Corey Crawford's development has been accelerated out of necessity by the chaotic goaltending situation in Chicago, particularly with the injuries plaguing top goalie Nikolai Khabibulin.
At the beginning of the season, Crawford was slotted behind incumbant Adam Munro in Norfolk, stepped into the top job when Munro was promoted, and performing admirably.
Oddly enough, Crawford's stats were significantly better in October (2.23 gaa, .908 sv. pct.) while losing four of five starts, than in January (3.60, .870) while backstopping the Admirals for wins in five of eight appearances.
Corey's numbers while with Moncton were respectable, especially in the often helter-skelter "Q", and saw improvement in his gaa in each of his four years. He also racked up a league-high six shutouts in 2004-05.
Crawford has already seen brief action with the Blackhawks, but will likely serve at least a two-year AHL apprenticeship.
Another fine product of the 2003 draft, time, injury and mental toughness will tell whether Crawford will be able to move past Munro in the Blackhawk pecking order.
For now, Corey Crawford debuts in the top tier of the freshmen 40s on the MLN FAB50 Hockey 2006 rankings. We expect to see him higher in the tier next year.
- Dan Hickling
