MARC-ANDRE
FLEURY
Place
of Birth: Sorel, Quebec, Canada
Current
Team: Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
|
Age:
19,
(Born Nov
28, 1984)
Position: Goalie
Height 6'
2", Weight 170
Catches: Left
|
NHL Career Stats:
|
Season
|
Team
|
GP
|
MIN
|
W
|
L
|
T
|
GA
|
SO
|
Avg
|
|
2003-2004
|
Penguins
|
21
|
|
4
|
14
|
2
|
|
1
|
3.64
|
|
NHL
TOTALS
|
|
21
|
|
4
|
14
|
2
|
|
1
|
3.64
|
On January 29, 2004,
Fleury was sent back down to the Cape Breton Screaming
Eagles of the Quebec Major Junior League. Penguins' General
Manager Craig Patrick announced to the media prior to
the Penguin's game against Tampa Bay that night;
“A 19-year old goaltender
trying to carry the load of this team isn’t really
fair...We don’t want to keep putting him in front of
a situation like this every night.”
After Leading Canada to a silver medal in the World
Junior Championships, Fleury went 0-4 with Penguins and
had a GAA of 5.56 and save percentage of .896. The
Penguins went 0-8 during this period, so the blame is
not falling directly on Fleury. After being drafted
first overall by Pittsburgh in 2003 (only
the second goalie ever drafted first overall),
Fleury was put between the pipes as the Penguins
starting goaltender and in October was the NHL's Rookie
of the month at only 18 year's of age. Related Pages:
|
Canadian NHL Goalies with
origins in Quebec Minor Hockey...
Many NHL goaltending greats have origins in
Quebec
minor hockey. Start with Patrick Roy, the front runner for
the unofficial title of "Greatest Goaltender Who
Has Ever Played". Then, there is 2003
Stanley Cup Champion, Martin Brodeur
and the goaltender of the team that faced Brodeur in the
finals - Conn Smythe trophy winner JS Giguere.
Let's not forget Jose Theodore goalie of the Montreal
Canadiens, Patrick Lalime, netminder of the Ottawa Senators,
Dan Cloutier, star of the Vancouver Canucks, Marc
Denis of Columbus, Jocelyn Thibault of the
Blackhawks, Roberto Luongo of the Florida
Panthers, Manny Fernandez of Minnesota and Martin
Biron of the Sabres. All are starting goaltenders
playing in the NHL in 2003 and every one of them is a
product of Quebec Minor Hockey's extraordinary goalie
training program.
In 2004, add Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre
Fleury to the list. Drafted first overall in
the 2003 NHL Draft at only 18 years old, Fleury moved
directly into the Penguin's starting position and took
time off at Christmas to win a silver medal at the World
Junior Championship.
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