Zz_ Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Jimmy Howard will miss the next 2-4 weeks for the Detroit Red Wings. Already out is back up goalie Jonas Gustavsson, who injured his shoulder in an over time game earlier in the season. Detroit will look to their AHL goaltenders, rookie Petr Mrazek and Wings 2008 draft pick Tom McCollum who was taken 30th overall. Tom McCollum has played one NHL game back in 2010-11 against the St. Louis Blues, he had 5 saves on 8 shots allowing 3 goals. His career save percentage is .625 and he has only played 14:37. Petr Mrazek has been a feel good story for the Red Wings, knowing they have a spectacular young goaltender up and coming. Excluding the current Red Wing game against the Buffalo Sabers, Mrazek has played 9 games this season. Owning a 5-3-1 record along side .916 save percentage and 2.29 goals against average. The 22 year old for 141st overall pick will be the Red Wings number one goalie until Jonas Gustavsson or Jimmy Howard return to action. Though the return of Gustavsson is not a certain benching for the rookie. Detroit is currentlt third in the Atlantic division with a 22-11-9 record (Excluding tonights game against Buffalo) with 53 points. Detroit is at the end of two periods of play leading Buffalo 3-1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 McCollum on the absolute best day of his life is not an NHL goalie. He is AHL cannon fodder, nothing more. Mrazek however is a top tier prospect, with confidence in his own ability. I thought it was fitting that he was between the pipes last night in Buffalo s they retired Hasek's number, I am not saying to anoint Mrazek for the Hall of fame or anything like that, but he reminds me of Hasek with his style. He is not technically sound like Howard, he uses his athletic prowess and speed and quickness. Love the kid. If last night is a sign of what the next month has in store, we will be fine. Before the preseason a reporter asked Mrazek if he thought he could beat Gustafsson out for the number two job and the kid smirked, he said he was going to try to beat out Jimmy Howard, not Gustafsson. It is great to see him get his chance to prove himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeDDS Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 @yave1964 As similar as they are in style, it would be GREAT if the Wings could get Hasek to teach Mrazek the technical intricacies and fundamentals of his style. However, some players aren't good teachers. They just instinctively know when to do what. I think Hasek may be like that. Not sure he can teach it to someone else, but I would think it might be worth a try. I am NOT calling for Hasek to replace Bedard by ANY means, but rather to supplement him in Mrazek's case. For sure, Mrazek would be really to listen to Dom. Trying to improve his fundamentals such that he doesn't HAVE to feel like he has to challenge on the fringes of his area as much would help him, methinks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeDDS Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Before the preseason a reporter asked Mrazek if he thought he could beat Gustafsson out for the number two job and the kid smirked, he said he was going to try to beat out Jimmy Howard, not Gustafsson. It is great to see him get his chance to prove himself.I thought that was a GREAT answer to that question, and I KNOW that Babs liked it, even if it may have been somewhat cocky at that point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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