One of my commenters on the Matthew Gordon post below (Larissa) noticed on the early local news Tuesday that they reported Lawson wouldn't be returning. I watched at 10pm and sure enough; the story said the university announced it this afternoon. Well ... that makes official what had been the general speculation for about a month now. So what is the potential effect to the team? I have to say that I'm not a believer that a team can't succeed without talented goaltending. There are any number of examples of championship teams with average goaltending. There are likewise any number of examples of great goaltenders who carried their team all year only to see the team go down in flames when it counted most.Success in the WCHA comes from team play. Jonny-O showed he could get the job done last year. I'll hope that Matt Gordon will show the confidence that Olthuis had when he got his chances to play last season and maybe even create some competition for playing time. I'd imagine the job is Jon's to keep. I see no reason why he wouldn't be up to it. I don't think there's any real strategic or tactical adaptations that the team would have to make with Jon in the nets instead of Nathan. So all in all Lawson's departure doesn't really have any negative impact. Note: I'm not saying that the Seawolves aren't losing a good goalie. They are. But the negative impact will likely be negligible.
Nathan's an ambitious hockey player and I think overall respected well enough for his play to get a decent shot with a good AHL team (and then his real work will begin). I won't underestimate his chances to move up but crease monkey is always the toughest road to the NHL. He's very talented and I don't think he'll have a problem catching on somewhere. I don't follow those leagues that much so I'll just hope he gets a fair shot and lives up to his talent when his chance does come. And so I can start and finish this post with my nickname for him ... When Nathan is "on" there is absolutely no breakin "The Law".
Nathan's an ambitious hockey player and I think overall respected well enough for his play to get a decent shot with a good AHL team (and then his real work will begin). I won't underestimate his chances to move up but crease monkey is always the toughest road to the NHL. He's very talented and I don't think he'll have a problem catching on somewhere. I don't follow those leagues that much so I'll just hope he gets a fair shot and lives up to his talent when his chance does come. And so I can start and finish this post with my nickname for him ... When Nathan is "on" there is absolutely no breakin "The Law".
12 comments:
I will be very surprised if Lawson gets any offers from an AHL team, he's more of a Aces level goalie.
At least we know for sure now, and can look forward to the future with goalies who are committed.
With what is on the roster and coming, the team will have to recruit another goalie next year or possibly have 2 rookies in 2009.
I have talked with some of the players about Lawson and they have told me he is very close to getting an nhl deal.
It's clear when you watch Nathan play that he is a talented goalie. He's got a great glove hand, he's very athletic, handles the puck expertly and stays squared up.
His problem area has mostly been one of perhaps judgement (i.e ... the occassional bad poke check attempt or mishandle of the puck). But with some disciplined goaltending coaching he'll get over that.
I'd bet he'll get a chance next season to prove it on an AHL team.
Yea i heard he tried out for the Washington Capitals last year, but just didn't make it. He'll be fine
Lawson is talented, but he is also very inconsistent. Can he maintain the higher level? I don't think he made it through even one of his years without a major injury of some sort. Any NHL deals would absolutely shock me. I guess they didn't look at many game tapes from last season.
I've always speculated that Lawson could be the best in the D1 if he could stay healthy for an entire season. Now I'm not so sure; he was pretty hit or miss this last year. I would have liked to see him prove himself as a seawolf his senior year.
Any more news on his prospects for going pro? So far I've heard anywhere from the ECHL to the NHL. That narrows it down by about 0% since that's basically the entire spectrum of pro hockey.
jjack,
Lawson tried out with the Capitals last fall but didn't get any offers. He didn't do any better last season, in fact he was worse. I just don't see the NHL in his future. It's hard enough, and doubly hard for goalies.
His dad told me that Nathan didn't want a 3 way contract with the ECHL, only an AHL/NHL contract. He may have to take what he can get at this point.
I think NHL scouts know that Lawson has potential, so he just may get that type of ahl/nhl contract. They just need to see the Lawson of his freshman year, where he single handedly stole a few games for uaa. I mean Decaro made an appearance in the ahl a few times this year. If Decaro can get that far, so can Lawson. We have seen this kid make some rediculous saves And if it wasnt for his play in the playoffs this year, we never would have been the first team to beat the gophers at the mariucci in the playoffs.
True Jeff, but you are forgetting that Nathan also singlehandedly lost a few games this year as well, games that if won could have gained home ice for the team.
Goalies have to be much more consistent in the pros. I may have to eat crow, but I just don't see it based on his performance the past two years. He can't continue to live off of his freshman year performance.
But then it was always my contention that he didn't want to be at UAA this past year, and he didn't really try his best. He did try in the playoffs because he knew scouts were there. That's really sad.
does anyone hold Lawson's rights or is he a free agent?
He's a free agent.
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