E-Mac's 2011 NHL Entry Draft Top 120: Christopher Gibson #62

By Eldon MacDonald

62. Christopher Gibson - “Mr. Finnish Canadian” - G - Finland

Vitals: Size - 6’1”, 198 lb.; Shoots left; Born 27-Dec-92 - Karkkila, FIN
Team: Chicoutimi, QMJHL
2010-11 Stats: 37-4-2.42-.920 + QMJHL playoffs - 4-0-5.20-.865

Rankings:
29 - The Hockey News per TSN
42 - Bob MacKenzie's June Poll of Scouts
43 - hfboards Readers’ Poll
49 - NHL Central Scouting's Final Rankings (2nd North American goalie)
50 - Christopher Ralph's Top 210
62 - E-Mac's 2011 NHL Entry Draft Top 120
Draft result:
49 - Los Angeles Kings

So what do you get when you cross an English martial arts instructor (who happens to be black) with a Finnish au pair, a Grant Fuhr or a Miikka Kirprusoff? The answer is neither, silly, you get a Christopher Gibson. He is Finnish but he has been over here long enough now that he is more Canadian than a lot of Canadians. After all, how many people reading this can say they spent a year in a small village in the middle of the Prairies where the only language you are likely to hear is English (Wilcox, Saskatchewan where Christopher played for the Notre Dame Hounds and won a national midget title) followed by two years in the heart of “Bluet Country” (Chicoutimi, Quebec of the QMJHL) where the language spoken on the streets is French - not many.

Christopher is a highly rated goalie for the upcoming draft - No 2 North American goalie by NHL Central Scouting, No 2 overall goalie by the goalie guru, Jerry Shields - http://www.goalierankings.com/ and No 49 overall by Bob MacKenzie in his January poll of scouts. He had a very good year with a so-so Chicoutimi team where he posted a record of 37-4-2.42-.920. However, his season ended on a rather sour note as Christopher was simply not that good when he posted a record of only - 4-0-5.20-.865 - in the playoffs. This will not likely affect Christopher that much as his competition is not that stiff but it probably means he will be competing with Samu Perhonen (who also had a lack luster end of the season at the U18’s) for third goalie chosen overall after Magnus Hellberg and John Gibson rather than with the other two for number one.

So if you are looking for the type of driven, competitive goalie that you might expect from the son of a black belter, Christopher Gibson is your man. He plays a butterfly style and shows the decent size, agility and athleticism that most team’s are looking for these days. He will likely go of the boards in the second or third rounds depending on how urgent the teams feel their goaltending needs are these days.