Julien Ellis-Plante (G) - Prospects unlimited
April 10th, 2008 by thewordbirdWith a shortage of draft picks over the past five years, Vancouver’s modest supply of prospects shows some promise after all, mostly in the later rounds.
I am not going to fluff up the substantial contributions from the likes of Alexander Edler, Mason Raymond and Ryan Shannon. No, I believe that those three warrant exemption from trade talks, considering youth, skill sets and team speed. In my mind, Vancouver would be wise to build with them and they are great roster additions. You would nary receive comparable players in return, upsetting what may already be an uneasy dressing-room after this tumultuous summer. The time seems right with the bounty in salary cap space available to Dave Nonis, that his greatest opportunity will arise..
Starting in-between the pipes, I’d like to focus on two late-round draft picks. We’ll leave the blue-chip prospect/first-round selection of the Canucks in 2004, Cory Schneider, for now. We’ll look just across the Georgia Strait at the Vancouver ECHL affiliate in Victoria.
Julien Ellis, a sixth-round pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft has definite potential. Ellis’ second year in professional hockey has been quite successful and he was named to the National Conference All-Star team this year.
Sharing the duties with Billy Thompson, Ellis nabbed a 24-11-2-3-0 record, recorded two shut-outs and garnered a .968 save-percentage for the Victoria Salmon Kings. Ellis was bypassed for Game#1 of the Kelly Cup Playoffs, with Thompson getting the start and the Overtime Loss against Bakersfield last night, 2-1. This may have something to do with a poor rookie playoff performance last year. It will be interesting to watch his playing time unfold for the rest of the series with the Condors.
Born in Sorel, Quebec, Ellis enjoyed a fine junior career in Shawinigan, when he appeared in 173 games over four seasons and earned eight shut-outs.
On a number of occasions last year, Ellis was promoted to Vancouver’s AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, in which he compiled modest numbers (3.37 GAA, .884%). He recorded 10 saves on 11 shots in relief of Schneider, in his only sniff this year at AHL action.
Next, I will be taking a hard look at a small netminder from the Czech Republic, Lukas Mensator.
Robin Keith Thompson
April 9, 2008
