Jonas Gustavsson, the highly recruited goaltender and proposed savior of the Toronto Maple Leafs' franchise, made his North American hockey debut yesterday in Toronto's rookie tournament game against Pittsburgh. After a 35-save performance in the Leafs' 3-1 victory, the Canadian media began falling over themselves in a race to declare Gustavsson's performance a "near masterpiece".
Gustavsson ‘Nearly Unbeatable’ in North American Debut
Though it's difficult to use the word "clutch" in reference to the first game of rookie camp, Gustavsson's performance came close.
He got a big hand from the crowd of 3,755 at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium, stopping a flurry of Penguins shots – many while on his rear end – about midway through the second period.
"I didn't mean to play like that, but sometimes things happen," said Gustavsson. "You get in strange positions. You have to fight for every puck."
Pension Plan Puppets has a bit more...down to earth analysis of Gustavsson’s debut:
One goal on 37 shots isn't bad at all. He wasn't challenged all that much during the game, only having to make 2 or 3 good saves, but he did what he had to against a Penguins team that couldn't take a good shot to save their lives. The one goal he allowed was on a ridiculous deflection off of a shot from the point, so I don't really fault him that much on that goal. For a goaltender of his massive size, he is incredibly fast (much moreso than Justin Pogge). His cross-crease play is incredible, and I think it will serve him well in the NHL. Potential starting goaltender.
While PPP has a pretty good outlook on a game against rookies, this is certainly going to be the first in a long line of hyperbolic exclamations among the media and fans up North. Puck Daddy already has the inside track on just what this great performance means for this upcoming season:
The NHL immediately announced that Gustavsson had won this year’s Calder, Vezina and Hart, and that Pierre McGuire will rename his annual list the “All-Gustavsson Team.”
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