LeNeveu and World Juniors

[RedAR]

Obviously, the Canadian national team needs two goalies.  LeNeveu is fighting for 1 of 2 spots out of 4 candidates.  Up till now, I've just been assuming that if LeNeveu made the team, then he'd be in net.  But a post on the USCHO board made me realize that it was a distinct possibility for him to make the team but not play at all.

I don't know much about the other candidates.  How does LeNeveu compare with the other goalies fighting for the spot.  And, I know its unsportsman-esque question, but if LeNeveu makes the team, but as the 2nd string goalie, does he have the opportunity to decide not to play for the team?

This is just a question.  If it's inappropriate, then I apologize in advance.

[Mike Hedrick 01]

These are the goalies in camp:

1 Fleury, Marc-André L/G 6'1.5 170 11/28/84 Sorel, QC Cape Breton (LHJMQ) 2003 Dft/Rep.

31 LeNeveu, David L/G 6'1 170 05/23/83 Fernie, BC Cornell (ECAC) PHX 2002

30 Ward, Cam L/G 6'0.5 176 02/29/84 Sherwood Park, AB Red Deer (WHL) CAR 2002

35 Drouin-Deslauriers, Jeff L/G 6'3.5 185 05/15/84 St-Athanase, QC Chicoutimi (LHJMQ) EDM 2002

Cam Ward currently has the best GAA (2.09) and SV% (.921) in the WHL, which is pretty darn impressive, and he was the first round pick for Carolina (25 overall) in the 2002 Entry Draft.   I really don't know, but I would guess he is the favorite to start.  This is the league that produced Dan Blackburn of the Rangers, etc, and you probably know major junior leagues are goal scorers' leagues.   Fleury has a .920 in the Quebec league and Drouin has a .896.

[Greg Berge]

2.09 / .921 in the WHL is nothing short of amazing.  This is a very high scoring league, and there are excellent goalies at 3.00 / .905

That having been said, Red Deer has mammoth, berzerker D'men and Ward may be getting a bit of a goose from his blueline (as may Lenny).

[melissa\'01]

see below:
http://www.canadianhockey.ca/e/teams/mens/junior/2003/news/fea002.html

[JohnnyB]

When do they make decisions?
-J

[Joran Siu 04]

Players will be released on three consecutive mornings starting Saturday.

Source:  http://www.tsn.ca/world_jrs/news_story.asp?ID=17041&hubName=world_jrs



" The players have been divided into the Red and White squads. Each group will skate Thursday morning before squaring off in an intra-squad game at night.

They have the same routine Friday. After the first round of cuts Saturday morning..."

Source: http://www.tsn.ca/world_jrs/news_story.asp?ID=17231&hubName=world_jrs

So I'm guessing by Monday or Tuesday, we'll know the final roster, perhaps?   Good Luck Lenny!  :-)

RED WHITE AND GOLD! $$

[Sand Man]

December 12, 2002
Competition stiff between the pipes


By RYAN VAN HORNE
Halifax Daily News
Goaltending has long been a strength of Canadian junior teams, but if it's going to be the case this year in Halifax, there will be a new household name by the new year.

The four hopefuls at the tryout camp, which began yesterday at the Halifax Metro Centre, are fresh faces. Only one has played for Canada internationally: Marc-Andre Fleury of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, who played with the under-18 team in Slovakia in August of 2001.

"I don't think it gives me an edge, because they're all good goaltenders, and two of them were in the summer camp," Fleury said about David LeNeveu and Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers.

Cam Ward of the Red Deer Rebels, a first-round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes, is the other goalie at camp.

"I've got to earn my spot again," said Fleury. "Maybe you have more confidence when you come here to grab a spot."

But even though there's no veteran to beat out, there are some talented goalies at camp.

LeNeveu, who plays for the Cornell Big Red of the NCAA's East Coast Athletic Conference, said the situation is a good one for the goalies.

"Everybody is feeling confident that they have a great chance of playing as a starting goaltender," he said. "It's just going to come down to who has the most confidence and who's playing well behind their teammates."

