Spencer Knight knew the importance of having balance in everything he did on and off the ice as a goalie for USA Hockey's National Team Development Program Under-18 team this season.
He understands there's a lot more to his game than limber limbs and catlike reflexes.
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"I'll try to be athletic but don't want to rely on it too much because you have to have a good balance with everything," Knight said. "You need a balance of technical ability and athleticism. The biggest room for improvement for me is recovery, being square when you recover and not being all over the place. You need to always work on your tracking and playing smart."
Knight (6-foot-3, 192 pounds) could become the third United States-born goalie in 10 years to be selected in the first round of the NHL Draft, joining Jack Campbell (Dallas Stars, No. 11, 2010 NHL Draft) and
Jake Oettinger
(Stars, No. 26, 2017 Draft). He's No. 1 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American goalies for the 2019 Draft at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on June 21-22.
The 18-year-old said less movement and expending less energy the higher a goalie climbs the ranks is something he takes very seriously at this stage of his development.
"He reminds me of Carey Price with how very calm and poised he is," said Al Jensen, who evaluates goalie prospects for NHL Central Scouting. "He just has that presence in the net like a veteran. I remember watching Carey his underage year, and the way [Knight] plays and his development at this stage is where I see him."
Committed to Boston College for next season, Knight went 32-4-1 with a 2.36 goals-against average, .913 save percentage and two shutouts in 39 games, tying Vancouver Canucks goalie prospect Thatcher Demko (2012-13) for most wins in a season at the program. Knight set the record for career wins (59) in his two seasons at the NTDP (78 games).
Knight won a bronze medal with the U.S. at the 2019 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, finishing with five wins and a shootout loss against Russia in the semifinals. He had a 1.51 GAA and .936 save percentage in six games. He also won a silver medal as the third goalie for the U.S. at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship.
"In my reports on him last season, I made a notation that I haven't seen a goalie like this coming up in a long time," Jensen said.
