Prince Albert Raiders goalie Ian Scott was drafted by the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday morning. Scott, originally from Calgary, was the 17th pick of the fourth round, 110th overall. Going into the draft he was one of the top-ranked North American goalies.
Dream come true! Extremely excited to be drafted by the @MapleLeafs! Could not have done it without the support of family and friends! #6ix
— Ian Scott (@IceScott99) June 24, 2017
Scott was drafted ninth overall by the Raidersw in the 2014 WHL bantam draft, the highest-picked goalie in the draft since Carey Price went seventh overall.
The 18-year-old has a 25-40-5-0 record with three shutouts in two reasons with the Raiders, posting a 3.54 goals-against averagea and a .894 save percentage.
He also has a lot of international experiene, having played for Canada at the 2017 Under 18s, the 2016 Ivan Hlinka and the 2015 U17 Challenge, where he led Canada White to gold.
Hockey analysts say Scott is better than his numbers indicate.
“When you look at the numbers, I think that could be an aberration,” Darren Pang said on draft day. “He’s a goaltender that’s got some pretty good feet, pretty solid butterfly, fairly quick. I think you can throw those numebrs away. The Toronto Maple leafs like the person and like the goaltender, and they’lll give him time to develop.”
Other analysts pointed to Scott’s lankiness, as he can add weight to his frame. They also praised his positioning.
Hockey scouting blog Future Considerations had this to say about Scott:
“Cool when handling shots to the glove hand, keeping the glove angled according to net position and the situation in front. Swallows up high shots without any rebounds, pinning pucks to his chest or belly pad. Quickness is elite and whether it be his pads or glove hands, he was constantly flashing his limbs at pucks.
“Seldom is caught out of position, plays a technically superior game and is excellent at controlling motion within the net …. keeps himself unhased whether unteseted for stretches or stuck in a pressure cooker. has the potential to be a pro sarter, even though he is a few years away.”
Scott is the first Raiders goalie to be drafted since Rejean Beauchemin was picked by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2003.
A total of seven WHL players were selected in the first round of the 2017 draft, including Brandon Wheat Kings forward and Winnipeg native Nolan Patrick.
More to come.
