Desrosiers Goes Pro: Ascent To The Stars

So word on the street is that Philippe Desrosiers is going pro- but where exactly is he going to go? It has to have been a crazy and exciting whirlwind for the Quebec native: posting a personal best season, being named the Canadian Hockey League’s goaltender of the year, and winning the Jacques Plante Trophy for the best goals against average in the QMJHL (that’s the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, for those wondering).

All that hard work, which helped lead the Rimouski Oceanic to the Memorial Cup finals, did not go unnoticed by the Stars organization. Just a week or so shy of Desrosier’s 20^th birthday, the Stars announced that the promising young goaltender would be turning pro, making the jump to either the AHL or ECHL.

The Stars didn’t, however, give any hints as to which. Proving that his poise with the press is, like his hockey skills, ready for the big show, Desrosiers commented that wherever he ends up, he “just want[s] to do the best” and that he is “ready to be a pro.”

And he’s proven that readiness with more than just words. Drafted by the Stars 54^th overall in the 3^rd round of the 2013 Draft, Desrosiers has been impressing and stepping up his game ever since. In the ‘13-’14 season, he held the record in the QMJHL for shutout time, going 213:15 minutes without giving up a goal.

That season, his goals against average was 2.65. During the ’14-’15 season, that number dropped to 2.50, and it dropped against during the QMJHL playoffs to 2.48. He even served as a third goalie for the Texas Stars during their 2014 Calder Cup run, and although he didn’t play, the practice and time spent around the AHL team can be counted as valuable experience.

So will he be joining the Dallas Stars’ AHL affiliate full time, or will he be assigned to the ECHL affiliate, the Idaho Steelheads?

If you were to pull the answer right off the top of your head without thinking much about it, you’d probably say with at least some conviction that he’ll be sent to the Steelheads. It’s a pretty safe bet, right? Fresh out of the QMJHL, still needing some experience at the pro level, Desrosiers registering some time in the ECHL and then working his way up makes sense.

But there are some other factors that make sense, too. That we should at least consider.

Consider, for instance, that goalie news has been some of the biggest news with the Texas Stars lately. First, Texas goaltender Jussi Rynnas was released to sign with the KHL, therefore leaving the AHL. This left a bit of a gap in the roster- but of course, never fear because Jack Campbell is still here. Well, at least for now.

In mid-June, the Stars extended Campbell’s contract by one year. At the time, while the Dallas Stars were still in a bit of a sticky goalie situation themselves, this extension seemed to signal that Campbell’s leap up to the NHL may be drawing near.

Now that the Dallas Stars have both Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi locked down for the next three years in what has been advertised as a sort of tandem goalie team/showdown, Campbell’s NHL re-debut seems a little less likely.

After four years in the AHL, Campbell put up rather mediocre numbers this season. You can’t really even judge him for it, though, given the amount of injury and illness he’s dealt with over the last few seasons. And the Stars organization seems to know it. In contract language, this single-year extension seems to be telling Campbell he has one more season to prove himself and put on an injury-free, star-studded (or perhaps Star-worthy) performance.

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So what am I saying here? Well, let me tell you first what I’m not saying. I’m not saying that Jack Campbell is on his way out. One, because I can’t predict the future and, two, because I’m not looking for angry mobs or hate mail. I’m also not saying that Desrosiers is going to take Campbell’s spot with the Texas Stars.

What I am saying is that Desrosiers is turning pro, and he’s proven that he’s ready for it. While it would be great to see him assigned to the Texas Stars as the Tonto to Campbell’s Lone Ranger, it is also highly likely that he is instead assigned to the ECHL for a season or so to test out the waters. Even more so since the Texas Stars have padded their roster goalie-wise with the signing of John Muse from the Charlotte Checkers, who was the Kelly Cup MVP back in 2012.

And this is a good scenario, too. While Desrosiers has made it clear that he has talent, works hard, and is constantly improving, he- like any other player- has weak spots to work on. Hockeysfuture.com cited high shots as one area of Desrosier’s game that could use a little touch-up. And while he’s had experience and success on big stages like the 2013 World Junior Championship in Sochi as the goaltender for Canada’s gold-medal U18 team, Desrosiers could still benefit from involvement in the ECHL.

So that old saying “all dressed up with nowhere to go” really kind of applies to Desrosiers, but in the opposite. He’s a promising young talent with a bright future ahead of him in the Stars organization, and he has multiple different potential ways to get there. No matter which way he goes, it seems pretty certain that he’ll land among the stars.

Where do you think Desrosiers will end up starting out? Will he pass go and collect with the AHL, or will he take a bit of a detour in the ECHL first?

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