Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Observer
I like Emery as much as the next Sens fan, but what's wrong with Prusek? He played 15 games supporting Lalime last year with a 12-2-1 record. He's a good goalie and the guys trust him to be their backstop. Plus, he's fun to watch (so is Emery - but Emery's got to learn to control his emotions a little better sometimes). Prusek plays a little like Dominic Hasek - sometimes it looks like he's just flailing around. It's unorthodox maybe, but he gets the job done. I think the Sens organization found a gem when they picked him up. The guy had never had ANY goalie training at all until he came to North America. I think he was already 25 or more at the time too. In the few years he's been here, he's shown he can play with the best. I think he's better than some starting NHL goalies out there.
|
Prusek's the victim of a numbers game. He's keeping the back-up spot warm until Emery is ready. I was a big proponent of trading Hurme last year. I thought Prusek had more upside, and was worth keeping around. Last year, he put up a lot of wins, but he always looks shaky because of his style. With his style of play, you need to put up incredible numbers to make up for the volatility that comes with it. The two most comparable goalies to him are Hasek and Cechmanek. Hasek dominated during his time, and put all doubters away. Cechmanek was a notch below, and never received full confidence from his teammates in Philly.
All in all, the only way Prusek can secure a future in Ottawa is if he goes out and wins the starting job away from Lalime, which I don't think he can do. It's not a knock against Prusek, but more an indicator of Lalime's abilities. If he doesn't, he'll be moved to a team that needs a starting goalie next year so that Emery can get his promotion.