Red Wings Central prospects

THOMAS McCOLLUM

Position:	Goaltender
Catches:	Left
Vitals:	6'2'' / 210 lbs.
Birthdate:	December 7, 1989
Hometown:	Sanborn, New York
Acquired:	Detroit's first choice (30th overall) in the 2008 draft
CSS Ranking:	1st North American Goaltender (2008)
Contract:	2012
RWC Says:	No. 1 Goaltender

STORIES
June 21, 2008: Red Wings draft goalie McCollum Sept. 14, 2008: McCollum all smiles with Red Wings April 13, 2009: McCollum's major junior swan song? March 2, 2010: Growing pains for McCollum

AWARDS
2006-07 OHL All-Star Classic (Team West) 2006-07 OHL All-Rookie Team 2006-07 OHL Third-Team All-Star 2007-08 OHL goaltender of the month (December) 2007-08 CHL Top Prospects Game (Team Fuhr/Anderson) 2008-09 OHL goaltender of the month (January) 2008-09 OHL Second-Team All-Star 2008-09 OHL goaltender of the year award runner-up (37 voting points behind Mike Murphy)

HISTORY
2006-07: Burst onto OHL scene with strong rookie campaign in Guelph (26 wins, 2.39 GAA, .918 Sv%). Set Guelph Storm franchise record with five shutouts. Play slipped in February and March and struggled in post-season (0-4 record). Allowed four goals in a loss in his only start for the U.S. at the world under-18 championship in May.
2007-08: Got off to slow start in OHL sophomore year in Guelph, posting bloated numbers early. Improved toward end of season to post solid numbers (25 wins, 2.64 GAA, .918 Sv%). Saved best for 10-game post-season run (5-5, 1.91 GAA, .937 Sv%).
2008-09: Signed three-year entry-level contract with Red Wings in October. Started season with Guelph, but dealt to Brampton halfway through the campaign. Struggled at WJC as U.S. starter, posting ugly numbers (3-2, 2.83 GAA, .860 Sv%). Part of U.S. meltdown in WJC quarterfinal loss to Slovakia (four goals on 18 shots). Led OHL in shutouts (7), second in GAA (2.11), second in wins (34) and second in Sv% (.927). Led Brampton to OHL final, but lost in five games to Memorial Cup champion Windsor.
2009-10: Turned pro in the AHL with Grand Rapids while still just 19 years old. Stopped 53 of first 55 shots in his first two AHL starts and then saw his season fall apart. Finished with some ugly numbers (3.58 GAA, .881 Sv%) in 32 starts on a non-playoff team. Struggled even more in a brief four-game ECHL assignment to Toledo (4.48 GAA, .864 Sv%).

SCOUT COMMENTS
"No. 1 attribute is his net position — it's second to none, there are rarely any holes and he has a great butterfly. When he is challenging and at the top of his game he is very tough to beat. He has good net coverage and he is very competitive; capable of making the big saves for his team. He handles the puck well and his play has gotten better over the course of the year by leaps and bounds. He is definitely one of those franchise type of goalies in the future. You can see that his team is very confident in front of him and he can see through screens very well. In saying all of this, I rarely see him out of position." — Central Scouting goaltender scout Al Jensen (June 2008) ... "I think it's time for him to move on. Of course, it's how he (performs) at camp and things like how he's adjusting to the pro life, but we definitely have a plan for him to be in the American League next year." — Red Wings director of scouting Joe McDonnell (April 2009) .... "He's adapting, he's working hard, but he's a bit of a work in progress. He'll be fine, he's got a ton of ability, but it just hasn't gone the way he expected it to go." — Grand Rapids Griffins general manager Bob McNamara (March 2010).

SCOUT COMMENTS

"No. 1 attribute is his net position — it's second to none, there are rarely any holes and he has a great butterfly. When he is challenging and at the top of his game he is very tough to beat. He has good net coverage and he is very competitive; capable of making the big saves for his team. He handles the puck well and his play has gotten better over the course of the year by leaps and bounds. He is definitely one of those franchise type of goalies in the future. You can see that his team is very confident in front of him and he can see through screens very well. In saying all of this, I rarely see him out of position." — Central Scouting goaltender scout Al Jensen (June 2008) ... "I think it's time for him to move on. Of course, it's how he (performs) at camp and things like how he's adjusting to the pro life, but we definitely have a plan for him to be in the American League next year." — Red Wings director of scouting Joe McDonnell (April 2009) .... "He's adapting, he's working hard, but he's a bit of a work in progress. He'll be fine, he's got a ton of ability, but it just hasn't gone the way he expected it to go." — Grand Rapids Griffins general manager Bob McNamara (March 2010).

STRENGTHS
Known for his outstanding glove and sharp reflexes ... Positionally-sound ... Above-average size ... Square goalie leaves little to shoot at ... Butterfly style ... Competitive ... Tracks pucks well through traffic ... Has an air of confidence and calm in the net.

WEAKNESSES
Lateral movement needs work ... Struggles when forced to make athletic, acrobatic stops ... Some have questioned his mental game ... Needs to show more confidence in his terrific natural ability and not let bad goals, bad games and other pressures bother him.

PROJECTION
McCollum is the best goaltending prospect the Red Wings have had since ... well, since Jimmy Howard. He'll probably follow the Jimmy Howard path to the NHL, too, meaning he has a handful of years left in the AHL with Grand Rapids. He'll need them, if his rocky rookie campaign in 2009-10 was any indication. McCollum needs to get his confidence back in 2010-11.

STATISTICS
			REGULAR SEASON					PLAYOFFS
SEASON	TEAM	LEAGUE	GP	W-L-T	SO	GAA	SPCT	GP	W-L	SO	GAA	SPCT
2006-07	Guelph	OHL	55	26-18-10	5	2.39	.918	4	0-4	0	4.37	.890
	United States	W-U18	1	0-1-0	0	4.05	.875	—	—	—	—	—
2007-08	Guelph	OHL	45	25-17-6	4	2.50	.914	10	5-5	1	1.91	.936
2008-09	Guelph	OHL	31	17-10-4	3	2.23	.926	—	—	—	—	—
	Brampton	OHL	23	17-6-0	4	1.94	.929	21	13-8	1	2.90	.898
	U.S.	W-U20	5	3-2	0	2.83	.860	—	—	—	—	—
2009-10	Toledo	ECHL	4	2-1-0	0	4.48	.864	—	—	—	—	—
	Grand Rapids	AHL	32	10-16-2	0	3.48	.881	—	—	—	—	—

The next wave

RWC's top 10 prospects (2009-10 preliminary)

01	F	Tomas Tatar »	Grand Rapids (AHL)
02	D	Jakub Kindl »	Grand Rapids (AHL)
03	D	Brendan Smith »	Wisconsin (NCAA)
04	F	Gustav Nyquist »	Maine (NCAA)
05	F	Jan Mursak »	Grand Rapids (AHL)
06	G	Thomas McCollum »	Grand Rapids (AHL)
07	F	Joakim Andersson »	Frolunda (SEL)
08	F	Mattias Ritola »	Grand Rapids (AHL)
09	F	Landon Ferraro »	Red Deer (WHL)
10	D	Brian Lashoff »	Grand Rapids (AHL)

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The next wave

RWC's top 10 prospects (2009-10 preliminary)

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