Scout
06-10-2007, 07:27 AM
Courtesy Hockey Futures:
Todd Ford, G
3rd Round, 74th overall – Swift Current Broncos, WHL
Status: Bust
NHL Games Played: 0
After a solid first pro season with the Pensacola Ice Pilots of ECHL in which he posted a 2.32 GAA and a 19-4-2 record, it has been all downhill for Ford. In Ford, the Leafs’ envisioned a big, tall, standup goaltender with enough athletic ability to use his big frame. Instead, Ford has continued to have holes in his game and has posted GAA’s of 3.64 and 2.98 over his last two ECHL seasons. In a strong goalie draft, Ford was the 10th goaltender taken, long after the likes of Kari Lehtonen, Cam Ward and Hannu Toivonen. He is a group II free agent this summer and the odds are against Ford becoming anything but an adequate AHL goaltender.
Ian White, D
6th Round, 191st overall – Swift Current Broncos, WHL
Status: NHL Player
NHL Games Played: 88
After drafting Ford, the Leafs went right back to the western Saskatchewan city of Swift Current to pluck White with the 191st selection. If there was ever a blueprint for progressing and improving it is Ian White. Generally looked at as an undersized, one-way defenseman who could help out a power play, White has blossomed into a puck-moving defenseman who is no longer a liability in his own end. Still undersized – but not as much in the new NHL – White has gained much-needed bulk over the past three years and now successfully uses his 5’10 185-pound frame to angle off defenders and move the puck smartly. White progressed from 26 to 38 points during his two AHL campaigns and, this season, was successful in sticking with the Leafs after a solid 12-game stint to finish off the 2005-06 season. White played 76 games in 2006-07 and led all rookie blueliners with 26 points. A potential free agent this summer, White was rewarded with a new three-year contract in May and should continue to climb the ranks from undersized afterthought to top-four NHL defenseman.
Todd Ford, G
3rd Round, 74th overall – Swift Current Broncos, WHL
Status: Bust
NHL Games Played: 0
After a solid first pro season with the Pensacola Ice Pilots of ECHL in which he posted a 2.32 GAA and a 19-4-2 record, it has been all downhill for Ford. In Ford, the Leafs’ envisioned a big, tall, standup goaltender with enough athletic ability to use his big frame. Instead, Ford has continued to have holes in his game and has posted GAA’s of 3.64 and 2.98 over his last two ECHL seasons. In a strong goalie draft, Ford was the 10th goaltender taken, long after the likes of Kari Lehtonen, Cam Ward and Hannu Toivonen. He is a group II free agent this summer and the odds are against Ford becoming anything but an adequate AHL goaltender.
Ian White, D
6th Round, 191st overall – Swift Current Broncos, WHL
Status: NHL Player
NHL Games Played: 88
After drafting Ford, the Leafs went right back to the western Saskatchewan city of Swift Current to pluck White with the 191st selection. If there was ever a blueprint for progressing and improving it is Ian White. Generally looked at as an undersized, one-way defenseman who could help out a power play, White has blossomed into a puck-moving defenseman who is no longer a liability in his own end. Still undersized – but not as much in the new NHL – White has gained much-needed bulk over the past three years and now successfully uses his 5’10 185-pound frame to angle off defenders and move the puck smartly. White progressed from 26 to 38 points during his two AHL campaigns and, this season, was successful in sticking with the Leafs after a solid 12-game stint to finish off the 2005-06 season. White played 76 games in 2006-07 and led all rookie blueliners with 26 points. A potential free agent this summer, White was rewarded with a new three-year contract in May and should continue to climb the ranks from undersized afterthought to top-four NHL defenseman.