The Alaska Aces got their first in-game glimpse of their presumptive No. 1 goaltender Wednesday night, and Niklas Lundstrom appeared to showcase tools necessary for success -- athleticism, economy of movement, situational awareness and sound fundamentals.
The 21-year-old rookie from Sweden also has a side that separates him from most masked men.
For one, unlike nearly all goalies, who often drink from a water bottle during stops in play, Lundstrom doesn't keep a water bottle atop his net during the hockey game.
"No, I don't want one,'' he said, smiling. "If I'm thirsty, I go to the bench.''
Aces coach Rob Murray said he also noticed Lundstrom prefers to be the last player on his team to hit the ice at the start of a period. Most goalies either like to lead their team out to the rink or just do it because that's the norm, at least in North America.
Lundstrom is a fifth-round draft pick of the St. Louis Blues, who assigned him to the Aces earlier this week. He stopped 28 shots in his Alaska debut, a 3-1 ECHL exhibition loss to the expansion Indy Fuel at Sullivan Arena.
The Blues sent the 6-foot-2, 187-pounder, whose previous pro experience all came in Sweden, to the Aces so he can play the majority of games and develop.
"We want to get him games, a lot of games,'' said former NHL goalie Ty Conklin of Anchorage, who is St. Louis' goalie development coach and in town to work with Alaska's netminders. "It's important for a young guy.
"From my observations, he reads the game well, he competes, he battles. Those are good ingredients.''
Lundstrom went to St. Louis' training camp and also attended camp with the Blues' American Hockey League affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, before he was sent here. He said he thought he performed well at the NHL and AHL camps, and understands a heavy playing schedule will speed his development. Just being in North America, he said, makes him seem closer to his dream.
"It's going to be fun to play over here,'' Lundstrom said. "It feels like I'm closer to the NHL.''
Even though the ECHL is two steps below the NHL, more than 500 players with ECHL stops on their rink resumes have played in the world's best league.
As Conklin pointed out, two-time Stanley Cup winning goalie Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings played more games in the ECHL (38) than the AHL (33) before becoming one of the best goalies in the world.
Sullivan Arena is the only venue in the ECHL that features Olympic-sized ice -- that's 15 feet wider than an NHL-sized rink, and common in Europe -- but Lundstrom said playing on the big ice again was an adjustment after his NHL and AHL training camps.
"It was pretty tough to go back to it,'' he said. "I like the American size because things happen so fast.''
Shuffling the deck
Indy scored two third-period goals, an even-strength marker by Rhett Bly and a power-play one-timer from Mathieu Brisebois to erase a 1-1 tie and rack its second straight 3-1 win and a sweep of the exhibition series. Former NHLer Mike Duco scored Indy's second-period goal.
Mac Carruth made 31 saves for Indy.
Alaska's lone goal came on a breakaway backhander from speedy rookie winger Justin Breton, who was in alone on Carruth from the red line in the second period. With the teams skating 4 on 4, he tucked a shot between Carruth's pads after taking a head-man pass from defenseman Brad Richard.
Richard, who was an ECHL All-Rookie pick for the Aces last season, returned to the club late Tuesday night after attending Chicago's AHL training camp. His arrival proved timely because Aces veteran defenseman Brad Cole suffered a lower-body injury in Tuesday's game and sat out Wednesday.
With Richard in the lineup, the Aces still only had five healthy defensemen, one short of the number that usually dress for a game. Tyler Currier played defense for the Aces on Tuesday and played forward Wednesday.
Count on Aces coach Rob Murray to be searching for blueliners ahead of the Aces' regular season-opener against the visiting Ontario Reign on Friday, Oct. 17 at Sullivan. That game opens a three-game series.
The Aces' two annual exhibition games, dubbed "Paint The Rink Pink,'' are fund-raisers for breast cancer awareness and treatment groups. The Aces donate gate receipts, after expenses are deducted, to local groups. In seven previous seasons, they have raised $425,000.
Reach reporter Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com and check out his blog at adn.com/hockey-blog
Indy 0 1 2 -- 3
Aces 0 1 0 -- 1
First Period -- None. Penalties -- None.
Second Period – 1, Aces, Breton (Richard), 6:54; 2, Indy, Duco, 8:48. Penalties – Currier, Aces (slashing), 6:29; Swindlehurst, Indy (holding), 6:29; Tesink, Aces (slashing), 10:00.
Third Period – 3, Indy, Bly, 5:13; 4, Indy, Brisebois (Perlini, Duco), 6:50 (pp). Penalties – Johnson, Aces (hooking), 6:34.
Shots on goal – Indy 4-13-12—29. Aces 7-16-9—32.
Power-play Opportunities – Indy 1 of 2. Aces 0 of 0.
Goalies – Indy, Carruth, (32 shots-31 saves). Aces, Lundstrom, (29-26).
A – 3,537 (6,399). T – 2:09.
Referee – Andrew Wilk. Linesmen – Steve Glines, Josh Ellis.