Thursday, December 21, 2017
Point Claims His Spot
Colgate sophomore plays his way on to Canadian junior team.
On June 25, 2016, Colton Point was the seventh Canadian goalie taken in that year’s NHL Draft. He knew the path he had charted, which would take him to Colgate in the fall, was geared toward long-term development.
“I just think I’m a person who needs more time to develop,” he said that day in Buffalo, shortly after slipping on his new Dallas Stars jersey. “A lot of these guys who got drafted higher were guys playing in the OHL since they were 16. I played an extra year of midget AAA, went and slugged it out in the junior A league in Ottawa. My path has been a little bit slower, but not everyone can be the same. I get four years at Colgate, and I can be playing until I’m 22. Some of these OHL guys could be done at 20, so I feel like those two extra years could be a big deal for me.”
A year and a half later, it’s clear that Point’s development has accelerated. The sophomore from North Bay, Ont., is one of two goaltenders selected to Canada’s National Junior Team that will return to Buffalo next week for the World Junior Championship.
That progress has been no accident. Although slowed by an illness as a freshman, Point has worked tirelessly at his game, emerging as one of college hockey’s best goaltenders this season.
“He has big-save potential, and that has always been there,” said Colgate assistant coach and former Niagara goaltender Juliano Pagliero. “Over the past year and a half we’ve seen growth in managing the game and minimizing his movements.
“It’s a testament to how much work he puts in,” Pagliero added, “whether it’s in goalie sessions or our four or five practices each week.”
Point, backstopping a Raider team picked to finish 11th in ECAC Hockey, was 6-0-4 in his first 10 starts. His .938 save percentage ranks fourth in the nation.
Pagliero points to last February for signs of what Point could become. His fast start this fall attracted the attention of Hockey Canada, and his performance in training camp helped him become the first NCAA goaltender to make the Canadian junior team since 2003.
“I’ve been underrated for a long time in my life,” Point told TSN. “I’m glad I’m finally getting an opportunity to show what I’m capable of.”
Point enters the tournament as the backup to Carter Hart, who was the first goaltender taken in that 2016 NHL Draft. As he has shown in his brief stint at Colgate, however, Point will be ready to step up if needed – and he keeps getting better.