Tendeck looking good for 2018 draft
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE: He would be second Vancouver Giants netminder to be picked in NHL draft
Six Western Hockey League goalies have been selected in the past two NHL drafts and Vancouver Giants netminder David Tendeck has statistics on par.
Lost in the Giants’ run at a playoff spot, the 50-goal season of Ty Ronning and the hoopla around potential 2019 first rounder Bowen Byram has been the play of Tendeck. As of Wednesday morning, the 18-yearold netminder from North Vancouver was third in the WHL in goals against (2.85) and second in save percentage (.916), while fashioning a 23-13-3-2 record.
The Giants have only had one goalie ever taken in the NHL draft. Tyson Sexsmith, who backstopped the 2007 Memorial Cup team, was picked by the San Jose Sharks in the third round that summer.
“Are NHL teams paying attention? They’d have to be, I would think,” Giants coach Jason McKee said after a recent game about the 6-foot-2, 173-pound Tendeck. “David’s been outstanding for us and it’s been since Day 1. He started well and he’s only getting better. It’s the evolution of a true starting goalie.”
Carter Hart of the Everett Silvertips (2016 second round, Flyers) is the current goaltending benchmark in the WHL, especially considering his performance for Team Canada at the world juniors. Tendeck doesn’t take up space like 6-foot-5 Jordan Hollett of the Medicine Hat Tigers (2017 sixth round, Senators) or 6-foot-4 Ian Scott of the Prince Albert Raiders (2017 fourth round, Maple Leafs).
Still, Tendeck does come across as poised and unflappable, backstopping a Giants team that is young, quick and that likes to push offensively, which can lead to getting caught running around in its own zone.
Tendeck has improved technically as well. He seemed to flop and guess much more last year, when he had a 4.78 goals against and an .856 save percentage to go with a 5-14-0-0 record as a WHL rookie.
Talk to goalie-savvy people, and
they mention his lateral speed and ability to arrive in position as one compact piece.
The Giants traded away two-year
starter Ryan Kubic two days before the start of the regular season, catching some people in WHL circles off guard. But Vancouver brass believed
Tendeck was ready to move up and handle the No. 1 duties. McKee and general manager Glen Han lon had conversations with Tendeck about such duties over the summer.
Vancouver received a second-round pick in the 2019 bantam draft from the Saskatoon Blades in exchange for Kubic. The Blades dealt Kubic at the Jan. 10 trade deadline to the Regina Pats. Kubic hasn’t played for the Pats since Feb. 9 due to a concussion but returned to the team this week.
Tendeck was the No. 8 North American goalie on Central Scouting’s midseason rankings, which were released in late January. Four Giants skaters made the North American list : Centre Milos Roman
(No. 40), centre James Malm (No. 176), defenceman Alex Kannok Leipert (No. 190) and defenceman Dylan Plouffe (No. 208).
Vancouver has had only two players selected in the past four drafts combined: winger Tyler Benson (2016 second round, Oilers) and winger Ty Ronning (2016 seventh round, Rangers).
The last time the Giants had more than two players taken in a single draft was 2008, when winger Lance Bouma (third round, Flames), centre James Wright (fourth round, Lightning) and defenceman Brent Regner (fifth round, Blue Jackets) werepicked.