Petruzzelli shoots high in draft
It is a play every goaltender dreams about, but very few accomplish. Doomed to a lifetime of goals-against, they’d love just once to score one themselves.
Only six NHL goalies have shot and scored: Ron Hextall (twice), Chris Osgood, Martin Brodeur, Jose Theodore, Evgeni Nabokov and Mike Smith.
For Wilbraham native Keith Petruzzelli, one of the top-ranked goaltenders for next weekend’s NHL entry draft in Chicago, the opportunity arrived in Muskegon, Mich., on March 1.
His Muskegon Lumberjacks led Madison, 3-1, with a half-minute remaining in their USHL game. Petruzzelli made a glove save, dropped the puck to the ice and shot it 180 feet into the empty net.
“It was crazy,” said Petruzzelli. “I couldn’t believe it went in. It was kind of like the perfect storm of events: Us being up by two, and they pulled their goalie with like a 11⁄ minutes left. 2 They dumped it in without really any forecheck. The situation just presented itself, so I figured, ‘Why not?’
“They had called a timeout at the two-minute mark and I said to our equipment guy, ‘If they pull they goalie I’m going for it.’ ”
It was a highlight of the season for the 18-year-old, 6-foot-6 goaltender. But it could be surpassed by what could transpire Friday night at the United Center.
In a draft deep in big and talented goalies, Petruzzelli could hear his name called in the latter part of the first round. If not, he won’t wait long when Round 2 begins the next morning.
“He is that modern NHL prototype of what they’re looking for in a goalie,” said Red Line Report scout Kirk Luedeke. “He’s big, he’s athletic, he’s a student of the game. You can tell he’s eager to be coached. He’s got good ability to read the developing play, so he’s not guessing on where the shot will come from, rather, he senses where the shooting lanes are and where the shots will come from. And he’s able to get his big frame and long limbs in position to make that first save.”
Petruzzelli is a fan of Montreal’s Carey Price.
“I love how fluid and how easy Price makes the game look, and how he’s always so calm and collected,” he said. “But I don’t really try to model myself after any one goalie. I think I play kind of like an athletic butterfly. I try not to rely too, too much on my size. I mean, obviously I do, but I still think I play athletically.”
Petruzzelli made the challenging jump this year from the Selects Academy at South Kent (Conn.) to Muskegon after earlier playing two years at Springfield Cathedral High. He posted a 22-10-1 record with a team record 2.40 goals-against and .918 save percentage. He exploded as a top draft prospect, rated the No. 1 North American goalie on NHL Central Scouting’s mid-term list, and No. 2 on the final one.
“It’s a little surreal, I have to say, that we’re in this position right now,” said his mother, Kathy. “I’ll be honest: Our focus was always college, that was our dream. If they could play in college that would be fabulous. You just kind of take things as they come. His rankings and stuff really kind of took us all by surprise. But we know the hard work he’s put into this, and it’s wonderful to see that come back to him.
“We’ve been very blessed with the hockey community we’ve been involved with — the coaches and teammates and parents and everyone along the way. You do a lot of reminiscing at a time like this about all the years and friendships.”
There will be new friendships at Quinnipiac, where Keith and his older brother, D.J., a 6-foot forward who played in the BCHL, will be incoming freshmen on the ECAC team.
“We’re super excited about it,” said Keith. “We never thought things would work out quite like this. It’s awesome for both of us.”
The Bruins must submit their list of protected players for the Las Vegas expansion draft by 5 p.m. today. The NHL will reveal the protected lists, and which players are eligible for Vegas to select, tomorrow.