Ryerson Leenders & Carter George have been the two highly-touted draft eligible goaltenders from the CHL this season. So what makes one better than the other?
In the past decade or so, Canada has had trouble developing goaltenders. We rarely see high-end goaltenders coming out of the OHL, but in this draft year we have two.
Ryerson Leenders and Carter George have been neck-and-neck all season long in rankings & projections ahead of the 2024 NHL Draft. But when you watch these two netminders play, they play very different styles.
Mississauga Steelheads starter Ryerson Leenders had a fiery hot start to this season, and though he has fallen off slightly, he is still one of the best goalies in the entire OHL.
Leenders' athleticism is what separates him from George. He is never down-and-out of a play, he always seems to find a way to come across and make the acrobatic save. Leenders has the ability to make game-changing saves, and that intangible is critical at the NHL level.
He checks all of the boxes athletically, he moves across the ice quicker than most, and he has high anticipation and reaction time.
Leenders leads the OHL in save percentage with a .914%, and is tied for second in shutouts with 3. With Mississauga's backup Jack Ivankovic injured, Leenders has been forced to take over the net completely as of late, and he hasn't disappointed.
With Owen Sound Attack goaltender Carter George, it is the opposite. George is very stable in the net, he doesn't leave much room and he's disciplined positionally.
When a shooter is coming down the lane on George, he doesn't have much to shoot at. He covers a lot of the net and he doesn't bite on dekes or fakes easily.
While this is very different from Leenders' athleticism and acrobatics, George's techniques can be just as effective.
George has started 33 out of 40 games for the Attack, a phenomenal number for a rookie draft-eligible goaltender. He has had five 40-or-more save performances this season, and one 50-save shutout. Similar to Leenders, George also has three shutouts this season.
George may not be able to get his team into the win column every night, but he has definitely gotten them more wins than the Attack would have otherwise.
In NHL Central Scouting's mid-season rankings, George ranked #1 and Leenders ranked #3 among North American goaltenders. It is like splitting hairs with these two goaltenders, and both likely won't have to wait long to hear their names called at the NHL Draft in Vegas.
Both George and Leenders will have the opportunity to play in the CHL Top Prospects game in Moncton next week, where they will go head-to-head on different teams. Leenders will play on Team Red, and George will play on Team White.