The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan spotlights Red Wings prospect goaltender and Moncton Wildcats back-stopper Rudy Guimond today. Kulfan notes that Guimond went 16-and-0 with Moncton during the regular season, and 8-and-1 in the QMJHL playoffs:
The way Guimond played, his contribution to a winning program, made him an intriguing prospect going forward, and only deepens the goaltending depth in the organization (along with Sebastian Cossa, Trey Augustine, Michal Postava and Carter Gylander). At this point, Guimond doesn’t give much thought to where he stands in the organizational depth chart, nor does he need to. It’s about concentrating on what he can do at Moncton to duplicate his personal and team success.
“I kind of just focus on me and focus on winning the President’s Cup (for winning the Quebec League) and hopefully, the Memorial Cup (for Canadian juniors),” Guimond said.
Guimond credited his success to the powerful lineup in front of him at Moncton.
“It was really amazing, but it was a testament to the group in front of me,” Guimond said. “With the (defense) corps, almost every guy was either drafted or signed (to a pro contract). I just had to do my job. It’s a testament to how well we played defensively and our system that made me successful.”
…
The decision to return to Moncton was endorsed by Dan Cleary, the Wings’ director of player development, who is impressed with MacDougall’s program.
“Pretty incredible statistics when you think about it,” said Cleary of Guimond’s season. “I’m very close with Gardiner MacDougall and those guys in Moncton. They did a tremendous job, and their goalie coach (Antoine Samuel) did a great job, obviously. Rudy got into an environment where he fit comfortably and they embraced and helped him, and the team really shined. It’s a testament to Rudy and the people in Moncton. They really saw something and he played very well for them and they are extremely pleased.”
Continued with an explanation as to why Guimond got into goaltending–it has to do with the Red Wings…
