| STORIES |
- Saturday, June 21, 2008: Red Wings draft goalie McCollum
- Monday, October 6, 2008: High hopes for ‘bonus draft picks’
- Monday, January 12, 2009: Not drafted, but no slouch
- Monday, February 2, 2009: Rufenach must refine free-wheeling game
- Monday, April 13, 2009: McCollum’s junior swan song?
- Tuesday, March 2, 2010: Growing pains for McCollum
- Saturday, September 11, 2010: McCollum aims to leave rookie woes behind
- Wednesday, February 9, 2011: 2010-11 mid-season: New Euro Twins rise higher
- Wednesday, April 6, 2011: Larsson still needs ‘another step up’
- Thursday, June 9, 2011: 2010-11 end-of-season: Smith rules the roost
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| 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%).
|
2010-11:
- Appeared in 60 minutes with the Red Wings in the NHL pre-seaon (2.00 GAA, .929 Sv%).
- Started season in AHL with Grand Rapids and had a decent start (5-3-2, 2.57 GAA, .896 Sv%).
- Things went off the rails in December, with Jordan Pearce taking over as starter.
- Ended up splitting time between Grand Rapids and ECHL’s Toledo, starting 55 total games.
- Posted decent ECHL numbers (23 starts, 7-5-2, 2.76 GAA, .909 Sv%, 3 SO).
- Final AHL numbers were nasty looking (22 starts, 6-12-2, 3.33 Sv%, .879, 1 SO).
- Earned NHL call-ups several times in emergency injury conditions to serve as a backup.
- Forced to make NHL debut on March 31 in mop-up duty (15 minutes/three goals/eight shots).
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2011-12:
- Started season in ECHL and spent most of first half with Toledo (6-6-2, 2.62 GAA, .909 Sv%).
- Saw bulk of his AHL time in second half with Grand Rapids (11-16, 3.49 GAA, .891 Sv%).
- Called up for Red Wings’ brief playoff run to serve as a Black Ace (spare who doesn’t play).
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| SCOUT COMMENTS |
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“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 … 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) … “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) … “A lot of young goaltenders go through struggles when they first start, but Tommy has all the tools. He’s excellent technically, moves well, he’s big. In practice he works hard at preparing. His numbers should be way better but, for whatever reason, they’re not..” — Griffins head coach Curt Fraser (January 2011, MLive.com) … “We need Tommy McCollum to be better and he’s got to develop quicker. As a goaltender, you have be patient because they take some time, and Tommy has had a tough time, but there’s still potential there. He’s an extremely talented goaltender and he needs to have a big year.” — McNamara (April 2011, MLive.com).
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| STRENGTHS |
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Known for his outstanding glove and sharp reflexes … Positionally-sound … Above-average size … Squares himself to shooters and leaves little to shoot at when he’s on top of his game … Butterfly style … Competitive … Tracks pucks well through traffic.
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| WEAKNESSES |
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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 |
| Something has gone wrong in McCollum’s development. By now, McCollum should be a starting-caliber AHL goaltender, but he’s struggled to become just an adequate backup. With the fiery and fast-rising Petr Mrazek ready to turn pro, McCollum needs make a statement in 2012-13 — his final season of waiver exemption — to keep himself in the organization’s future plans. |
Player statistics powered by www.eliteprospects.com
| Season |
Team |
League |
GP |
GAA |
SVS% |
|
Playoffs |
GP |
GAA |
SVS% |
| 2005-2006 |
Wheatfield Jr. Blades |
EmJHL |
24 |
4.52 |
- |
| |
|
|
|
|
| 2006-2007 |
Guelph Storm |
OHL |
55 |
2.39 |
.918 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
USA U18 |
WJC-18 |
1 |
4.05 |
.875 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| 2007-2008 |
Guelph Storm |
OHL |
51 |
2.50 |
.914 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| 2008-2009 |
Guelph Storm |
OHL |
31 |
2.23 |
.926 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
Brampton Battalion |
OHL |
23 |
1.94 |
.929 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
USA U20 |
WJC-20 |
5 |
2.83 |
.860 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| 2009-2010 |
Grand Rapids Griffins |
AHL |
32 |
3.48 |
.881 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
Toledo Walleye |
ECHL |
4 |
4.48 |
.864 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| 2010-2011 |
Toledo Walleye |
ECHL |
23 |
2.76 |
.909 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
Grand Rapids Griffins |
AHL |
22 |
3.33 |
.879 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
Detroit Red Wings |
NHL |
1 |
12.00 |
.625 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| 2011-2012 |
Grand Rapids Griffins |
AHL |
27 |
3.54 |
.890 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
Toledo Walleye |
ECHL |
15 |
2.62 |
.909 |
| |
|
|
|
|
Player statistics © www.eliteprospects.com
