Position ‘surreal’ for Blackwood
Towering ’keeper from Thunder Bay expected to be the first goalie taken in second round
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. —When Mackenzie Blackwood was 12, his minor hockey team lost its goaltender for the season, so he ditched being a defenceman and strapped on the pads. By the time he was 16, he’d won the OHL starting job with the Barrie Colts, and on Wednesday was one of three stoppers invited to Team Canada’s summer evaluation camp for the 2016 world junior championship.
If that isn’t enough of an eye-opener, the 6-foot-4 standout is expected to be a second-round selection in the 2015 NHL draft and possibly the first goalie selected.
“It’s kind of surreal just being here,” the Thunder Bay, Ont. native said Thursday.
“It really hasn’t sunk in yet. This is crazy. When I think of how far I’ve come in such a short amount of time, it’s an incredible feeling.”
Incredible because thanks to his family’s strong sporting bloodlines — his dad was involved in hockey and track and his mom in basketball and track — he had a growth spurt of six inches from ages 14 to 15 and brought his parents’ competitive edge to the rink. Blackwood went 23-15-1 this season with a 2.98 goals-against average and .902 save percentage. It’s piqued the draft interest of Edmonton and San Jose, who own second-round picks Saturday.
The Canucks are expected to trade a goaltender this weekend and have lost restricted free agent Joacim Eriksson to the KHL in a one-year deal. They’ll draft a goalie in the mid to late rounds this weekend, but Blackwood is ranked too high and will be long gone because of his size, strength, mobility and drive.
All that was hard to imagine six years ago when he got the minor hockey relief call.
“I didn’t like getting scored on as a little kid — I thought it was all my fault,” said Blackwood. “I used to play defence and that was fun for me. I played goal before, so I decided to give it another try and see how it goes. It turned out to be my passion.
“I like to model my game a little bit between Mike Smith and Pekka Rinne because they are two prototypical goalies and are really efficient when they move. They make it look easy. Those are really good guys to base my game after.”
Marc-Andre Fleury was picked first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2003. Carey Price went fifth overall to the Montreal Canadiens in 2005, but Henrik Lundqvist didn’t go the New York Rangers until the seventh round in 2000. It’s not an exact drafting science because goalies take longer to develop. But being big in the net doesn’t hurt.
“You can’t teach size,” said Blackwood. “I can thank genetics, but I have no expectations to jump into the league right away. That’s unrealistic. It’s a long road and I’m just going to keep picking at it until I get a crack. My lateral movement is good and I’m pretty strong in my legs, so I have powerful pushes. As a big guy, I can move around pretty good and one of my biggest strengths is my mobility and the ability to get from the first save to the second save.
“And tracking the puck is a big thing, too. The basic thing is getting your eyes going and keeping your focus. You can’t get drowsy or sleepy. You always have to be dialed in.”