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Scott Wedgewood Will Remain Albany Devils Starting Goalie In 2015

Posted By: Lisa Donovan on 8/6/2015

Lots of people thought Keith Kinkaid would remain in the AHL last season for one more year. Kinkaid got called up and showed he could be a valuable backup behind Cory Schneider after some thought 37-year-old Scott Clemmensen would be Schnider's backup.

Kinkaid or Wedgewood would end up starting 79 of the Albany Devils 80 games in 2013-2014 regular season. Their team play got them to the 2014 Calder Cup Playoffs.

Kinkaid started 43 games that year with a 2.29 GAA and a .923 save percentage. Kinkaid started out with a 2.94 GAA, but improved each year and always had a .912 save percentage or higher. That's the biggest reason why Kinkaid is the backup now.

I'm not sure you can say the same for Scott Wedgewood who also received a 2-year extension just like Kinkaid. The only difference in their contracts is that Kinkaid has a one-way contract while Wedgewood has a two-way contract that can send him to the NHL or AHL.

Wedgewood only started 5 games in 2012-2013 with a 3.47 GAA and a .886 save percentage. Wedgewood improved those numbers drastically as a backup in 2013-2014 with 36 starts as he posted a 2.39 GAA and a .899 save percentage following his awful 2012-2013 campaign where he also posted a 20-14-2 record.

Wedgewood's play at backup convinced Albany he could start in 2014-2015. Wedgewood saw just as much action in 2014-2015 with 36 starts once again where he went 15-14-7.

Wedgewood improved his save percentage from .899 to .903. His Goals Against Average increased from 2.39 GAA to 2.79 GAA as he allowed more goals. Unlike Kinkaid, he failed to get the Albany Devils to the Calder Cup Playoffs.

I don't think Wedgewood is as good as people are making him out to be. He's a good short term option in the AHL, but at the end of the day, I think New Jersey will start MacKenzie Blackwood in two years when he finishes his development in the OHL after the Devils drafted Blackwood in the second round of the 2015 NHL Draft.

Blackwood is 6-4 215 lbs compared to Wedgewood who is 6-2 190 lbs. Blackwood has a better save percentage in Barrie .902 and .906 then Wedgewood over the last two seasons. His goals against average though is 2.92 GAA and 3.08 GAA. Blackwood allows much more goals than Wedgewood and is still a project compared to Wedgewood when it comes to allowing too many goals.

The fact that Blackwood had a 2.92 GAA with Aaron Ekblad in the regular season is very alarming. One positive about Blackwood is he took the Barrie Colts to the OHL playoffs in his first two years as a starting goalie.

Blackwood posted a 2.61 GAA and a .904 save percentage in the 2014 OHL Playoffs. A year later Blackwood posted a 2.88 GAA, but he also posted a .922 save percentage in the 2015 OHL Playoffs which was almost as good as Kinkaid's 2013-2014 save percentage in Albany. Blackwood does better in the Playoffs and that's something Albany will take into account if Blackwood continues to get the Barrie Colts to the OHL Playoffs while he remains in the OHL until he's 20-years-old.

New Jersey Devils goalie Cory Schneider has a big contract with the Devils that lasts until 2023. If Kinkaid shows he can be a reliable backup, there is a chance that Kinkaid gets a starting job on another team with Wedgewood being Schneiders new backup while Blackwood begins developing in the AHL hoping to be Schneider's successor at some point. Blackwood would be 26-years-old in 2023 meaning he'd be young enough to start, but have enough experience in the OHL, AHL, and as a backup to Schneider in the AHL while Schneider will be 36-years-old by then.

Blackwood may be 18-years-old, but Kinkaid is 26-years-old, and Wedgewood is 22-years-old. Wedgewood would be 28-years-old by 2023 and could easily get the nod over Blackwood by then if he makes improvements and great strides over the next two years in Albany.

Nobody can predict where the Devils will be in 5 years right now and we don't even know if Schneider honors his contract since Ilya Kovalchuck opted out of his long-term contract with New Jersey very early.

One thing I will say is that Scott Wedgewood has an opportunity to impress the Devils over the next two seasons in the AHL. If he steps up and Kinkaid delivers then Wedgewood can come to the NHL to be Schneider's backup. Otherwise the MacKenzie Blackwood era in Albany will be officially underway.

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