Scott Wedgewood - The New Jersey Devils Third Round Pick in 2010 NHL Draft

by John Fischer on Jun 26, 2010 2:29 PM EDT in Prospects - Devils & Otherwise

The New Jersey Devils had a mid-to-late third round pick and they have spent it on a goaltender. My initial reaction is that the scouts must have seen something in him.

Scott Wedgewood - G - 6'1" 195 lbs. - CSS Rank: 19 (N.A. Goalies) - Born in: Etobicoke, ON (Source: NHL.com)
2009-10 Team: Plymouth Whalers - 18 GP - 3.26 GAA - 90.9 Sv% - 1 SO

Ranked 19th among all North American goalies, falling 6 spots from mid-term, by Central Scouting Services, the Devils appear to have gone rather off the board with this pick. This is the first goaltender drafted by the Devils since Jeff Frazee in 2005. There's nothing from CSS at NHL.com about Wedgewood, so for a taste of what some say about the goaltender, here's this post from The Junior Report:

Wedgewood and the Whalers clashed with the Spitfires again in what would be the Whalers final game of their season. On the verge of elimination, the Brampton teen expierenced something most goaltenders would never have to in their junior career: Windsor’s talented offence poured on 73 shots – Wedge carried his team into the overtime and allowed only three goals, but lost 3-2. The Spits went on to win the Memorial Cup.

While it's clear Wedgewood wasn't always the starter in Plymouth, he earned time playing for the Whalers in the postseason and had, at least, one huge performance. Perhaps he will get more time in the OHL next season?

Update: Pete Krupsky emailed me this article regarding said "huge performance" at MLive. It's a good read regarding how Wedgewood stepped up. Thank you, Pete. The 70 save performance certainly got the attention of a lot of scouts.

From this article by Pete Krupsky at MLive, there is a quote from Kyle Woodlief of Red Line Report that gives a summary of Scott Wedgewood:

"We've never been big Wedgewood fans, mainly because of poor rebound control and a hyperactive style. And playing behind workhorse Hackett hasn't helped his cause. But we definitely took note of this one. A few years back, a seldom-used rookie was forced into a big game situation on national TV and stole the game making 50-plus saves. That rookie was London's Steve Mason, and we all know where he ended up.

Again, drafting goaltenders is always risky and the Devils, well, did just that. I'm not a fan of drafting goaltenders, especially given this team's history at it. At 84th overall, it's not exactly an early pick and the prospects start turning out to be more risky anyway. Hopefully, he does get more playing time in 2010-11 (Update: Matt Hackett should be going to the AHL for 10-11, so Wedgewood has a chance at the starting job), works on his rebound control and positioning, and gives the Devils proof that they didn't blow their third round pick in 2010.

I may update this later if I find out anything more on Wedgewood. All the same, I welcome him to the New Jersey Devils organization and wish him luck in the future. Please leave your thoughts about this selection in the comments.

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Comments

An interesting pick. Surprising, to say the least. It’s hard to comment on it since there’s so little information about him.

by brodeur on Jun 26, 2010 2:42 PM EDT reply actions

I would have went with Conz or Grubauer but he’s a good pick.

Piece by piece we are slowly turning into the 2000 Devils team, anyone up for the A-Line: The Sequel?

by RolliePollieKovy on Jun 26, 2010 3:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Still wish we got Pickard. The kid would have been a big help down the road after the marty retirement years. Idk I feel we should have jumped on him when we had the chance. I don’t fully get that move.

by Devilman3030 on Jun 27, 2010 8:28 AM EDT reply actions

As someone who saw nearly every game Wedgewood played this season, I think I can offer a bit of insight here. Wedgewood didn’t really earn playing time in the playoffs, it just so happened that Matt Hackett flipped out a couple times and got ejected from games, and was suspended for Game 4 of the Whalers-Spits series. Hackett was widely regarded as the best goalie in the OHL (even Spits fans acknowledge this), which made Wedgewood’s starts few and far between. When he did play, he was every bit as good as (and often better than) Hackett. And then there was that Game 4 against Windsor, where he took the Whalers on his back and carried them to overtime, making 70 saves and putting up the best goaltending performance I had ever seen at any level of hockey. The degree to which the Whalers were outmatched by the Spits would be difficult to overstate, and he got the Whalers within a post of winning that game.

The Whalers drafted the #1 goalie prospect in the 2009 OHL Draft, Matt Mahalak, brother of current Whaler RJ Mahalak, thinking that having his brother on the team would help get him signed. Mahalak is an American who planned on going the NCAA route, but the Whalers were able to get him signed for this upcoming season.

That said, Wedgewood is definitely going to be the #1 this season, barring injury.

Wedgewood’s performance against Windsor was so incredible that the crowd of Spitfire fans (the Whalers’ arena holds about 4,000 people, and the sellout crowd had right around 3,000 Spitfire fans, so their presence was unavoidable) gave him a standing ovation. Spitfire fans make Flyer fans look like the epitome of class, so for them to give Wedgewood a standing ovation was nearly as remarkable as Wedgewood’s performance itself.

Wedgewood is a great locker room guy, works his tail off, and accepted a backup role for two seasons without making a fuss. The ultimate team guy.

Having personally seen most of the North American draft-eligible goalie prospects this past season, the only one I would have taken ahead of Wedgewood is Jack Campbell. My Avs drafted Calvin Pickard, and I’d much rather they spend that pick on someone else and take Wedgewood in the 3rd…before you guys, obviously.

Interestingly enough, having seen Clermont several times, I had him as the #3 best goalie prospect in the draft, and in a mock draft on another forum, I took Wedgewood in the 2nd round and Clermont in the 5th.

Finally, with the NTDP in my back yard, I attended quite a few of their games this past season, and I can tell you that you’re going to absolutely LOVE both Merrill and Johns. Merrill is a two-way guy in the Niedermayer mold, while Johns…well…I saw him lay the most devastating clean hit that I saw anyone lay the whole season. Knocked both of them out cold. Johns woke up and gimped off the ice, and returned later that same game. The kid is tough as nails, plays with a huge mean streak, and still has plenty of potential left. He’s going to make the CCHA miserable for everyone Notre Dame plays (especially if Tinordi ends up reporting there as well).

Incredible draft for you guys.

by DetAvs on Jun 28, 2010 1:03 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs