New Jersey rookie update: Where are they now? Goalie edition

People often say goaltending is voodoo, so what’s a rookie goalie to do when he’s stuck with the voodoo king? Let’s look back at some of the goalies in the Devils’ rookie pool in the past and see what happened to them.

Ali Ahonen

Profile: Former first-round draft pick who has never played in the NHL, but has received free bench seats several times to watch Marty’s games up close

Long Post: Ari Ahonen was a first-round (27th overall) draft pick of the New Jersey Devils in 1999, right at the top of the list. If you were anything like me at the time, you might have questioned why the Devils took a goalie in the first round of the 1999 draft when Martin Brodeur was still in his prime and starting 70+ games per season. I don’t really know how to answer that question, except that the next player drafted after Ahonen to play at least 400 games in the NHL was Mike Commodore, who was also drafted by the Devils in the second round, 42nd overall. So, this wasn’t a very deep draft in a late first/early second round draft.

Aronen played five years for the Albany River Rats, never achieving great results, but he revealed that he was called up by the New Jersey Devils as an emergency backup at least five times. New York Post 2004 article by Mark Everson. The article quotes Ahonen:

“The longer you’re here, the more you want to play.”

Ahonen was called up at least once more the following year but never played in an NHL game. His career would move to the Liiga, where Ahonen won the first NHL MVP award in league history. All three teams Helsinki Region WikipediaAhonen’s best years came with KalPa, with his best season coming in 2011-2012, where he posted a 2.13 GAA and .916 SV% in a 23-15-11 record.

Jeff Frazee

Profile: Frazier was slightly better than Ahonen, he was selected to the National Hockey League several times, and finally got 19 perfect NHL minutes in the 2012-2013 season,

Long story short: Frazier was drafted by the Devils in the second round (38th overall) of the 2005 NHL Draft. AHL career was fruitful in Lowell and Albany From 2007 to 2013. His GAA remained fairly consistent in the 2.60 range, with one year peaking at 2.90, and his save percentage never dipped below .902, with a high of .920. In other words, Frazier seemed to be the true victim of Brodeur’s dominance in the New Jersey Nets.

After more than four seasons in the AHL, Frazier finally got his chance to play on March 9, 2013 in Carolina. With Brodeur sidelined by a nervous breakdown, John Hedberg had been holding down the bench, but he was not there tonight. Hedberg scored five goals in two periods, creating some opportunities for Frazier to play. Frazier perfectly blocked all three shots he faced in the third period, allowing the Devils to fight back and pull within 5-3, but Carolina’s empty-net goal sealed the game in a 6-3 loss. Historically, the only NHL jersey Frazier ever wore is preserved by the goalie museum Heroes of the Crease, which you can view online here.

Frazier never played in the NHL again after that game. He backpacked around Europe, playing various goalie roles, and finished his career in Slovenia during the 2016-17 season.

Evan Cormier

In short: He’s still working towards his dream.

Long story short: Evan Cormier was drafted by the Devils in the fourth round (105th overall) in 2005, and it’s hard to believe he’s only 26 years old. Cormier was called up by the Devils directly from the ECHL in 2019 to serve as Mackenzie Blackwood’s backup due to an injury to Louis Dominque, a move that so baffled the Bergen Record that it wrote This article Explain this. Cormier will not play in any games for the Devils in that game or any games. Cormier will leave the Devils to join the Manitoba Moose in the 2021-22 season

Cormier Support Sergey Bobrovsky Anthony Stolarc lost 5-3 in March after missing the fight due to an undisclosed illness. Evan Cormier is still struggling to get into the ring.

Giles Sen

Profile: Played in 2 NHL games, even started.

Long story: Drafted by the Devils in the fifth round (129th overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft, Senn grew up in Switzerland and played for HC Davos. In 2019, Senn moved to Binghampton, where he played one full season and another partial season during the COVID shutdown. On December 20, 2019, Senn made his NHL debut, replacing Mackenzie Blackwood, and promptly gave up two goals in a 5-2 loss to Washington. Senn started the next game, his only NHL game, and gave up three goals on 38 shots in a loss to Columbus.

Due to the coronavirus-shortened season, Senn returned to his native Switzerland to play for SV Davos, where he still plays today.

Your opinion

Now it’s time to tell us your thoughts or memories. Who was your favorite goalie rookie who never made much of an impact or got buried during the Brodeur era? Leave your comments below.