It’s difficult to make any career-spanning predictions as to how the Red Wings’ prospects who participated in the Prospect Games might pan out. They only played in two games over the course of two days, against their peers (age-wise), for the most part.
That being said, there were some conclusions to be made about some of the players who participated in the various rookie camps throughout the NHL this past weekend, and Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis tabs Red Wings goaltender Carter Gylander as one of his “Top 15 standouts” from the NHL’s various rookie tournaments:
Carter Gylander, G (Detroit Red Wings)
The Red Wings already have two high-end goalie prospects in Sebastian Cossa and Trey Augustine. Now, Gylander is off to an excellent start to his pro career after capping off a four-year run at Colgate University. He made 33 saves over a game and a half to register a .967 save percentage – marking one of the best stat lines of any goalie this weekend. It wasn’t a big sample size, but he still looked steady, using his 6-foot-5 frame to cover so much of the net. I like how well he tracks the puck through traffic and he’s got the athleticism to make up for plays when he can’t rely on pure size to make a save.
Continued; Gylander is just plain old steady.
At 23 years of age, he’s not a “young prospect,” and he’s going to face an uphill battle as the Red Wings’ goaltending situation in Grand Rapids already includes two goaltenders in Sebastian Cossa and Jack Campbell–and the situation in Toledo is no less crowded, with Gage Alexander and Griffins-contracted Jan Bednar vying for crease time–but those who’ve seen Gylander play know that his patience both in and out of the crease may very well pay off.
