Goalies Galore

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Hopson looks at several NHL goalie prospects, including University of Minnesota netminder Alex Kangas (pictured) and the Norfolk Admirals' duo of Dustin Tokarski and Riku Helenius. University of Wisconsin goalie Brett Bennett is also featured.

Alex Kangas (Atl), G, University of Minnesota

Kangas is a fundamentally sound goalie who utilizes both the stand-up and butterfly styles .. cuts down shooting angles with his highly technical game and superior positional play .. takes a lot of pucks to the mid-section, which is a result of Kangas' exceptional net coverage and his ability to stay square to the shooter .. loves to load the strong side of the net when the puck is along the goal line extended or slightly above it, which keeps shooters from getting cheap goals at poor angles .. displays patience, as he will not drop into the butterfly unless needed .. properly employs the butterfly in close and on screen shots in order to take away the bottom half of the net .. also keeps his butt up and torso straight in these situations, making himself look big and taking away the upper corners as much as possible .. does not possess exceptional lateral movement, but he is sufficient in his agility and makes up for any shortfall with his quality anticipation .. in a rare instance when he is caught out of position, Kangas is capable of making a diving save or a long body sliding save .. excellent at smothering pucks and redirecting shots harmlessly into the corners .. tends to rely on the stand-up style later in the game when he is trying to conserve energy, especially after he has faced a barrage of shots .. Kangas' calmness in net, strong positional game and ability to read the play all work to his advantage during breakaways as well .. he can hold his ground and wait the shooter out, eventually shutting him down.

Brett Bennett (Phx), G, University of Wisconsin

Bennett is a traditional butterfly goalie who relies on his quick reflexes more than anything else .. he can drop to his knees and get back to his feet in a blink of an eye .. Bennett is also skilled at handling the puck .. very aggressive in coming out of his crease to play the puck and shows poise when opposing forwards are converging on him .. can ideally position the puck for his defensemen and also provide a quality outlet pass .. however, his positional play leaves a lot to be desired, as he can over commit in certain situations .. for example, there was an instance where his defenseman was taking an opposing forward out wide and had effectively sealed off the passing lane to a backdoor teammate .. unfortunately, Bennett was cheating toward the weak side forward and left the short side of the net open, which is a big no-no .. even though his defenseman forced the shot from a bad angle, Bennett's poor positioning resulted in a weak goal .. in an almost identical situation later on, Bennett committed to the shooter instead, who had a step on the defenseman and a clear passing lane in front of him .. this left the backdoor player with an open net and an easy goal .. in both of these instances, Bennett over committed and paid the price .. there was also a play where he employed the paddle-down technique and left the short side of the net open, as he failed to get his glove up.

Dustin Tokarski (TB), G, Norfolk Admirals

Tokarski is a compact butterfly goalie who plays bigger than his size, as he will come out to meet shooters on a regular basis in order to cut down angles .. he tracks the puck well in traffic and also on screen shots .. likes to play from his knees and effectively takes away the bottom half of the net .. he can get away with leaving space up high, at least on the catching side, given his quick glove .. moves very well from post to post and utilizes his smooth butterfly slide to position himself on cross-crease passes .. does not give shooters much to look at in close, as he can shuffle in the butterfly and position himself over top of the puck, making it difficult to find a hole .. however, Tokarski needs to do a better job of smothering tight rebounds .. there was one situation where an opposing forward took a loose puck from underneath him and proceeded to put it in the net .. in another instance, Tokarski let a shot, which he initially stopped, trickle in along his leg pad .. he can also be overly aggressive at times when challenging shooters .. for example, Tokarski closed the gap on a shooter in close, but he left himself vulnerable to the backdoor play .. though he is not shy about playing the puck, his handling skills need work as well.

Riku Helenius (TB), G, Norfolk Admirals

Helenius is a big butterfly goalie who has put up impressive numbers in Norfolk this season, despite seeing limited action due to an extended bout with the flu .. possesses swift reflexes and lively movement for a guy his size .. can quickly drop to his knees and also enjoys incredible lower body strength, which allows Helenius to perform a strong butterfly push when he needs to shut down cross-crease plays .. because of his long reach, Helenius can stay in his stance and kick out his drive leg to increase net coverage when reaction time is limited and/or a butterfly slide will not suffice .. however, because of his physique, it is sometimes difficult for Helenius to control his momentum, particularly when his pads are on the ice .. as a result, there are occasions when he does not stay square to the puck and has to flop around to make saves .. successful at directing the majority of his rebounds toward the corners and side boards .. owns an unorthodox catching style, as he likes to move his glove across the body to play shots on the stick/blocker side .. since he seems a little uncomfortable on the stick side, opposing players might consider shooting to this side of the net more often .. will move forward and contest shooters when the mood is right but tends to stay in his crease for the most part, which he can afford to do with his large frame .. like Tokarski, Helenius is not afraid to come out and play the puck, but this is not a particular strength for him.