Insider compares Ilya Samsonov to another recent Leafs goaltender
Ilya Samsonov may be 2-1-1 to begin the season, picking up 5 of a possible 8 points in his first run of games, but his peripheral stats leave a lot to be desired. Samsonov's 3.99 GAA and .841 SV% need to be a lot better and he knows it.
Samsonov has been very hard on himself in the early stages of this season, allowing his losses to impact him far more than they should. Just last week, before his start against Nashville, Samsonov revealed that his performances to date have made him feel "like sh*t". Sound like anyone else you might know?
TSN's Darren Dreger appeared on TSN 1050's First Up this morning and likened Samsonov's situation to that of Jack Campbell.
"Well, he's a very honest man. I think that's abundantly clear. You know, it reminds me a little bit of Jack Campbell, right? And how Jack would wear his losses, he'd wear the bad goals and sometimes undeservedly so, right? Like, come post-game, he'd talk about a game that got away from the Maple Leafs, maybe he'd let in a bad goal or another sketchy one, whatever, and he'd take on that loss like there was nobody else on the ice."
Dreger revealed the the Leafs did a lot of work with Campbell on his mindset following losses. He shouldn't have been shouldering as much of the burden as he was and now the same thing is happening in Edmonton, where the Oilers are trying to help Campbell fight through it and not put so much pressure on himself.
The position of NHL goaltender is a very cerebral one, and someone who plays the position needs to be as even keel as possible to avoid the peaks and valleys. Playing emotional may work for some players, but it's a lot more difficult for a goaltender to play emotional, given the nature of the position and how calm and poised someone needs to be to maintain their focus in the net.
In that sense, it's no wonder why Samsonov is struggling right now. He needs to take a step back and understand that you can't change what happened in the last 4 or 5 games. It's on him now to leave the past in the past and focus on what he can do now, in the present, to set himself up for success.
The comparison by Dreger is a good one, not in that Samsonov and Campbell play the same way, but in that both are very emotional guys and shoulder a lot of the weight of a loss - more than maybe their fair share. When Campbell enjoyed his breakout performance in Toronto, going 17-3-2, with a 2.15 GAA and a .921 SV%, he was riding the high of confidence. Then, when the net belonged to him the following year and we saw his numbers dip to the tune of a 2.64 GAA and a .914 SV% in a contract year, he really got into his own head.
When you fast forward to where Campbell is right now, last season in Edmonton in the first year of his first large contract, and even the start of this season, Campbell's numbers have been extremely poor - well below average and he's worn every single loss, despite how his team played in front of him.
If Samsonov wants to avoid a similar fate in a contract year himself, he's going to have to ground himself and realize that the way he's taking his losses isn't helping him to come back stronger. You can't let your shortcomings be the story. You have to let them roll off your back and latch onto the positives. Build on a much better start in Nashville and move forward. Otherwise, Sammy runs the risk of losing the net to Woll for good and he'll find himself in a very similar position to the one Campbell is in with the Oilers right now. Just a goalie with broken confidence trying to get by.
We know that Samsonov can be a good goaltender. We saw it last season. However, it's going to be all about what he does from this point forward that will define his season.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 30 | 162 ANSWERS Insider compares Ilya Samsonov to another recent Leafs goaltender Do you agree with Dreger comparing Samsonov to Campbell from a confidence perspective? | ||
| Yes | 114 | 70.4 % |
| No | 48 | 29.6 % |
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