LeNeveu had a solid summer camp and, along with Drouin-Deslauriers, was invited back. But that doesn't give him an edge over the newcomers, as Olivier Michaud learned.

Michaud was the backup on last year's team, but didn't get an invite to the tryout camp.

"It's how you compete and how you play on the ice," said LeNeveu, who hails from Fernie, B.C.

Canadian coach Marc Habscheid and his chief scout, Blair Mackasey, have enlisted the help of Ian Clark, a goaltending consultant with the Vancouver Canucks, to help them evaluate their goalies.

"You can see from the first practice that they bring a lot of talent," Habscheid said. "There's some big guys, some quick guys, and they bring a lot of dimensions to the game. It makes for an interesting battle."

Fleury has one edge over his competitors. He's familiar with the Metro Centre and knows how quirky the bounces can sometimes be. He's played there several times over the past three seasons with Cape Breton, a division rival of the Halifax Mooseheads.

Fleury, who earned his invite to camp with a blistering start to his Quebec Major Junior Hockey League season, says his busy workload with the Eagles, more than his high ranking for next year's NHL draft, helped him get noticed.

"Getting more shots per game helped me to be seen by the scouts of the Canadian team," said the Sorel, Que., native who is considered a lock to be picked in the top 10 of the 2003 entry draft.

http://www.faceoff.com/worldjuniors/news/story.html?f=/news/20021212/021212News193344.html

[Joran Siu 04]

http://www.tsn.ca/audio_video/

Clip 7188 - In the crease ... Feature on the four netminders battling to represent Canada.  Has a short segment with LeNeveu himself!!  

Not too sure how long this will be on the site before newer clips replace it...  anyways enjoy.  

P.S.  You might need to sign up for an account to see this.... not sure... This takes like 30 seconds to load on my computer.. be patient.

[rhovorka]

From Thursday's intra-squad game at the selection camp.  Recap at: http://www.tsn.ca/world_jrs/news_story.asp?ID=17403&hubName=world_jrs

[Q]Red starting goaltender David LeNeveu stopped nine of 10 shots in his half of the game before the Cornell netminder was replaced by Cape Breton's Marc-Andre Fleury, who turned away 25 of 28 shots.

Cam Ward of the Red Deer Rebels gave up three goals on 17 shots in net for the White team before giving way to Chicoutimi's Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers, who allowed two goals on 17 shots.[/Q]

Good start, but interesting that he saw so few shots.

[bigred apple]

I'm starting to think that Lenny gives up so few shots because opposing players don't think that they have openings. . .

[Jordan 04]

So is Lenny taking finals? ;-)

[cbuckser]

I have a feeling Lenny will be busy taking exams during early to mid January.

While I was in law school, I spent a semester as a teaching assistant and proctored a makeup midterm exam the night of game 5 of the 1996 World Series.  Besides listening to the 1-0 Yankee victory, what I remember most of proctoring the exam was that the overwhelming majority of the students taking the make-up test were leaving town the following day for road trips and thus unable to take the midterm as scheduled.  Make-up exams for student athletes is one accomodation schools make.  In my experience, neither the relative difficulty nor timing of the make-up exam conferred any benefit to the student athletes.

[Adam \'01]

Plus you've gotta look at this from the big picture perspective.  Will Dave gain more from a life/becoming a better person point of view by having this amazing sports experience or by slaving through his political economy exam?  Cornell should be in the business of empowering bright young people to become productive and exceptional members of society.  So let's not get caught up in the bullshit of exams and academia.

P.S.- I totally realize you were just kidding, Jordan.  Just trying to make a more broad point here.

[jeh25]

Craig Buckser '94 wrote:

While I was in law school, I spent a semester as a teaching assistant ...In my experience, neither the relative difficulty nor timing of the make-up exam conferred any benefit to the student athletes.

Yeah. But weren't you at that little little community college in cambridge where every gets a B for showing up? ;-)

[cbuckser]

True, John.  :-)

Although I realized Jordan's comments were tounge in cheek, I figured I might as well take advantage of one of the very few insights I have regarding the academic lives of student athletes.  Plus, I wanted to re-live game 5 of the 1996 world series.  B-]