Fulcher will be the main man between the pipes
No. 33 is No. 1.
Following their intrasquad scrimmage Thursday, the Hamilton Bulldogs confirmed that veteran Kaden Fulcher will be their starting goalie this season.
They also cut Zach Roy, Tanner Sheppard and Kyle Renaud, which leaves returnee Cole Ceci and prospect Nick Donofrio to battle for the backup role.
Goalie coach Nick Grainger said the team had high expectations for Fulcher going into training camp.
“He works hard and I think he’s going to have a really good year. He’s the guy right now,” he added.
Steve Staios agreed, saying the 19-year-old’s progression last season “put him in a situation where he will be a go-to guy.”
Ceci and Donofrio, meanwhile, have “great upside.”
“We’re in a good position in goal,” the president and general manager added.
“I would describe it as very solid.” All that confidence, however, raises a question. What, exactly, has changed?
While Ceci and, in particular, Fulcher both shone at times last season, they also struggled with consistency — a pattern that ultimately prompted the Bulldogs to pick up overager Dawson Carty before the trade deadline.
“Experience,” Staios said. “The quick answer is experience. We went in with the understanding that we had two ’98s and we were going to platoon them out there to see how they did.
“For their level of experience and where they were at in their career, I thought they performed well. And we got ourselves in a situation where the team dictated that we were going to be a playoff team and we were moving in the right direction.
“At that point, I thought it was in our best interest to bring in a veteran goaltender for a couple of reasons — one was both for Kaden and Cole as far as just making sure that I’m not putting them in a situation where they’re too overwhelmed in the back half of the season.”
Fulcher, who’s from the outskirts of Sarnia, finished the campaign with a 19-17-3-3 record, a 3.21 goalsagainst average and a save percentage of 0.891; while Ottawa’s Ceci went 2-3-1-0 with a 3.84 goalsagainst average and a save percentage of 0.880.
Donofrio, the newcomer, said it was great to be among the final three — but earning the backup spot would be even better. “It’s been my goal since I signed two years ago. I just want to support the city and show what I can do,” he added.
A 10th round selection of the Bulldogs in 2015, the 17-year-old from Michigan had a 17-8-0-0 record with the Philadelphia Revolution last season, with a 2.00 goalsagainst average and a save percentage of 0.921.
Fulcher and Ceci are both expected to play in Friday’s exhibition game against the Guelph Storm, at Ancaster’s Morgan Firestone Arena. Tickets are $15 and available at the team’s Front Office on York Boulevard, online at ancasteravalanche.ca or at the doors.
Game time is 7 p.m. NOTES: Twenty-four players were trimmed from Hamilton’s pre-season roster Thursday, including 10 forwards (Adam Kozlowski, Jared Froese, Luke Croucher, Christopher Ishmael, Derek Seguin, Jordan Stock, Ben Woodhouse, Aliesha Song, Brett Fisher and Zack Osborne); 11 defencemen (Max Blanchard, Spencer Lapointe, Trevor LeDonne, Ford Ondrovic, Calen McPhee, Jordan Simpson, Evan McIntyre, Paul O’Doherty, Orie Mainolfi, Xavier Henry and Jayden Jensen); and the three goalies (Sheppard, Roy and Renaud). … The Bulldogs also signed rightwinger Dylan D’Agostino — a 10thround pick of the Bulldogs in 2016 — and free-agent left-winger Owen Burnell. … Not counting potential overager Matt Luff, 28 players are still around in the wake of the cuts. ... Rookie forward Arthur Kaliyev led the way with a pair of goals as Team White downed Team Black, 3-2, in Thursday’s intrasquad scrimmage. … Defenceman Connor Walters had the other Team White marker. … While Matthew Strome and Reilly Webb replied for Team Black. … Renaud, Donofrio and Sheppard were the winning goalies.