Hurricanes Select Goalie Matt Mahalak in Sixth Round

Seemingly, it's always just a matter of time before the Carolina Hurricanes select a Plymouth Whaler in each year's NHL Entry Draft. With the selection of Whalers goalie Matt Mahalak in the sixth round, the Canes have now picked a player from the OHL team owned by Hurricanes CEO Peter Karmanos Jr. in four of the past five seasons.

Mahalak served as Plymouth's No. 2 goaltender last season, backing up Scott Wedgewood, and went 8-8-1-3 with a .908 save percentage and 3.08 goals-against average. Mahalak's brother, R.J., is also a Whaler, having spent the past four seasons in Plymouth.

International Scouting Services ranked Mahalak the No. 3 goaltender in the draft. Here is their scouting report.

Mahalak has all the tools that make a top goaltender Mahalek is a very technically sound, butterfly goaltender that plays a very quiet game. He plays outside of the paint, challenging shooters quite effectively. He possesses very good size, and when he is challenging he can take up a lot of the net, forcing shooters to beat him. He stays very focused during a game, always prepared for pucks to the net and he communicates quite well with his defensemen.