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If you think drafting the right goalie in the NHL is difficult, imagine what major junior scouts have to deal with.
Their best prospects are 15 years old and could easily sprout up three or four inches by the time they become a regular on the team – if they ever make it in the first place.
The OHL Cup is on until March 28, with many of the best prospects for the league playing in the Toronto tournament.
While GMs and scouts don't necessarily see a deep pool of netminding talent available, one player they agree on at the top of the pile is Cruz Reznik of the Toronto Red Wings.
At 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, Reznik pretty much has the ideal frame to become a successful pro goaltender, but he also moves quickly and anticipates well. Playing in the world's best youth hockey system, the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL), Reznik knew he'd be facing excellent shooters every game, often against powerhouses such as the Don Mills Flyers or Toronto Titans – and that was just fine with him.
"There were a couple teams I was interested in playing for," Reznik said. "But mainly the Red Wings because we were going to be a mid-pack team, and as a goalie, it's important to face shots and help your team win games."
Indeed, while the Red Wings finished sixth in the regular season standings, an upset playoff win over the Toronto Jr. Canadiens helped them snag an automatic bid in the OHL Cup, avoiding the wild-card round. Reznik couldn't get his team a win in the opener against a fast and aggressive Halton Hurricanes squad, but he did make a number of high-danger saves to keep them in it as much as possible.
A big fan of Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy, Reznik caught the goaltending bug early on in life.
"Yeah, since I was four," he said. "On my house league team when I was little, we would rotate in net and whenever someone didn't want to go in, I would play. So I ended up playing goalie for about half the season."
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'Team Asia' Rules Toronto Youth HockeyThe Don Mills Flyers Under-16 hockey team is good. Really good. If we've been learning anything about the position lately, it's that starts are crucial during developmental years. Canada hasn't been producing as much talent in recent years and right now, only three Ontario goalies are in the top-30 of NHL wins this season: Mackenzie Blackwood, Jordan Binnington and Cam Talbot – and Talbot didn't even play in the OHL, going the NCAA route instead.
But with Carter George (LA) and Jack Ivankovic (2025 draft) showing well for Canada at the world juniors, perhaps that is changing. Youngsters William Camputaro and Matthew Humphries will be interesting to watch for the 2026 draft, and Reznik is coming up behind them. And while Reznik can now think about playing both OHL and NCAA, his immediate focus is in establishing himself in the 'O' before he starts to think about college possibilities.
Of course, there's still a long way to go and the Red Wings star makes sure to get his off-ice training in during the summer.
"Mainly just getting stronger and building my endurance," Reznik said. "This past summer, I also worked on expanding my mobility, which I hadn't really focused on before."
On the ice, he's learning to fight through screens and find pucks in traffic. It's always a process in getting to the next level, but with the tools Reznik has at his disposal, he'll be one to watch come draft day in the OHL.
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