View from the Crease

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Hopson begins his new weekly column "View from the Crease," which will highlight some of the top draft-eligible goalies leading up to next spring's NHL Entry Draft. In his debut article, Kevin focuses on Seattle Thunderbirds goalie Calvin Pickard.

Following in someone's footsteps is never easy, especially when it is your big brother. Calvin Pickard and his older brother Chet - who was drafted by the Nashville Predators (1st round, 18th overall) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft - are only 29 months apart in age, making the sibling rivalry that much more intense. However, instead of letting their competitive nature get the best of them, the two have embraced and supported one another in their quest to become the best.

Calvin and Chet made history last year when they faced off against each other in a Western Hockey League (WHL) game. It was the first time ever that two brothers were in opposite nets during a WHL game. Though Chet got the better of Calvin, both proceeded to win gold with Team Canada in 2009 - Chet at the World Junior Championships and Calvin at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. As a result, it should be no surprise if Calvin follows in his brother's success again; this time as an early round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Despite the fact that Calvin is not the most athletic or quickest guy in net, he is extremely poised and plays a very strong positional game. Jeff Kealty, Chief Amateur Scout for the Nashville Predators, saw Calvin play with Canada's U-18 team this past summer and agrees with this assessment.

"He is calm and strong with his positioning," Kealty said. "He reads the play well and likes to let things come to him a little bit. He can always improve his quickness and flexibility, but he does compete hard."

Calvin loves to utilize the paddle-down technique in close and is willing to challenge shooters on a regular basis, which is similar to Craig Anderson's game. Meanwhile, his sound positioning and controlled movement resembles guys like Niklas Backstrom, Cristobal Huet and Carey Price, though each has his own style. Since Chet was Price's understudy with the Tri-City Americans and both brothers have tried to model their games after him, the comparisons make sense. However, according to Kealty, all you have to do is look in the same backyard.

"I would say that Calvin and Chet have a lot of similarities," Kealty noted. "They both read the play well and are poised in the way they allow things to develop, but also react and battle hard to make saves. Chet is taller and Calvin is more compact, but they both have that thick look to them where they take up a good portion of the net. Chet is not an NHL goaltender yet, but - as a staff - we have always come back saying that Calvin has many similarities to Chet in style when we watch him play."

Scouting Report

Calvin Pickard (2010), G, Seattle Thunderbirds

An adequately-sized (6-1, 202) netminder who utilizes both the butterfly and paddle-down techniques .. does not enjoy exceptional athletic ability or lightning-quick movement, but he possesses a very strong positional game .. consistently stays square to the puck and takes the proper angles on shots .. controlled in his movement and does not get caught straying too far from the middle of the net .. holds his form when moving laterally, allowing him to maintain net coverage on second-chance opportunities .. can use a butterfly slide or extended half butterfly (leg kick) to move cross-crease and make saves .. heavily employs the paddle-down technique to shut down wrap-around attempts, walk-outs from the goal line extended and slowly developing cross-crease plays in close .. effectively takes away the bottom half of the net given this style of play .. does a quality job of smothering straight-on shots and using his stick to direct off-center pucks into the corners .. poised in net and though he is not overly aggressive in challenging shooters, he tends to play his game at the top of the crease and will step out further on occasion .. not afraid to leave his crease to play the puck and is capable of handling the rubber .. however, his average skating skills can make it difficult for him to stop a hard dump-in behind the net .. it also limits his lateral movement and recovery abilities.