Hockey: Lakehead goalie gets 'the call' from Red Wings

At age 26, graduated Lakehead goalie Chris Whitley might be a bit more mature than most players trying to break into pro hockey, but it might be good to defer to the Detroit Red Wings' track record as talent evaluators:
"I’d heard some rumblings about it over the course of the summer and since nationals ended, but nothing was really confirmed until yesterday, so I'm pretty excited about it,” Whitley said.

His expectations are high, though at heart he’s a realist.

“Obviously my main goal is to try to make the Detroit Red Wings, but other than that I’m just going to try to play the best I can and gain a lot of experience. They’ve got an unbelievable organization there and a hall of famer in net in Chris Osgood,” the Oshawa native said.

His likely destination, should the Wings sign him, would be the American or East Coast Hockey League."
UNB forward Kevin Henderson signed with the San Jose Sharks a few months back. There hasn't been much in the news about Alberta goalie Aaron Sorochan, but a lot of hockey followers out Edmonton way seem to think the Oilers would be out of their minds not to invite him to camp.

Related:
Whitley invited to Red Wings training camp (Leigh Dunick, tbnewswatch)
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3 comments:

  1. Sorochan will find himself with a spot at Oilers training camp in search of a spot with Springfield of the AHL. The Falcons, who are headed up by former Bears bench boss Rob Daum, need to find a goaltender to play somewhere between 20-25 games behind Devan Dubnyk who will be the clubs top 'tender. Dubnyk split time last season as the #1 goalie with Danny Saborin after he came to the Falcons in the Matthieu Garon trade. Sorochan has been on the organizations radar after being a skip and a hop away at the U of A where he put up excellent numbers and backstopped the Bears to two national titles. Andrew Perugini will be battling Sorochan for that spot in Springfield. Perugini spent last season with Stockton - the Oilers ECHL affiliate.

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  2. Ask and ye shall receive. Coming Down The Pipe! also had some news on Sorochan going to Springfield: "Aaron Sorochan might be a player to watch at camp in the fall. The former U of A Golden Bear has an opportunity to earn a pro contract and might just end up playing behind (Devan) Dubnyk in Springfield. He won't be the only free agent goalie at camp though as I expect an un-drafted WHL grad to also be invited in former Portland Winterhawks netminder Kurtis Mucha."

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  3. I think you will see either Pitton or Perugini move up to the AHL as the back-up and the other as the number one in Stockton. I would think development of those two would be a priority now. I think Perugini proved in Stockton he deserves a chance to move up to the AHL this year and Pitton struggled last year so maybe another year in Stockton as the number one may help him find his game. The signing of Sorochan or any other goalie to a minor league deal now would ultimately stunt the development of all of them. The Oilers need to assess what they really have in Pitton and Perugini as a first priority in the minor league system because Roy is coming up the ranks soon as well.

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