(above) Goaltenders Cam Lanigan and DU recruit Sam Brittain training in CalgaryFrom: Calgary Herald
by Kristen Odland
They grew up five minutes from each other in southeast Calgary. They both stopped pucks in the same minor hockey system; even shared a season in net with the midget Calgary Buffaloes.
But despite graduating to different leagues and parts of the province, Cam Lanigan, a goalie for the Western Hockey League's Edmonton Oil Kings and DU recruit Sam Brittain (6'2 215 lbs.), a netminder for the Alberta Junior Hockey League's Canmore Eagles, the pair meet in Calgary every summer to train -- and size up each other's skills, of course.
The two pals were in Toronto last week, joining about 100 of the top North American and European prospects at the 2010 National Hockey League scouting combine.
Following that, Brittain and Lanigan -- who sat No. 8 and No. 9, respectively, in the Central Scouting Bureau's final goalie rankings -- will pack their bags for the NHL Entry Draft on June 25 and 26 in Los Angeles.
"They're really big boys," agreed Doug Crashley, owner of CRASH Conditioning, where the pair train.
"There's potential for both guys to grow even more. Which is insane.
"They're prototypical, NHL sized goaltenders. Now, they have to find a way to be NHL goaltenders."
Bound for the University of Denver, Brittain led the AJHL's South Division in regular season games (52) with a 3.27 goals against average and a .897 save percentage and helped backstop the team to the second round of the playoffs.
"The biggest thing in Sam's development was his maturity," said Eagles head coach Andrew Milne. "His mental preparation for games, his ability to bring it every night, his ability to handle pressure situations was phenomenal."
Brittain scored really well at the NHL Combine in a variety of strength, agility and conditioning tests.
But despite graduating to different leagues and parts of the province, Cam Lanigan, a goalie for the Western Hockey League's Edmonton Oil Kings and DU recruit Sam Brittain (6'2 215 lbs.), a netminder for the Alberta Junior Hockey League's Canmore Eagles, the pair meet in Calgary every summer to train -- and size up each other's skills, of course.
The two pals were in Toronto last week, joining about 100 of the top North American and European prospects at the 2010 National Hockey League scouting combine.
Following that, Brittain and Lanigan -- who sat No. 8 and No. 9, respectively, in the Central Scouting Bureau's final goalie rankings -- will pack their bags for the NHL Entry Draft on June 25 and 26 in Los Angeles.
"They're really big boys," agreed Doug Crashley, owner of CRASH Conditioning, where the pair train.
"There's potential for both guys to grow even more. Which is insane.
"They're prototypical, NHL sized goaltenders. Now, they have to find a way to be NHL goaltenders."
Bound for the University of Denver, Brittain led the AJHL's South Division in regular season games (52) with a 3.27 goals against average and a .897 save percentage and helped backstop the team to the second round of the playoffs.
"The biggest thing in Sam's development was his maturity," said Eagles head coach Andrew Milne. "His mental preparation for games, his ability to bring it every night, his ability to handle pressure situations was phenomenal."
Brittain scored really well at the NHL Combine in a variety of strength, agility and conditioning tests.
4 comments:
Danny Biega dominated that combine. Stupid Harvard...
This is good to hear. That kind of size & strength sure is great to bring with you the first time you walk into the locker room. Needless to say, it will be up to Coach LaLonde to train that size & strength and turn him into a WCHA dominator like he has everyone else..... Sounds like there won't be much room in the crease when Sammy's in there. Good.
FYI: we're in the process of confirming Brittain as a guest on the show tonight.
He'd be right around 8PM.
www.thepipelineshow.com
- Guy
I'll post the link to the interview. Enjoyed the Paul Kelly interview.
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