Washington Capitals: Three Takeaways From Ilya Samsonov’s Rookie Season
By CJ Witt
He’s JUST not quite ready to be a starter
As great as Samsonov’s start was, this is what you look at with younger NHL goalies. Can they handle being an everyday starter? After his great start that we just mentioned, his last ten appearances were not the greatest display we’ve seen.
Was that all his fault? No, the Capitals team defense has been a question mark all season and Holtby struggled with it as well.
Still, in his last ten appearances in net Samsonov had a 4-4-1 record, his GAA spiked up to 3.15 and his Save Percentage took a tumble down to .898%.
It’s a lot easier as a goalie to come into the best league in the world and have your goalie partner be one of the best in the business. You come in, you do your job and you don’t have a ton of pressure on you. If you struggle you have that security blanket. The pressure of the team is not on your shoulders alone.
This is not an insult to say Samsonov isn’t quite ready to be a starter. Most 23-year-old guys are not.
For Samsonov, this is what this season was about for him. At least from an outside looking in position like we have. Put him in the NHL and see how he does. He did very well. But he stumbled as the season went on. That’s fine, and to be expected.
If Samsonov is forced into being a starter sooner than most of us would like it would be a good idea, if you can afford it, to sign a veteran goaltender to sit behind him. Someone who’s been around long enough to help out the young Russian and if needed, can step in a maybe give the team some quality starts.
As great as his start was, his finish just makes you hesitate giving him a starters job. That job is likely not far off, but it’s not quite here either.