Regardless of age or skill, a goalie’s biggest obstacle when preparing for their first career NHL start is managing nerves. Considering James Reimer had not played a game since Dec. 10 and was informed he would be starting Saturday’s game in Ottawa on Thursday afternoon, he had to work hard to prepare for the game with a clear and focused mind.

Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson reportedly did not announce Reimer would be starting against the Senators until the official lineups were placed in the press box a few hours before the game. In fact, all indications during the morning skate pointed to Jonas Gustavsson starting the game. But alas, prompted by the opportunity to inject three Marlies into the lineup, Wilson followed through with his decision to debut Reimer – and it was the right one.

Even though Reimer is currently experiencing his third recall this season, he has played excellent in intermittent action for the Marlies. He holds a 7-3-1 record with a 2.73 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage right now, and has played with terrific consistency despite splitting time with Jussi Rynnas.

With so many prospects making their NHL debut in December, including Richard Bachman for the Stars, Nathan Lawson for the Islanders and Cedrick Desjardins for the Lightning, New Years Day was fitting for Wilson to give Reimer his first taste of NHL action. As a goalie scout, I always stress the importance of giving a highly-touted prospect their inaugural start whenever humanly possible, for you never know what can happen when you put legitimate talent on display.

With 32 saves on 33 shots, it is safe to say that Reimer was very impressive in his 5-1 win over the Senators. He certainly displayed legitimate talent and NHL starter upside, but there were a few areas that I considered unrefined. He currently sits 41st overall in my Top-100 Prospects Rankings, but will certainly vault into the 30’s after this performance. Let’s take a look at how he played and scout some of his traits, strengths and weaknesses.

The first shot Reimer faced was a routine five-hole save off the stick of Chris Neil just 1:03 into the game. He made a solid right-toe save 10 seconds later on a long and low shot from Erik Karlsson. Those two saves got him into the game very early and he displayed a solid sense of alertness and preparation.

The biggest stop Reimer made in the first period and in the entire game came on a second-chance opportunity just 3:05 into the game. He made an upper body save on Milan Michalek’s hard shot, but the puck bounced off his chest and dropped right in front of him. Alexei Kovalev was cruising in from the left side, but Reimer stayed locked on the loose puck and as he fell forward, kept his right foot sealed to the ice and stopped the rebound chance with his toe.

Reimer fought hard to seal his right pad to his short-side post during a fierce scrum in his crease until the whistle finally blew at the 10:53 mark. After that sequence, he only faced a routine shot up high to the blocker side and a few more shots before he finished with 11 saves on 11 shots in the first period. The Leafs carried a 3-0 lead heading into the locker room.

Thanks to some strong saves in the first five minutes of the game, Reimer was able to settle his nerves quickly and benefitted from a boost of confidence and goal support. During an early two-man advantage for the Senators in the second period, Reimer did a good job of staying deep in his crease and using his wide stance to fill space. This allowed him to keep the footwork “quiet” and have a little more time and space to read plays and square up to shots.

Reimer was finally beat on a shot from the point on a slap shot by Sergei Gonchar that beat him clean off the left elbow. He was adequately screened by Mike Fisher and dropped into the butterfly a step too deep in his crease. It was the only mistake he made in the entire game.

From there, Toronto continued to control the flow and pace of the game and Reimer did a good job of displaying a consistent effort. His comfort level stayed high thanks to facing 11 more shots in the second period and then 11 shots in the third period as well. He stopped all 26 even-strength shots along with six of seven power play shots against for a total of 32 saves on the night.

—–[ SCOUTING NOTES ]—–

The most noticeable aspect of Reimer’s butterfly style is his wide stance. This is easily seen when he prepares for a faceoff in his zone. He sets up with a very low crouch, flared out feet and with hands held very tight to his sides. When the puck is loose in his zone following a faceoff, gets even wider and does a good job of looking around and through bodies to keep his eyes on the puck. He likes to get very low to the ice, but still stay on his skates.

Although I consider Reimer’s footwork to be slow, he appeared much more calm and composed than most goalies in their NHL debut. I consider him a positional “blocking” butterfly goalie that likes to stay deep in his crease and let pucks hit him. He took very few risks when moving the puck throughout the game and did a good job of controlling his rebounds and then locating loose pucks in and around his crease. He has a strong and steady work ethic and battles hard to keep his eyes on the puck. He has a very economical demeanor and displays very little excess movement.

Because he has quiet and calm footwork, Reimer absorbed a lot of shots that arrived in the center of his body. He also did a good job of managing the flow of the game by holding and freezing a lot of routine shots. It was easy to see that he’s a very situationally aware goaltender with solid focus and vision. When he needed to challenge shooters, he did a good job of reading plays and establishing his space at the top of his crease. When he killed penalties and faced a lot of traffic, he stayed a step inside the blue paint and created more space for him to execute.

One of Reimer’s strengths in this game was his hip rotation. For a wide-stance goalie that does not have the quickest feet, Reimer did an excellent job of rotating on his knees and then recovering back to his feet in an efficient and powerful manner. He has a low center of gravity, which gives him a solid appearance when building a wall in the butterfly.

For a 6-foot-2 goalie, Reimer will need to work on straightening his back on situations where a shooter might try to pick the top corners. Although the Senators rarely challenged him high glove side, it was clear to see that his low crouch and flared out feet eliminates some height from his presence in the net. And because he holds his hands far back to his body and tight to his sides, he will need to work on being more active with his stick and glove.

I have always been a fan of Reimer’s hockey sense. He plays to his strengths and has few technical weaknesses. His biggest area of improvement will be his foot speed and trying to push his hands slightly in front of his body in order to actively challenge shots that are elevated with a severe aerial angle.

Overall, Reimer’s play in his NHL debut revealed much of what I had seen in the past year with the Marlies. He’s a positional goaltender that meshes very well with what Francois Allaire loves to teach. He is a patient goaltender that does a great job of absorbing pucks and managing his energy level. He will not dazzle you with acrobatics and he does not rely on flexibility to make saves. He is economical, passive and confident, and relies on his size and width in the net to eliminate time and space.

It’s unclear what kind of opportunities he will get for the remainder of the season, but as long as J-S Giguere remains on the shelf with a groin injury, the more comfortable he will become handling a backup role in the NHL. It has been a great season for Reimer’s development and he has upside as an NHL starter, but not unless he continues to work extremely hard at his overall quickness.