Outlook For Aspiring NHL Goalies Playing In Michigan

Its always interesting to listen to the debates between competing factions (NCAA College Hockey and the Ontario Hockey League) over which path of development is best for players aspiring to play in the NHL.

This feature looks only at how that debate relates to goalies playing their minor hockey in Michigan.

When it comes to goaltenders playing in Michigan who have the option to play NCAA College Hockey or in the Ontario Hockey League the following statistics I crunched together prove there is absolutely no difference between the two development paths in terms of providing a better or worse opportunity for a goalie to play in the NHL.

(1) There has been 10 goalies who have played at least one game in the NHL this season who played in the Ontario Hockey League. The average age of those 10 goalies is 29 years old.

(2) There has been 10 goalies who have played at least one game in the NHL this season who played NCAA College Hockey. The average age of those 10 goalies is 29 years old.

(3) There has been ONLY 5 GOALIES TOTAL born in the United States who have played at least one game in the NHL this season - Yikes! Three of those five are over 30 years of age. The other two are 26 and 27 years old. Four of those five played NCAA College Hockey (Ryan Miller - Michigan State, Tim Thomas - Vermont, Rick Dipietro - Boston University, John Grahame - Lake Superior State) and the other (Brent Johnson from Farmington, Michigan) played in the Ontario Hockey League.

Note 1: If you think making the United States NTDP is your ticket to the NHL - think again. Rick Dipietro who played just one season of NCAA College Hockey at Boston University before turning professional is the ONLY goalie who has played at least one NHL game this season who is a product of the United States National Development Program in Ann Arbor (NTDP).

Note 2: It cannot be disputed that the Canadian Hockey League (OHL, WHL, QMJHL) has produced more NHL goalies than any other region in the world, but those numbers are skewed by the huge number of goalies produced in Quebec who came through the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and more importantly grew up playing in the Quebec Minor Hockey System.