AHL: MVP Niittymaki Tames Wolves

Kari Lehtonen may have entered the Calder Cup Finals with the fanfare befitting a top goaltending prospect, but it was Antero Niittymaki (right) that turned heads with his MVP performance. We'll be grading the key players from the Finals all week long and we begin today with the netminders from the series. We'll also explain why Braydon Coburn and Jay Bouwmeester only received average marks.

Antero Niittymaki (Phi), G, Philadelphia Phantoms: A

Did all you could ask for in a Calder Cup finals series .. named MVP by the AHL .. frustrated the Wolves all series with excellent fundamentals and positional sense to go along with great flexibility .. economical movements.. outstanding at reading the play and thinking one step ahead, allowing him to make the most difficult saves look easy .. rebound control was flawless throughout the series .. strong butterfly goaltender with an excellent glove who could stand to challenge the shooter more .. lives in the middle of his crease instead of on top of it, but he worked at improving that and he occasionally managed to challenge a shooter .. would have received an A+ but he mostly faced perimeter shots because of Philly's suffocating defense .. had a shutout to open the series with a 27-save performance and received the first star .. equally impressive in game two with a first star performance that included only one goal against and 48 saves .. solid at home as well with 29 saves in game three and a first star performance in game four with 28 saves.

Kari Lehtonen (Atl), G, Chicago Wolves: B+

Didn't face as many shots as Niittymaki, although the quality was arguably more difficult .. showed off his amazing athleticism throughout the series, including freakish saves using the elite leg extension only a 6'4 goaltender with his unnatural flexibility can make .. legs are the best of any goaltending prospect in the world .. breathtaking lateral quickness .. faced a lot of traffic as the Phantoms big forwards created havoc in front of him, but he battled through it and showed the ability to locate a puck through a crowd .. puck skills showed improvement thanks to more power behind his passes .. tends to take risky chances with puck play that might hurt him someday, although it never cost him in this series .. had a fine series but didn't make the key saves when his team really needed him to pull one out of his bag of tricks .. in his defense, not many goalies could make the saves the Wolves were asking of him .. opened the series with a 31-save game, earning him second star honors .. was the third star of game two with a 26-save night including some real beauties .. was just solid in Philadelphia with 22 saves in game three and 25 saves in game four.

Braydon Coburn (Atl), D, Chicago Wolves: C

Did not have an impressive series but it wasn't because of a lack of effort .. finished the series with no points and four PIM's .. used his long rangy frame to frustrate the Phantom's forwards, often getting hacked after whistles .. routinely showed off his beautiful first step and emerged as an impressive skater, especially considering the frame he carries .. played well one-on-one and maintained good positioning in his own zone .. tried to create offense and rushed the puck up on his own multiple times but did get caught on several of those chances and will have to learn how to pick his spots better at this level .. showed off surprisingly gifted hands, shielding away oncoming fore-checkers and weaving through the neutral zone .. maintained possession on the point well .. had three shots in game four but he could have used his shot as more of a threat the rest of the time .. a bit inconsistent on outlet passes, but that's likely just growing pains .. showed flashes of brilliance as well .. should be commended for sticking up for his goaltender when a high stick from John Sim knocked off Lehtonen's helmet and took him off his feet .. responded and stayed back to challenge Sim, who along with his teammates wanted nothing to do with the 6-5, 220 defenseman when he challenged them .. overall Atlanta has an excellent prospect here.

Jay Bouwmeester (Fla), D, Chicago Wolves: C-

May have had his roughest time of the season in these playoffs, specifically in this series .. for all the skill in the world that he possesses he had no points against the Phantoms and showed no desire to make things happen offensively .. wasn't involved physically and finished with no PIM's .. seems too content with himself at times .. has no problem "just" being a 6-4 defenseman who's a beautiful skater and a smart player defensively, but that same package should make him demand more of himself .. moved the puck safely out of his zone but missed chances to take open lanes and create offensive opportunities .. shied away from shooting the puck much of the series even though his ability to get a shot low and through traffic is one of his best assets .. played a solid defensive game .. used his rangy frame to make some excellent plays, especially on a five-on-three in game two where he made multiple great plays using his positioning and stick to break up plays and move the puck out .. amazing acceleration and lateral agility were his two best qualities in this series, which is still a far cry from the overall game he produced earlier in the season .. needs to get stronger in his upper body and use his size and strength to punish opposing forwards .. could also stand to let loose a little more and jump into the play .. needs to be more confident and greedy offensively, which will help him make the plays he is capable of making – including shooting the puck more .. overall a disappointing showing from J-BO; not because of anything he did to hurt the team, but because of what he could have done to help them win .. in his defense he did play through an ankle injury that plagued him throughout the series and even threatened to keep him out of game one.