46 replies to this topic

[cusimano_brothers]

In Brampton's Third Round Series vs. Belleville (Series G East), McCollum's totals were:

Game #3: 33 shots (8-15-10), 27 saves in a 6-2 Belleville win. Brampton leads the series 2-1.

[cusimano_brothers]

In Brampton's Third Round Series vs. Belleville (Series G East), McCollum's totals were:

Game #4: 20 shots (8-7-5), 17 saves in a 4-3 Brampton win. Brampton leads the series 3-1.

[cusimano_brothers]

In Brampton's Third Round Series vs. Belleville (Series G East), McCollum's totals were:

Game #5: 37 shots (5-12-5-5-10), 34 saves in a 3-2 Belleville double overtime win. Brampton leads the series 3-2.

[Casey]

Kid's impressive. Wouldn't he be the Wings' first success at growing a goalie in years?

Edited by Casey, 24 April 2009 - 05:50 PM.

[cusimano_brothers]

In Brampton's Third Round Series vs. Belleville (Series G East), McCollum's totals were:

Game #6: 30 shots (13-11-6), 26 saves in a 7-4 Brampton win. Brampton wins the series 4-2.

[ComradeWasabi]

Buddy just gave up six goals on 25 shots to lose to Windsor 10-1. I figured Brampton would lose this one but dang.

[WingsAndSpits]

Hey got lit up in that game, which I am VERY happy about as a Spits fan.. not so much as a Wings fan... It is important to keep in mind, though, that Windsor has been ranked 1 or 2 in Canada all year, and has a VERY good team.. We'll see what McCollum can do in Brampton on Friday.. Ken Holland, and the rest of the Wings brass were in attendence in Windsor last night however, along with the goaltending coach and Kris Draper...

[cusimano_brothers]

In Brampton's Fourth Round Series vs. Brampton (Series H), for the OHL Championship, McCollum's totals were:

Game #1: 42 shots (22-12-8), 37 saves in a 5-3 Windsor win. Windsor leads the series 2-0.

[cusimano_brothers]

In Brampton's Fourth Round Series vs. Brampton (Series H), for the OHL Championship, McCollum's totals were:

Game #3: 34 shots (12-13-9), 32 saves in a 4-2 Brampton win. Windsor leads the series 2-1.

[Aussie_Wing]

I really, really rate this kid.

For all I care Howard can be moved on at seasons end, don't see him in our future plans. I do with this kid.

[cusimano_brothers]

In Brampton's Fourth Round Series vs. Brampton (Series H), for the OHL Championship, McCollum's totals were:

Game #4: 36 shots (12-15-9), 32 saves in a 4-1 Windsor win. Windsor leads the series 3-1.

From:
Toronto Star.

"After the game, Brampton's biggest concern was the health of goaltender Thomas McCollum, who was injured with 2:57 left in the game after a collision with Spitfires forward Dale Mitchell, who appeared to have been tripped by a Brampton defenceman.

"I don't know how that's not a five-minute penalty," said Battalion head coach Stan Butler. "For some reason in this series (the referees) just put their whistles away and go back to 1970s standards."

McCollum was tended to by the Battalion trainer before leaving the game. When asked about the status of the Detroit Red Wings prospect, all Butler would say was, "I'm not a doctor."

[cusimano_brothers]

In Brampton's Fourth Round Series vs. Brampton (Series H), for the OHL Championship, McCollum's totals were:

Game #5: 36 shots (9-12-8-7), 34 saves in a 2-1 Windsor overtime win. Windsor wins the series 4-1.

[titanium2]

From Day 2 of Prospect Camp 2009:

"Thomas McCollum's struggles to remain in his stance and "stay big" are simply the results of trying to compensate for a slightly sprained knee. He and Pearce play a very similar hybrid game in which they make their 6-foot-1 frames look much bigger by placing their gloves and blockers in front, preferring to squeeze pucks that would sneak through their elbows instead of bringing their entire arms back to ****** straggling shots, and they keep their torsos upright in the butterfly, ably using their sticks to stifle five-holes of various sizes (Pearce plays with a much wider, Luongo-style butterfly, while McCollum prefers to flare his pads and skates out a bit and close the five hole if possible). At this point, Pearce looks a bit more well-rounded in terms of his ability to control rebounds, but the fact that he's two years older than McCollum plays into that equation.

McCollum tended net about 40% of the time on Wednesday, with Packwood subbing and showing that his compact frame gave way to the kind of first-shot-is-your-last-shot rebound control that will at least turn a head or two. He's out of junior options and looking for his next shot to keep playing hockey, and he understands that not just Red Wings scouts inhabit the stands."

( http://blog.mlive.co...p_09_day_1.html )

[titanium2]

[titanium2]

http://griffinshocke...l?player_id=143

Lives in Cambria, N.Y….Best friend in hockey is Denis Hollenstein…Greatest hockey memory is being drafted in the first round by the Red Wings…Hockey idols as a youth were Brad May and Dominik Hasek…Greatest influence on his career was Brian Dowd…Plans to get into broadcasting after his playing career…First job was as a scorekeeper for roller hockey games…Most exciting place he’s visited is Finland…Played baseball, soccer, basketball and roller hockey growing up…Favorite food is Italian…Favorite music artists are Nickelback and Lady Antebellum…Favorite movie is Lucky Number Slevin…Favorite TV show is House…Favorite web site is nhl.com…Favorite author is J.K. Rowling…Favorite vacation spot is Muskokas, Ontario…Enjoys movies, golf and watching comedy.

