Montreal loses again today; struggle with starting goalie injured
By
Mark Schadenberg
The
greatest goalie currently in the NHL is the Habs’ Carey Price.
Without
Price in the lineup, the Montreal Canadiens have just one win in their past 11
starts.
I
actually will go one farther in my assessment of Carey Price. When he is
healthy, he’s the best player in the National Hockey League – ahead of Jamie
Benn, Alex Ovechkin, Drew Doughty and even Patrick Kane.
There
really is no debate and when Carey Price was named the Lou Marsh winner this
year as Canada’s top athlete that news simply solidified the notion. He is the
first goalie to be voted to that honour – named after a former sports editor of
The Toronto Star newspaper.
As the 2015 calendar winds down, arrives news that Price is also Canada's top male athlete in voting for the respected Lionel Conacher Award.
Price won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP last season and also earned the Vezina Trophy as top goalie, and earned the Jennings Trophy with the lowest goals against average (GAA). When the NHL players voted for the most valuable player in their collective opinions, Price was also then named the Ted Lindsay Award winner.
As the 2015 calendar winds down, arrives news that Price is also Canada's top male athlete in voting for the respected Lionel Conacher Award.
Price won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP last season and also earned the Vezina Trophy as top goalie, and earned the Jennings Trophy with the lowest goals against average (GAA). When the NHL players voted for the most valuable player in their collective opinions, Price was also then named the Ted Lindsay Award winner.
I’m
not a Montreal fan and actually I would list the Leafs, Kings, Capitals and
Penguins on my list of favourites, and the Canadiens would have difficulty
making my personal top 25.
Why
has Carey Price won me over?
Remarkable
career stats, including getting better and better with a lifetime goals against
average of 2.43, but he’s at 2.06 this year and earned a remarkable 1.96 GAA
last season with nine shutouts and a .933 save percentage. He also averages more
than 55 starts per season. This year, he is 10-2 in 12 appearances.
The
Habs, who don’t play at home until Jan. 6 and have a crazy road schedule
including the Winter Classic in Boston on Jan. 1, have struggled lately with six
straight losses and just one victory in their past 11 starts since Dec. 1. Their
only win this month was 3-1 in Montreal over Ottawa on Dec. 12. Montreal is not
scoring with just 16 goals in those dozen contests, but their confidence
evaporated when Carey Price was placed on the injury list.
There’s
a bucket full of pucks in listing reasons to say Price is the best goalkeeper
in the world, but the top one would be who he is and where he came from.
Price
has climbed the ranks from a difficult beginning and quite truly a remarkable
Canadian story.
Price
grew up in Anahim Lake in northern British Columbia. His mother Lynda is a
former Ulkatcho First Nation chief on the reserve the family
calls home. Carey Price – like a lot of Canadians – grew up skating on a pond,
but it’s the true lack of minor hockey structure in his hometown, which makes
his rise to the top such an inspiring story.
Price
and his dad Jerry would travel several times a week to Williams Lake for minor
hockey practices and games – a mere 3-hour drive each way. Jerry Price, by the
way, was drafted in 1978 by the Philadelphia Flyers, but according to www.hockeydb.com only reached as high as the
Milwaukee Admirals, which today would be equivalent to the ECHL.
This
past off season, Price made a significant contribution to the school in Anahim
Lake as a way to give back. The links below include the video aired on CBC and Hockey
Night In Canada. In an interview with Peter Mansbridge, Price talked about
learning about his First Nations heritage from his mother and grandmother.
Peter Mansbridge
Reaching
the NHL was also difficult for Price because of the distance he played in the
WHL away from home as he spent four seasons with the Tri-City Americans based
in Kennewick, Washington.
The
WHL star (He was CHL goalie of the year in 2007) was drafted fifth overall by
Montreal in 2005 (Sidney Crosby was first overall that year). In his 2004-05
season with Tri-City, Price made 63 appearances in the regular season and had a
2.34 GAA.
Price’s
impressive resume also includes world Juniors Gold in 2007 with Team Canada in
Sweden (6-0 with a 1.14 GAA and IIHF tourney top goalie), winning a Calder Cup
AHL crown with the Hamilton Bulldogs in 2007, and Gold at the 2014 Sochi Russia
Winter Olympics. In the Olympic finals, Price earned a 24-save shutout as Canada
topped Sweden 3-0. His numbers in the Olympics were more than outstanding – 5-0
with 2 shutouts and just 3 goals against with a 0.59 GAA and .972 save percentage.
When
the World Cup of Hockey is contested in 2016, I’m sure the 28-year-old Price
will be Canada’s starting netminder.
A
true Canadian, who competed in rodeo in his youth, and travels to northern B.C.
every summer to spend hours upon hours with nature and a fishing rod. Growing
up in a remote area, he now donates to the local school breakfast program in
Anahim Lake and Williams Lake, and provides hockey equipment to the youth
there.
As a
hockey fanatic, my eyes are focused closely to the TV at this time of year to
watch the World Juniors – this year with the tourney in Finland. The end of the
calendar is a great time to look back, reminisce about the last 12 months and
honour the best of the best in 2015. In hockey – the best of the best is Carey
Price.
LINKS:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/canadiens-price-wins-lionel-conacher-award-as-canadas-top-male-athlete/
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canadiens-goalie-carey-price-a-country-boy-at-heart-peter-mansbridge-1.3014918
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/canadiens-price-wins-lionel-conacher-award-as-canadas-top-male-athlete/
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canadiens-goalie-carey-price-a-country-boy-at-heart-peter-mansbridge-1.3014918
Mark Schadenberg, Sales Representative
Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES designation)
Royal LePage Triland Realty Brokerage
757 Dundas St, Woodstock
(519) 537-1553, cell or text
Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com
Twitter: markroyallepage
Facebook: Mark Schadenberg, Royal LePage Triland
Discussion . . . Direction . . . Determination . . .
Destination
No comments:
Post a Comment