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But who the eff is Al Montoya and what team was he on?
Going into the 2004 Draft, Montoya looked like a keeper. If you're familiar with Dallas prospect Jack Campbell, Montoya had a very similar resume. Montoya backstopped the US to 2004 WJC Gold and was an absolute workhorse at the University of Michigan. Showed a ton of poise playing in almost literally every game as a freshman.
Unfortunately, he seemed to plateau/peak with that WJC win. Had a down year as a junior at Michigan. Turned pro, put up okay numbers but had been passed up on the depth chart by Henrik Lundqvist. Was traded to Phoenix a few years back--Coyotes GM Don Maloney was with the Rangers when they drafted Montoya. With Phoenix, Montoya wasn't really able to claw his way up the depth chart.
You should have been on here a couple years ago, he was talked about like Schneider was last year(best goalie in the AHL stuck behind a great NHL goalie)
Sucks to see Montoya has fallen so far from grace. Grew up a few towns away from me, heard a lot about him as he was growing up. Became a big fan of his when he was drafted high and backstopped USA to their first gold medal in the World Juniors. Had high hopes for him. He is still relatively young for a Goalie so it's never too late for a re-surgence but it doesn't look too promising at this point.
Nice to see he's finally going to get his shot in the NHL.
As most of you know, but a few of you may not: he was a 6th overall pick awhile ago who got into some injury trouble that hampered his development. So, in six years he's never gotten a shot in the NHL besides a 5 game stint with the Coyotes when he posted a .925 sv%. This is his final shot to realize his potential.
Renney and Maloney team up for another fine pick. Seriously though, what's the point of Snowballs throwing away the 6th?
It's only a 6th rounder and they were running out of goalies to suit up. Montoya doesn't make much, prorated 750K for the rest of the season. Somebody who was available for "free" on waivers like Mike Smith would have been due a prorated 2.4 million.
If there's any team Montoya could rejuvenate his career with, it's NYI.
Schremp I'll give you but watching Grabner in Vancouver, I knew he would make it somewhere; he was only a bust to those who expect full NHL seasons by age 20..
He turns 26 in a few days, not exactly old. Montoya might be getting to the point where NHL teams won't be interested in him on their AHL club, but it's not like most hockey players suddenly quit in their mid-20s if their NHL aspirations haven't panned out. A guy like Tim Thomas gives most goalies hope that they can put it together eventually.
Except Tim Thomas was always great and breaking records in Europe. Montoya was always nothing.
Except Tim Thomas was always great and breaking records in Europe. Montoya was always nothing.
Montoya has a WJC Gold and had a couple great years at Michigan, I wouldn't exactly call that nothing even if he plateaued at that point. At 26, Thomas had a .892 save percentage and 3.56 GAA in the IHL which were the worst numbers of the five goalies on his squad that year.
Not saying Montoya is the next Tim Thomas, was just pointing out to the facetious poster that thought Montoya would have stopped playing because he didn't pan out as expected.
Montoya has a WJC Gold and had a couple great years at Michigan, I wouldn't exactly call that nothing even if he plateaued at that point. At 26, Thomas had a .892 save percentage and 3.56 GAA in the IHL which were the worst numbers of the five goalies on his squad that year.
Not saying Montoya is the next Tim Thomas, was just pointing out to the facetious poster that thought Montoya would have stopped playing because he didn't pan out as expected.
Ok, I get your point now.
Just want to point out every time when we are on the subject, that Tim Thomas was always a fantastic goalie, who just had to wait for his opportunity. It's not like he suddenly became great in his 30's.
Ya, that's a bit unfair to Grabner; he was never considered a bust by anyone...just a young guy trying to break onto a team (Vancouver) with really good top-six depth. I think everyone thought he'd catch on somewhere, but just couldn't break through the Canucks line-up in multiple attempts. Vigneault doesn't have a huge amount of patience with skilled, relatively one-dimensional forwards.
