Gabriel D'Aigle & Succeeding While Under Siege
The Penguins' 3rd-round pick at 184 overall has found success despite being hung out to dry.
I wanted to take some time to talk about a draft pick from the most recent crop of Kyle Dubas’ selections that, from my perspective, isn’t getting as much fanfare as it probably should.
Penguins’ director of goaltending, Jon Elkin, was really high on Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL) goaltender Gabriel D’Aigle despite the fact that his statistics weren’t the prettiest thing anyone has ever seen for a draft-eligible goaltender.
Penguins’ Vice President of Player Personnel, Wes Clarke, told NHL.com after the draft that the group leaned on what Elkin’s eye test told him, and one of their selections just happened to line up with D’Aigle’s ranking and availability.
Well, Mr. Elkins might be due for a raise, because the returns on D’Aigle are proving to be well worth the third-round investment.
The one thing I have to stress to you today is that Victoriaville is a bad hockey team and routinely puts together some of the worst defensive performances I’ve seen at the CHL level. They have the 3rd fewest points in the QMJHL, have allowed 30+ more goals than they’ve scored, and have a crop of defensemen that really struggle with speed and finesse, elements that QMJHL forwards are renowned for having.
This routinely exposes D’Aigle to some of the most nightmare-ish scenarios that you can imagine for a goaltender. There were times when I was putting together the video for this experiment that D’Aigle would make a 10-bell save, and his team would immediately turn it over for a goal. Then, while the goal announcement was still being made on the intercom, he was being asked to make another 10-bell save. There is almost no respite for this young man while he tends to the crease.
In fact, at the time of this writing, no QMJHL net-minder has faced more shots (1,026) or made more saves (926) than D’Aigle has this season, despite the fact that he’s 8th in total games played and 11th in total minutes.
It’s this context that is ultimately important when reviewing D’Aigle statistics. His .903 save percentage (9th in the league) looks fairly pedestrian until you realize the sheer volume of shots and scoring chances he’s facing on a nightly basis. His 3.79GAA isn’t the kind of line stat-watchers drool over, but you get the sense that most other goalies would sink to the bottom of the ocean in this kind of environment.
One thing I have always said I am bad at is evaluating the science of goaltending regarding styles, coaching, etc. That nuance has never been something I’ve dove into deeply. But when I watch D’Aigle play, I see a hyper-athletic goaltender who is equal parts fast and instinctual. Time and time again, we’ve yet to see a disaster that is too big for him to try to solve with either one of the aforementioned tools.
D’Aigle has the best of both worlds at his disposal: he’s big and fast. At 6’4’’ and over 210 pounds, D’Aigle takes up a ton of space in the net, which he uses to absolutely dominate anything low. When the play degrades into loose pucks around the net mouth getting whacked around by a variety of sticks, D’Aigle excels. He gets himself lateral in a hurry and makes himself huge along the ice surface, eating up large swathes of space. His reaction time is great, so he’s adept at getting a limb out on the path of a last-second opportunity.
D’Aigle is extremely aggressive in his angles, probably out of necessity, but he challenges shooters well and, more importantly, repositions himself in an aggressive posture when the play resets and he has a moment to take a breath. He doesn’t sit deep within his own net, surrendering space to opponents.
His puck-playing ability is adequate; I think it’s a work in progress and not much to write home about. He is very active in trying to make life easier on his defensemen, but also doesn’t take unwarranted risks in leaving the net. He’s very strong on his stick side, and as you’ll see in the mixtape, he’s extremely adept at getting his stick-side on pucks that are moving away from him.
The mix below is a long cut of some of his best saves this season. Again, note how quickly some of these breakdowns matriculate defensively and some of the truly remarkable chances he’s had to save this season.
Be sure to check back later this year as I’ll have a video summarizing the second half of his season as well.