[titanium2]

Good video.

http://www.mlive.com...re_ahead_f.html

[zettie85]

Good video.

http://www.mlive.com...re_ahead_f.html

Why was he sent down to Toledo?

[titanium2]

http://blog.mlive.co...amp_assess.html

2010 Prospect Camp Review

38 Thomas McCollum:

Pluses: I talked to Thomas about the fact that the NHL's restricting its goaltenders to more "form-fitting" gear for this upcoming season on Tuesday, and he told me that he'd already been measured for said gear, and would end up losing something like 3/4" off the top of his thigh rise.

Why? Because he's frickin' huge at 6'2" (and a half) and 210 lbs, and possesses a body that just takes up an enormous amount of net, complimented by an impeccable set of technical skills, the goaltender's perfect "I'll just focus on stopping the next shot" mentality, and an off-ice work ethic and personality that are unmatched. He's a hard-working, plain old nice kid who plays goal with skill, style, subtlety and happens to be so dang big that he can form an inverted "T" with his legs splayed from post to post without any of the "cheating" that's going to cost some goaltenders half a foot's worth of leg pads this fall. Glove and blocker are superb, stick skills are great, and he's got superb balance.

Minuses: He's still digesting all the technical information Jim Bedard's imparting to him, so he can play rather inconsistently when he's thinking about stopping a shot instead of just reacting. He has yet to internalize some of that information. He also can revert back to his fantastically athletic but raw form, and when he does so, holes open up. He tends to allow his glove and blocker to rest on his thigh rises, and that can blunt his hands' effectiveness.

Potential “upside”: Jimmy Howard II if he keeps internalizing the lessons he's learned.

[titanium2]

From their first prospects tournament game 9/11 in which the Wings won 6 to 1.

http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/a2y/comments/red_wings_prospect_tournament_win_lopsided_in_more_ways_than_one/

As for the goaltender who stopped 17 of 18 shots against, McCollum reminds me of Jimmy Howard so much that it’s scary because he’s still trying to process all the lessons Jim Bedard teaches him and make his incredibly technically apt game nearly unconscious. He’s a very sound and strong natural athlete, but his technique’s still got holes in it, for lack of a better term, where pucks can sneak through, where his skate sticks out from the post instead of sealing it, when he stops the puck with the blocker and it rolls inward and toward his body instead of away from the net, when his glove doesn’t quite snap shut and the puck slithers out and down and he has to scramble and dive and twist back like Dominik Hasek (though he’s certainly not nearly as flexible, he is as tenacious) because he thought about how he should have stopped that puck and is now thinking about how he should cover the rebound. It’s going to take a year or two for him to truly process all the information he’s still learning, and if he can take that big brain of his and internalize what he’s learned and make conscious thought at least subconscious, all while weathering the storms and remaining even-keeled instead of worrying about the pucks that got by him (see: Manny Legace), Thomas can and will become an NHL goaltender. He just needs to think his way through it.

[titanium2]

38 Thomas McCollum: Second in maturity to Lashoff and unparalleled in terms of his level-headeness and plain old “nice guy” factor, the affable and big (6’2” and at least 200 lbs) goaltender really reminds me of Jimmy Howard at this stage because, as I’ve stated before, he’s still trying to process the lessons he’s learning from Jim Bedard and make them unconscious. He still has a tendency to crouch down too low in his stance (like Howard) and try to rest his glove and blocker on his thigh rises (like Howard), limiting his mobility and opening up holes that he can’t recover to cover quickly enough, and he is prone to the occasional softy because he wants to lean his legs over the goalposts instead of on them (a bit like Howard) and sometimes gets beaten to the far post, but he’s a very good puckhandler and mostly an excellent fundamental goaltender who is extremely competitive, extremely combative when he’s on his back (he grew up watching Domink Hasek, after all) or on his side, he’s patient and poised and moves across the net very, very well. He has a great blocker hand, a deft and daring glove, his rebound control is excellent and he covers the bottom of the net both due to his size and due to his near impeccable butterfly stance. When he’s in the butterfly and upright, that’s where his size comes into play most often, and his huge torso presents a real wall for shooters to stare at.

Put simply? The young man with Bullwinkle on the backplate of his mask has all the tools and all the work ethic and mental outlook necessary to become a very big and very effective NHL goaltender one day, and he needs to take another step in Grand Rapids this season. I’m glad they’ve brought Joey MacDonald in to help Thomas along, because his biggest flaw is that he still gets caught thinking about how he’s supposed to make a save. Once he processes all that information and starts making it subconscious he’s going to be fine and he’s going establish himself as someone you’ll see in the NHL at some point sooner than later, though the Wings will of course bring the 21-year-old along very slowly.

http://www.kuklaskor..._for_main_camp/