E-Mac's 2011 NHL Entry Draft Top 120: John Gibson #38

By Eldon MacDonald

38. John Gibson - “The Shot Buster” - G - USA

Vitals: Size - 6’3”, 205 lb.; Shoots left; Born 14-Jul-93 - Pittsburg, PA
Team: USA U 18, USHL
2010-11 Stats: 32-1-2.64-.918 + U18 6-0-2.34-.926

Rankings:
23 - Future Considerations Final Rankings

27 - The Hockey News per TSN

27 - Craig Button's Top 30 of 8-Jun-11
30 - Kirk Luedeke's Top 50
30 - Dean Millard -The Pipeline Show Top 30

37 - Bob MacKenzie's June Poll of Scouts

38 - E-Mac's 2011 NHL Entry Draft Top 120
40 - hfboards Readers’ Poll
46 - NHL Central Scouting's Final Rankings (1st North American goalie)
47 - Christopher Ralph's Top 210
95 - Cory Pronman's Top 100
Draft result:
39 - Anaheim Ducks

Who ya gonna call??? (Ghostbusters was and still is one of my favourite movies).

Team USA U18 Coach, Ron Rolston, knew who he was gonna call at the U18’s - it was that big-time shot buster himself, John Gibson. And he needed to be a big-time shot buster plus a game-on-the-line goaltender because most of the games were so close that there was no margin for error:

• USA over Switzerland 2-1 - winner scored in the last five minutes
• USA over Russia 4-3 - winner scored in last 30 seconds
• USA over Canada 5-4 - winner scored in overtime
• USA over Sweden 4-3 - winner scored in overtime for the Gold Medal

And make the right call, he did, because John Gibson was not only the winning goalie for all the games but he was also named as the tournament’s best goaltender and one of Team USA’s three best players.

I am going to describe John Gibson and if it comes out sounding identical to Magnus Hellberg, Gibson’s main rival for being drafted # 1 goalie in the draft, it is because they are very similar. Here are John’s main attributes:

1. Size - Talk to any scout and it is all about size these days and John has it at 6’3, 205 lb.
2. Calmness - John has a calmness and serenity in his game that permits his team mates to concentrate on their own game.
3. Positioning - John plays big in the net and is very sound technically.
4. Agility - He has the athleticism and the quickness laterally to cover a lot of net.

Al Jensen, NHL Central Scouting’s goaltending scout, probably said it best when he told NHL.com, "John has great net coverage and size and is very strong. He's sound technically, moves very well laterally, and is controlled. He's calm, not busy."

Where John goes’s in the draft is more a reflection of a team’s goalie needs than him. When the first team that calls out the name of a goalie, it is likely gonna be that of the “The Shot Buster”, John Gibson.