Bruins Prospect Rankings: Jeremy Swayman’s Rock-Solid Goaltending gets him the #10 spot

#10 - Jeremy Swayman - G

Jeremy Swayman is a player that has flown up the board of goaltending prospects and is possibly one of the most intriguing for his team by sheer virtue of his consistency. Since his first year in Alaskan bantam, Swayman has remained one of the most impressive prospects to play his position for the sheer fact that his SV% has never dipped below a .910% in seasons where he’s played 10 or more games. Ever. Swayman’s ability to be a rock in net has, more than anything else, built his reputation.

Swayman’s year as the Black Bear’s starter was not only impressive because of the kind of teams UMaine would have to play every so often like BU, Northeastern and BC, but because he had almost zero help behind him, with backups Rob McGovern and Stephen Mundinger playing pretty poorly in their brief starts. The Black Bears indeed lived and died by his play and they more often than not lived, posting a 18-16-4 overall record. Though he could only summon a 10-11-3 record in division, and so his team finished 6th.

In fact, this may be one of the biggest knocks against Swayman that isn’t necessarily his fault; Swayman is an incredible talent that unfortunately just doesn’t play on teams that go to the postseason of their respective divisions or leagues because he’s usually one of the best players on it. As a result, we only have 4 games of him playing out of his mind in the NAPHL as his postseason record. Which is again, not his fault. Goaltenders usually aren’t the ones recruiting in the NCAA, and I doubt that’s going to change much this year.

What should’ve shot him up this list in my opinion was a good World Juniors, and to his credit he did have a good one...because he only played one game, while players like Woll and Oettinger played like dogshit in front of him and Team USA’s coach steadfastly refused to let him start games that in all honesty he probably could’ve easily won for the Red, White and Blue. This lack of high-stakes testing outside of Hockey East and his high school years is a real pain, as Swayman’s ability is obvious, but due to the places he’s gone to make his case, he’s at the mercy of the world junior squad and of UMaine’s recruiting to back his talent up with squads that can string together wins.

Swayman will once again man the net for UMaine up in Orono, so if you’re lost up in Orono for a weekend or two, you can see for yourself what Swayman brings to the table!

Next up! We highlight one of the most productive rookies on the Providence Bruins last year! See you tomorrow!