I know we have some hockey guys here, I found this pretty interesting.

Projecting how goalies will go on draft day is far tougher than the other positions. Last year everybody had the U.S. National Team Development Program's Jack Campbell as the top goaltending prospect, and some teams would have looked at him in the top five overall. (Central Scouting had Campbell at No. 2 in their North American goalie rankings but they were pretty well alone on that count.) The second G drafted, Mark Visentin of Niagara, went 27th overall to Phoenix and that caught everybody by surprise. The North American goaltender ranked highest by Central, Cal Pickard, went 49th overall to Colorado. Go figure.

Draft-eligible goaltenders often don't emerge until the second half of a season. Some go under the radar entirely, serving as infrequently played back-ups -- Steve Mason was a great example of that, getting only a handful of games with London in his draft year.

Right now it looks like there's a drop-off after three elite goaltending prospects, but that's subject to change. Check that: At this position we'd be surprised if it didn't change.

Here are the top five goaltending prospects:

John Gibson, USNTDP

Size: A
Positioning: A
Glove: A-
Rebound Control: A-
Hockey Sense: A-
Athleticism: A-

Some scouts thought that Gibson (6-foot-2, 205 pounds) was in and out at the NHL Research and Development camp this summer, but he has looked very solid in showings subsequently. He gets high marks for his agility in the crease and he goes post to post very well. With Campbell last year and John Gibson this winter, it just might be that the USDT is becoming what Quebec was for many years -- the leading hothouse for goaltending prospects.

Samu Perhonen, JYP Jr (Finland)

Size: A
Positioning: A
Glove: A-
Rebound Control: A-
Hockey Sense: A-
Athleticism: A

If the USNTDP isn't the goaltending hothouse, then Finland might be. Clearly Perhonen (6-3, 172) is the goaltender whose stock has spiked the sharpest lately. Scouts might mark him down somewhat for his play outside the crease and handling the puck, but he made a huge splash at the recent four-nation U-18 tournament in Sweden. Lending credence to the idea that your name is your destiny, Perhonen is Finnish for "butterfly."

Christopher Gibson, Chicoutimi (QMJHL)

Size: B+
Positioning: A-
Glove: A-
Rebound Control: A-
Hockey Sense: A-
Athleticism: A-

Really not much (beyond size) separating the top three here. Christopher Gibson (6-1, 193) has a pretty unusual story -- a Finnish kid (yes, you read that right) who came to North America first to the Notre Dame program in Saskatchewan and then to Chicoutimi as a top pick in the CHL import draft last season. We first saw him in Lake Placid last summer and he impressed there, though the Finnish U-20 squad didn't give him much in the way of support. That he battles hard shouldn't be a surprise -- his father is a martial-arts instructor. Scouts will love his commitment to the game -- any kid who's willing to go to small-town Saskatchewan and then to the heart of the Q earns points.

Liam Liston, Brandon (WHL)

Size: B+
Positioning: A
Glove: B+
Rebound Control: A-
Hockey Sense: B+
Athleticism: B+

Scouts like the technical aspects of Liston's game -- good angles, strong butterfly -- and some thought he should have gotten the call to play for Canada at the Ivan Hlinka tournament instead of Belleville's Tyson Teichmann. There are no conspicuous holes in his game, but he's a step down from the Gibsons and Perhonen.

Matt Mahalak, Plymouth (OHL)

Size: A-
Positioning: B+
Glove: B+
Rebound Control: A
Hockey Sense: A-
Athleticism: B+

Mahalak ia a graduate of the US U-17 program. He's more of an improviser and battler than a technical puck-stopper, and he reads the game rather than relying on reflexes. The question mark might be quickness; those who question it will knock his athleticism down half a grade.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nhl/blog?...aft&id=5824663