Guy with the Big Stick

During my few years here in Moncton, the Wildcats have had some great veteran goaltending to help steady the ship and carry the load.

In 2017-18, the Wildcats had veteran Mark Grametbauer. Grametbauer started more games than any other goalie that year, and Moncton finished 14th overall that season. He was the MVP of the first round helping Moncton knock off the Rimouski Oceanic in 7 games in one of the biggest upsets in QMJHL history.

In 2018-19, the Wildcats again acquired, via a draft day trade, a veteran to carry the load in Francis Leclerc from the Baie-Comeau Drakkar and this trade again was beneficial. Leclarc played 55 games for the Wildcats, winning 28, as the Wildcats finished seventh in the stacked Eastern Conference. Again, the goalie was the star of the show as Moncton defeated his former Drakkar teammates in seven games in the opening round.

For the third season in a row, the Wildcats swung a draft day trade for a goaltender. This time, they acquired a top-tier ’tender in Olivier Rodrigue. Rodrigue was stellar in net for the Wildcats this past season, playing in 39 games and winning 31 of them. He was named to Team Canada at the World Junior tournament. This year was going to be different. With a long playoff run on the horizon, the Wildcats made an effort to address this, acquiring Lund-Cornish, who could give Rodrigue the nights off to stay fresh. This paid off as he was 16-2, with 5 shutouts, including back to back in the last two games before the season was cut short due to Covid 19

Camp is a month away, and the season is two months away. Who’s the guy with the big stick in the cage?

If you look at this team’s crease as it’s constructed going into camp, the easy answer is 20-year-old Dakota Lund-Cornish. Lund-Cornish was acquired during last season’s mid-season trading period, but Dakota has never been a full-time starter in four years in the league. That’s not to say he can’t be a starter for a full season, but looking at the numbers, he hasn’t played more than 40 games in a season. There is a difference between playing half a year and carrying the mail night-in and night-out. The Wildcats have played their #1 goalie for a lion’s share of the 68-game season, but come playoff time, that wears on a keeper.

Director of Hockey Operations Ritchie Thibeau noticed and was able to acquire a reliable back-up during the trade period. It paid off as Rodrigue was fresher in games late in season.

For other options in the cage, let’s look at some of the young guys with the potential to take the reins of the back-up gig, and play some meaningful minutes, not only this season, but in the future. I used to play the position; nowhere near a high level, nor do I claim to know a lot about scouting goaltenders. I enlisted the help of Wildcats goaltending scout Brandon Thibeau, who has a very tough job to project kids at 15 to play in this league. I’m sure that’s a difficult task.

So, what combo are the Wildcats coaching staff looking at for their keeper?

“We’re really looking for great people first of all,” Thibeau said. “We put a lot of emphasis on that as a staff. Specifically for goaltenders, we are looking at things like catching pucks, movement that gets them in position and a strong, consistent mental game. Head, hands and feet. We feel if we can hand these tools to our coaches that they can have a lot of success.”

“Many goalies have success in our league with completely opposite styles,” Thibeau continued. “The important thing is to identify goalies who have a good package of skills. Ones who can play games and win without getting too picky about a certain style.”

Two rookie goalies are coming into a second go-round with the main camp: Gio Dimattia and Nicolas Sheehan.

“For the 2019 draft, we were happy to see [Gio and Nicholas] come in and have some great showings in camp,” Brandon explained.

“Gio presents a calm and controlled demeanor and excels when he is challenged. Nicholas has a powerful, gritty style and matches it with good technique. He has won a lot of games in midget which gives him a good dose of confidence.

“I’ve had the privilege of knowing these two on a personal level throughout their careers and am confident they can break into our league when they are called upon.”

Look for one of those two to shine during this year’s shortened training camp, set to begin in early August.

As for the netminders selected in this year’s QMJHL draft, the Wildcats took two. Justin Katz, selected in the fifth round, 87th overall, seems to be in control in his crease. In talking to Brandon, I said he seemed quiet in the crease, meaning limited feet movement but track pucks and being in right position.

“I think that is a great point,” Thibeau said. “It is, however, important to keep in mind that goalies can be like artists, they all have their respective genres and styles.

“Justin is a high quality prospect and we were very happy with selecting him. He is a goalie who uses his positioning to his advantage. He is six feet tall, and seems even bigger. He has a high compete and really impressed myself, and our Quebec staff, in our viewings.”

On our podcast,pre Import Draft, I had a hot take on Katz, boldly proclaiming that he will be the goalie that makes the team out of camp. That remains to be seen but if not this season, but his game with work translates to goalie of the future.

The other goaltender taken by the Wildcats in June is unlikely to be invited to camp due to shortened numbers, because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Wyatt McDonald was selected in the 13th round.

“MacDonald [was] an underdog in this year’s draft who has shown some huge progress over the last year or so,” said Thibeau. “He has flown under the radar a bit and at this point in the draft, we feel his size and skill development provide a lot of optimism for his future.”

The Wildcats were not done selecting goaltenders, as the CHL import draft saw the Wildcats select Slovenian goalie Val Usnik. He is likely to get some starts this season. According to Thibeau, Usnik is a great addition to the goalie group.

“He has many attributes beyond his age,” Thibeau explained. “His rebound control is great, battle level is high and off ice habits are exceptional.”

So, where does that leave Moncton with camp a month away.

Well, I think we’ll see five goalies in camp: Lund-Cornish, Dimattia, Sheehan, Katz, and Usnik.

Out of that group, who will be the guy with the big stick in the cage most nights? Only the coaching staff will know for sure after they hit the ice.

I believe Lund-Cornish and Usnik will split the work until the mid-season trade period, where I believe the Wildcats deal Lund-Cornish to a contender, then Usnik will get the bulk of the games in the second half. Backing Usnik up after the trade period will be Diamatta. He had a great camp last season and backed it up with a good year with Cole Harbour Wolfpack.

Adam Lund

Podcast Host