the support from his teammates.
“Humph has made my new name ‘Number Two’ so that’s always fun but lots of guys are congratulating me and it’s pretty cool.”
Driedger was one of six WHL goaltenders named as part of the preliminary rankings, with Blades’ Andrey Makarov topping the list.
“It says a lot about his potential with his age group. He got some recognition with Team Canada this summer, with the goalie seminar they held in Calgary,” said Head Coach, Mike Williamson.
The 2011/12 season marks Driedger’s second in the WHL and he has worked hard to make vast improvements on his game. He spent the 2010/11 season with the Tri-City Americans, logging 22 games played, with 6 wins and a .881 save percentage.
Faced with an injury at the beginning of the 2011 Hitmen season, Driedger struggled out of the gate but made up for it with an impressive October. He recorded a .924 save percentage and 4 wins on his way to being named the Ed Williams October player of the month.
“Being a 16-year-old last year, it’s pretty tough as a goalie so I struggled a little bit. This year I think I’m seeing pucks a little better with a bit more experience. I am just able to make more saves and be more consistent,” commented Driedger.
There has only been one goaltender selected over the history of Calgary Hitmen NHL Entry Draft selections. Brent Krahn was selected in 2000 by the Calgary Flames in the first round, ninth overall.
“My first year with the Hitmen, Martin Jones was here and there are a lot of similarities between [Driedger and Jones],” Williamson continued. “Martin was actually passed over in the draft and then signed a free agent contract with Los Angeles but they are very similar in a lot of ways.”
“They are both big guys and hold kind of a calming influence in the way they play. They don’t lose position too much and it doesn’t look like they get too flustered if a goal goes in, they regain their composure pretty quick and that’s a very important thing for a goalie at this level.”
The 2012 NHL preliminary draft rankings includes players from the OHL, QMJHL, USHL, NCAA and Europe. 25 forwards from the WHL were also named, with Everett Silvertips’ Ryan Murray leading the pack. Click here for a link to the complete listings.
