Heading into the 2014-15 season, it was clear that Brian Elliott was the starting goaltender of the St. Louis Blues. At least, that’s what the Blues were preaching. Fans were content to debate which goaltender should be the top option in St. Louis. As the season started, the belief was that Elliott and Jake Allen would share a 60-40 split and that Allen may very well succeed Elliott should his play prove worthy of a promotion.
Oh how things change over the course of a season. Elliott is not only the top goaltender on the Blues right now, but it’s fair to assume that this team would crumble should he suffer an injury. The Blues’ collective playoff hopes rides on Elliott and that’s because he has had an outstanding season while Allen’s has been fairly pedestrian.
Now, this isn’t an article bashing Allen. Instead, it’s a reminder that a player’s development in the NHL takes time. Everyone was ready to hand Allen a ton of responsibility after he posted some crazy AHL numbers with the Chicago Wolves (33-16-3-7, 2.03 GAA, .928 save percentage). Allen’s 2014-15 (17-6-6, 2.55 GAA, .903 save percentage) has proven that AHL success doesn’t immediately translate to NHL success. If you said “duh” to that previous sentence, go back and read up on how badly fans wanted Allen to see a ton of playing time at the beginning of the year.
Allen has shown glimpses of how strong he can be in net, but unfortunately he has also shown some troubling traits. One recent example was the “whistle” goal against Vancouver in which a puck gently tossed at Allen managed to find its way in. Other anecdotal evidence seems to point at Allen’s positioning. Of course, the St. Louis defense has been pretty questionable, but Elliott has seen his fair share of awful defending and has still posted strong numbers.
Long story short, this is yet another cautionary tale for fans who want to go all-in with the team’s latest hot prospect. Allen may emerge and be this team’s top goaltender, but for now his play has placed him firmly in the backseat and that’s where he’ll stay until he’s able to fine tune his game.
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