Okay,
So apparantly I'm not the only one having fun with backup goalie glee right now - our good friends at The Province's Kurtenblog wrote an awesome analysis of the various backup goalie types (check it out: Get To Know Your Backup Goalies). Yet check out whose photo is in there - Andrew's, of course!!
Having just finished watching the Canucks feed it to the Rangers 4-1, I wanted to quickly readdress a few things I mentioned in my last blog on Raycroft.
First, I feel an "I told you so" warrants mention here...after all, was it not your famous Puckgobbling beer league goalie that said he loves Raycroft's style, and the amount of playing he receives in practice will be fine for prepping him when needed? If you saw him play tonight, you'll know that boy is in fine form, even with a reduced roster of Canucks in front of him.
As for fan experience, he keeps playing like this Coach Alan is gonna have connips on who to start when B.Lou gets back. You have to admit, as great as Luongo is, it's just kinda neat to watch Raycroft in the pipes every now and then. His style is different (I just love his "sit my ass right on the puck" butterfly style), and catching him red-handed starting at the School Girl Ice Cleaner was simply as priceless a moment as you're gonna get.
Now, in his defence, I would argue that is a half-decent perk, as Craig Anderson shows us in this photo (courtesy of HFBoards.com), and we could go on all week about whether we will start seeing U.S.-style "Ice Girls" here in Canada (I heard Montreal is toying with this idea), but let's leave that for another post...
At any rate, the Canucks are missing some key talent, including a $6 Million goalie, and if a backup goalie guy earning half a MIL can keep the excitement level going like he is, there just might be hope for all us "wannabe benchwarmers" yet!!
