Canes and Coffee’s ‘back to school’ series featuring Carolina Hurricanes prospects below the AHL level continues today with insight on goalie Callum Booth.
Menu of previous Carolina Hurricanes prospects profiled in ‘back to school’ series
Matt Filipe (Northeastern University)
Jack LaFontaine (University of Michigan)
Max Zimmer (University of Wisconsin)
Luke Stevens (Yale University)
Steven Lorentz (Peterborough Petes)
Hudson Elynuik (Spokane Chiefs)
Julien Gauthier (Val-d’Or Foreurs)
Callum Booth
Callum Booth was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL draft. Booth is a big goalie with athleticism that provides a set of physical skills capable of the NHL level. Booth will return to the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League where he was 16-15-5 with a .902 save percentage and 3.15 goals against average for the 2015-16 season.
Interview with Quebec Remparts goaltending coach Ghyslain Rousseau
Ghyslain Rousseau rejoined the Quebec Remparts as goalie coach over the summer. He previously served in the same role during the 2013-14 season and worked with Callum Booth during that time.
Canes and Coffee: How would you briefly describe Callum Booth’s goaltending style?
Quebec Remparts goaltending coach Ghyslain Rousseau: Callum is an athletic goalie who can either use the butterfly or the hybrid style. He’s very fast with his pads and technically good.
Canes and Coffee: What are Booth’s strengths as a young goalie that he can build upon to become and NHL netminder?
Quebec Remparts goaltending coach Ghyslain Rousseau: He is a very intelligent young man who learns quickly and is very athletic. He has everything to succeed.
Canes and Coffee: What areas of focus/ongoing improvement do you see for Callum Booth in the 2016-17 season and over the next couple years as he continues to improve and work toward becoming an NHL player?
Quebec Remparts goaltending coach Ghyslain Rousseau: He must continue to profile his technique and to improve his speed. He must have more consistency in his game.
Canes and Coffee: To which NHL goalie(s) would you compare Booth?
Quebec Remparts goaltending coach Ghyslain Rousseau: Pekka Rinne.
Canes and Coffee: What is something about Callum Booth that might be overlooked and maybe not noted in draft profiles and scouting reports?
Quebec Remparts goaltending coach Ghyslain Rousseau: He has all the aspects to succeed.
Interview with Scott Wheeler from Future Considerations and Pension Plan Puppets
Scott Wheeler (Twitter=scottcwheeler) is a sports journalist and independent scout who currently works as a feature writer and OHL/QMJHL evaluator with Future Considerations. He has previously scouted for McKeen’s Hockey, and has been published by the National Post, the Toronto Sun, The Hockey News, the PGA TOUR, and others in print and online. He also currently serves as the managing editor for SB Nation’s Pension Plan Puppets, where he covers the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Toronto Marlies and the NHL Draft and frequently guests on Canadian sports radio.
Canes and Coffee: Describe Callum Booth’s game and abilities in 3-4 sentences.
Scott Wheeler from Future Considerations and Pension Plan Puppets: The biggest thing that stands out about Booth’s game, besides his massive size, is that he moves reasonably well for a goalie of his height (he has actually grown an inch since his draft year and is 6-4 now). Booth is a mobile, quick butterfly goalie who can stretch to make saves that most goalies can’t and doesn’t get beat five-hole often because of his edge work.
Canes and Coffee: For Callum Booth to make the NHL he must ________.
Scott Wheeler from Future Considerations and Pension Plan Puppets: For Booth to make the NHL, he’s going to have to prove he can consistently handle a professional workload. Booth has been exceptional in stints throughout his QMJHL career but he has struggled to stay at the top of his game for the duration of his season and has been prone to letting in some really soft goals. He’s still got a lot of work to do, and will need to perform at the AHL level.
Canes and Coffee: To which NHL goalie(s) would you compare Booth’s skill set and/or style of play and expect him to model his game after?
Scott Wheeler from Future Considerations and Pension Plan Puppets: He actually reminds me in some ways of of Brian Elliott in his movement, and the way he tends to keep his glove low in his stance, but if he can bulk up some more he’ll have the size of a guy like Frederik Andersen.
Canes and Coffee: What would you consider to be desired improvements/progress for Callum Booth’s development during the 2016-17 season?
Scott Wheeler from Future Considerations and Pension Plan Puppets: The biggest things Booth needs to hone in are two common problems with big, young goalies: His rebound control (he tends to throw his leg at the puck, rather than controlling it into the corner or corralling it to smother) and his over-compensation on second opportunities (he tends to lunge, or push off too aggressively and put himself out of position on the first save).
Canes and Coffee thanks Quebec Remparts goalie coach Ghyslain Rousseau, the Quebec Remparts media relations team and Scott Wheeler from Future Considerations and Pension Plan Puppets for their help covering Hurricanes prospect Callum Booth.
Go Canes!
