TORONTO — The three major junior leagues making up the Canadian Hockey League will name their top goaltenders at seasons end with individual awards, but only one can be crowned the best in Canada.
The Western Hockey League and Ontario Hockey League will recognize the top goalie in their leagues while the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League awards the netminder with the best goals-against average. Those three will be the finalists for the CHL Goaltender of the Year award given out at the Memorial Cup in May.
Here are 10 goalies gunning for recognition in 2018-19:
— Dustin Wolf, Everett Silvertips (52 GP, 36-13-2, 1.75 GAA, .934 save percentage)
The 17-year-old from Tustin, Calif., is following in former teammate Carter Hart's footsteps by leading the entire CHL in every major statistic. He's No. 1 in wins, goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts (six) despite also facing the heaviest workload amongst the bunch by appearing in 52 of Everett's 58 games. He has allowed two or fewer goals against in 40 of the games he's played and would give Everett its fourth straight Del Wilson Trophy as WHL goalie of the year after Hart won it in three consecutive seasons.
— Ian Scott, Prince Albert Raiders (39 GP, 31-6-2, 1.91 GAA, .932 save percentage)
The 20-year-old Calgary native had a torrid start to the season, at one point going on a personal 16-game winning streak to lift Prince Albert into the No. 1 spot in the CHL rankings while also scoring his first career goal in November. The Toronto Maple Leafs prospect has slowed down since returning from world juniors, with the Raiders falling to No. 2, however he still sits second in wins and save percentage and No. 3 in goals against.
— Mads Sogaard, Medicine Hat Tigers (29 GP, 15-6-2, 2.46 GAA, .927 save percentage)
The 18-year-old from Denmark is playing for a team not nearly as strong as the other goalies on this list, but it hasn't stopped him from putting up the fourth best save percentage in the WHL. He came back from a disappointing world juniors with motivation and has been solid in the second half. He hasn't made as many starts as the majority of the goalies in the running, but gives the Tigers the best chance to win and will likely see the bulk of the workload as they battle for playoff seeding.
— Trent Miner, Vancouver Giants (26 GP, 20-4-1, 1.90 GAA, .929 save percentage)
The 18-year-old from Brandon, Man., was expected to be backup to veteran David Tendeck with the Giants at the beginning of the year, but has outplayed the fourth-year starter to earn more games and create a 1A-1B situation. While his workload may not be as heavy as others, he carries the second best GAA and is No. 3 for save percentage in the WHL.
— Cedrick Andree, Ottawa 67's (40 GP, 31-4-2, 2.44 GAA, .915 save percentage)
The 18-year-old from Orleans, Ont., was giving the 67's what they needed through the first half of the season until they decided to go with last year's OHL goalie of the year Michael DiPietro, who was single-handedly winning games for Windsor before a December trade. He could be pushed by DiPietro for this year's honour, but currently has better numbers than his partner, with the best GAA, third best save percentage and most wins among OHL keepers. The tandem is currently on pace to win the Dave Pinkney Trophy for lowest team goals against in the OHL.
— Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Sudbury Wolves (42 GP, 31-8-1, 2.55 GAA, .919 save percentage)
The 19-year-old from Finland has been the backbone for Sudbury this season and has stolen the club few wins while putting up a league-best save percentage. When he was winning a junior world championship in January the Wolves went into their biggest funk of the season, losing seven in a row. Once he returned, so too did the winning as he's gone 12-3-1 since helping Finland claim gold. The Buffalo Sabres prospect is tied for the league lead in wins and has the most shutouts with five.
— Kyle Keyser, Oshawa Generals (39 GP, 27-7-2, 2.68 GAA, .916 save percentage)
The 19-year-old from Coral Springs Fla., has given the Generals much-needed confidence in comparison to anyone else to start for Oshawa this season. Oshawa is just 10-11-1 in games Keyser doesn't start and missed him greatly while he was at the world juniors with the United States. He has won 11-of-14 starts since returning and is No. 2 in save percentage and No. 4 in GAA.
— Samuel Harvey, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (37 GP, 30-7-0, 1.98 GAA, .926 save percentage)
The recently-turned 21-year-old from Alma, Que., is currently No. 1 in both goals-against average and save percentage while playing for the top-ranked team in the CHL, and is on pace for his second straight Jacques Plante Trophy after winning it last season with a 2.10 GAA. Zachary Emond has shared some of the workload playing the role as a 1B behind him, and the duo will most likely win the Robert Level Trophy for the team with fewest goals against.
— Colten Ellis, Rimouski Oceanic (40 GP, 24-13-2, 2.30 GAA, .915 save percentage)
The 18-year-old from Whycocomagh, N.S., is putting together his second straight quality campaign in net with the Oceanic after finishing runner-up to the older Harvey last year for the Jacques Plante Trophy. He has allowed two or fewer goals against in 12 of his 14 appearances since Jan. 4 and has a 1.96 GAA in those games. Ellis is second in GAA, No. 3 in save percentage and four in wins and shutouts.
— Olivier Rodrigue, Drummondville Voltigeurs (43 GP, 43-7-2, 2.35 GAA, .903 save percentage)
The 18-year-old from Chicoutimi, Que., is currently third in the QMJHL in GAA, which is where he finished the 2017-18 season, but has a much lower save percentage than the rest of the netminders on this list. He is, however, No. 1 in wins and leads the group in minutes played. Rodrigue is the only Quebec league goalie amongst the three that has been drafted, with the Edmonton Oilers selecting him with the last pick (62) of the second round in 2018.
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Kyle Cicerella, The Canadian Press
