Danis

Does anyone really think that Yann Danis should be considered for the Hobey Baker? He nay not even win the ECAC goaltender of the year.

It's been discussed here, but no, I don't think anyone seriously thinks he's in contention. If LeNeveu didn't get it last year, there's no way he should be in the running this year.

Difficult to see Danis not being All-ECAC First Team. He's got great numbers, has the advantage of being perceived as the only thing between Brown and mediocrity, and is a senior.

Greg Berge '85 wrote:

Difficult to see Danis not being All-ECAC First Team. He's got great numbers, has the advantage of being perceived as the only thing between Brown and mediocrity, and is a senior.

It also helped that Brown developed a reputable offense with the coming of Brian Ihnacak.

Danis won't get the Hobey. We're still too close to Ryan Miller's win in 2001 for a goalie to get the award again.

But what about McKee's numbers? Within league play, his GAA is the best. And out team doesn't score a lot of goals to support him. He should win goaltender and rookie of the year.

And I'm sure McKee's parents are more awesome

Given the ECAC's tendency to spread awards out, it's doubtful that McKee would win both ROTY and goalie of the year.

Well, looking at overall statistics, it's hard to argue that he shouldn't be the favorite goaltender to gain a Hobey Finalist nod. If you look at the other real possibilities (Doyle (Maine), Kaltiainen (BC), Montoya (Mich), Bruckler (Wisc), and McKee), Danis, for one reason or another, holds an advantage over each of those in things the Hobey committee may look at: GAA, Save %, Saves, and age. Usually there's a token goaltender thrown into the top-10 Hobey finalists, and Danis is a solid choice. But if he gets into the final-final "hat trick" finalists, I'll be stunned and upset.

As for the Dryden award, I can't remember if only ECAC performance is considered. If so, McKee deserves a better look than he'll probably get because of the reputation the Schafer defensive system has established. Also, the reputation and expectation level that the Brown media department has created for Danis hurts McKee's case as well. There is no visible defensive leader at Brown other than Danis. In addition, remember that we're talking Senior vs. Freshman here, and as much as we hate that it happens, that does matter to voters, I'm sure.

That said, I still think Danis can and should get the Dryden Award at this point. The guy has seen an average of over 30 shots per game, and still has an incredible .951 save %. (Lenny's record-breaking year had a .940 save %) McKee is seeing 10 fewer shots per game, and has matched Danis's numbers for the most part. While McKee is a big part of Cornell's success, it seems that Danis is a bigger part of Brown's success.

Now, of course, there are still 4 games left to play in the regular season. It looked like Danis and Brown showed a hiccup this past weekend, and should that snowball into a end-of-season collapse, things could certainly change. Besides, McKee now has the league-lead in GAA.

Pete Godenschwager wrote:

Given the ECAC's tendency to spread awards out, it's doubtful that McKee would win both ROTY and goalie of the year.

With Brian Ihnacak tied for the league-lead in scoring as a freshman, I'm very doubtful that McKee will get the ROTY, unless they share it. And as I already said, I'm betting Danis gets GOTY.

However, if McKee doesn't make the ECAC All-Rookie team, I'll eat my hat.

The numbers don't tell the whole story. He may not get much goal support, but Cornell's team defensive scheme is almost definitely the best in the ECAC. This is not to take anything away from McKee as he has played extremely well the past couple of months, but like LeNeveu, his numbers are deflated because of the strong defensive team in front of him. This isn't to say that he doesn't make big saves, because he does. In my mind, it is without question that Danis is the best goalie in the ECAC this season.

Rich H '96 wrote:
However, if McKee doesn't make the ECAC All-Rookie team, I'll eat my hat.

Considering he's the only freshman ECAC goalie who's played more than 6 games, I don't think you're going out on that much of a limb.

That, and what kind of hat is it?

Pure guesses, based on numbers, rep, and past tendencies of the league:

All-ECAC First Team

G: Danis, Brown (POTY)
D: Glenn, St. Lawrence
D: Basiuk, RPI
F: Stempniak, Dartmouth
F: Zappala, Yale
F: Smyth, Colgate

All-ECAC Freshmen

G: McKee, Cornell
D: Lewis, Dartmouth
D: Campaner, Colgate
F: Ihnacak, Brown (ROTY)
F: Bitz, Cornell
F: Goeckner-Zoeller, Princeton

Can rookies/freshmen make the All-ECAC Team (first or second)?

Yes.

Then could McKee be in serious contention for All-ECAC Second Team?

After the 2/20 games:

          League          Overall 
        GAA   Sv %      GAA   Sv %
Danis  1.68   .948      1.74  .945   
McKee  1.42   .936      1.75  .923