Callum Booth 2016-17 season capsule

Callum Booth started the 2016-17 season with the Quebec Remparts in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. In 21 games with the Remparts, Booth posted a 2.87 goals against average and .918 save percentage. On December 13, 2016, Booth was traded to the Saint John Sea Dogs where he joined Hurricanes’ prospect Spencer Smallman and was also joined by Hurricanes’ prospect Julien Gauthier on January 6, 2017. After a bumpy transition period, Booth has settled in with his new team which is at the top of the QMJHL standings and preparing for the playoffs.

Interview on Callum Booth with Craig Eagles from Rogers TV

Craig Eagles (Twitter=@Eags37) is a high school teacher from Moncton, New Brunswick Canada. Craig has been covering the QMJHL Moncton Wildcats and Saint John Sea Dogs as a colour analyst for the past three seasons for Rogers TV. In 2012, he started the Co Coaches Corner Blog and currently contributes to The Q News. This past December Craig joined Central Scouting and is currently the New Brunswick Regional Scout for QMJHL.

Canes and Coffee: How would you describe Callum Booth’s 2016-17 season thus far?

Craig Eagles: Speaking from when he arrived in Saint John, it definitely took Booth a few games to get acclimated to being in the Saint John Sea Dogs net. Booth has bounced back as of late with stellar performances and has really started to regain the confidence needed to be a bona fide number one goaltender in the league for a team focused on winning a President’s Cup.

Canes and Coffee: Comparing Booth’s 2016-17 play to last season is there anything that jumps out to you as significantly improved or different?

Craig Eagles: Quebec was a team in transition after hosting the Memorial Cup the year before. I believe Booth lost a little confidence trying to do too much to backstop a transitioning team.

Canes and Coffee: From your viewpoint, what skills and abilities does Callum Booth possess that gives him the potential to become an NHL goalie? What areas of his game will require further development to become NHL-ready?

Craig Eagles: Booth is really starting to challenge the shooter over his last 15 outings. His angles are solid, and his movement is refined and controlled. He looks much more composed between the pipes. Booth does need to get stronger physically which will enable him to be more explosive with his pushes and lateral movement. Booth is a solid puck mover but would have to improve in this area to play at the pro level. He prepares very well both mentally and physically. When under pressure, he scrambles around his net. Booth also consistently battles for his space on the ice. All of these traits will serve him well moving forward.

Canes and Coffee: Callum Booth will have had a successful conclusion to his 2016-17 season in terms of helping the Saint John Sea Dogs and preparing for the NHL if he __________.

Craig Eagles: Backstops the Sea Dogs to the President’s Cup. Booth has lived up to the pressure surrounding his arrival in Saint John. Booth continues to show the poise and confidence it takes to be a solid goaltender at the next level.

Canes and Coffee: Is there anything else about Callum Booth that Carolina Hurricanes fans might be interested in knowing?

Craig Eagles: From my perspective, Booth like many other goaltenders is a perfectionist and takes a lot pride in his appearance on and off the ice. He is a very quiet, confident and stylish guy.

Canes and Coffee extends a huge thank you to Craig Eagles for generously sharing his ‘from the rink’ insight on Callum Booth with the Carolina Hurricanes hockey community.

More on Callum Booth plus menu of previous MIDTERMS on Hurricanes prospects

Previous coverage on Callum Booth at Canes and Coffee includes:

Canes and Coffee’s ‘Back to School’ article on Callum Booth on September 23 checked in on the young goalie before the start of the 2016-17 season and featured an interview with his previous goalie coach.

If you missed them and want to catch up, you can find the other entries in the ‘Midterms’ series here:

David Cotton (Boston College, NCAA)

Matt Filipe (Northeastern University, NCAA)

Jake Bean (Calgary Hitmen, WHL)

Janne Kuokkanen (London Knights, OHL)

Noah Carroll (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, OHL)

Julien Gauthier (Saint John Sea Dogs, QMJHL)

Steven Lorentz (Peterborough Petes, OHL)

Hudson Elynuik (Spokane Chiefs, WHL)

Max Zimmer (University of Wisconsin, NCAA)

Aleksi Saarela (Lukko, Finnish Liiga)

Jack LaFontaine (University of Michigan, NCAA)