Draft Spotlight: Jonathan Bernier 2006

Lewiston goalie Jonathan Bernier was tabbed a 'top performer' on Canada's gold medal-winning squad at August's Junior World Cup in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Jonathan Bernier (2006), G, Lewiston

Scouting: a solid-sized goalie with strong quickness and athleticism .. plays a butterfly style .. above-average resilience .. okay skating skills and side-to-side movement; solid lateral movement .. possesses good leg quickness and is tough to beat down low .. safe on his five-hole .. doesn't let in soft goals on the initial shot .. prone to allowing the odd rebound though which causes traffic in front of him .. displays effective control of rebounds .. covers net well - doesn't leave many holes for shooters to aim at .. stays square to the shooter .. possesses solid patience and focus .. covers the upper half of the net adequately well even when dropping to a butterfly .. shows a decently quick glovehand and adequate blocker .. doesn't panic and will outwait shooters .. above-average fundamentals .. displays no significant problems in terms of orientating himself in heavy traffic though could still improve on this asset .. good stickhandling ability, often goes behind the net to move the puck and makes sound outlet passes.

U18 Jr World Cup Review: finished 10th among tournament goaltenders in save percentage (.906) .. tied with Michal Neuwirth (Czech Republic) for eighth place in goals-against average (2.67) .. the Canadian starter performed admirably well in his starts .. a strong and calming force who served as a positive influence on his defensemen .. started both games against the Czech Republic and registered an above-average performance in the gold-medal game.