It’s taken a long time, but Red Wings’ G Jimmy Howard has finally made it.
After three years in college, four in the minors and in his third as a starter, Howard finds himself in his first ever NHL All-Star Game, playing for one of the most decorated franchises in NHL history.
Make no mistake about it–27-year-old Jimmy is no kid anymore. James Russell Howard III has earned and proven his place in the NHL.
Howard leads the NHL with 30 wins, and his Red Wings lead the league with 67 points. Unlike the past two seasons, Howard has been more consistent, posting a 2.03 GAA, .925 SV% and five shutouts this season. Howard credits his success to a more balanced life both in and out of hockey, but says the birth of his son, James, has helped him stay patient. His son also continues a family tradition–Howard’s grandfather and father go by Jim, so he goes by Jimmy, even now. The lineage continued when they named their child James–or J-Four.
Howard is in the process of breaking a long line of stereotypes placed on Red Wings’ netminders. The team has been so good, so consistent for so long, not seeing the Red Wings compete deep in the playoffs for the Stanley Cup is a strange sight. Any time the Wings falter, though, the blame always seeps down to whoever’s between the pipes–almost as if the team loses because of their goalie, and wins in spite of him. It happened for Mike Vernon. It happened for Chris Osgood. It happened to Curtis Joseph.
GM Ken Holland, a former netminder in the 1980′s, is widely regarded as one of the brightest managerial hockey minds the world has to offer. Like Howard, Holland waited for his chance in 1980-81 when the Hartford Whalers called him up. In his fist career NHL game, Holland allowed seven goals in a loss. Then 26, he was sent down to the minors and would only play three more NHL games before joining the Wings’ organization as a scout.
Howard’s strong and consistent play this season also speaks volumes to have detailed and defined the Red Wings’ philosophy is on developing players. The franchise is famous for drafting late, finding skills-and-smarts-type players who require seasoning, rather than drafting early and taking overhyped, NHL-ready prospects. The philosophy began with GM Scotty Bowman. In 1995, for example, Bowman acquired 36-year-old D Slava Fetisov from the Devils for a 3rd-round pick. At the time, Holland was the assistant GM, and questioned Bowman’s move to acquire a player who was frequently a healthy scratch. But it was Fetisov’s experience and leadership that got the Wings to the Cup Finals that year, and what helped them to repeat as champions in 1997 and 98.
That’s the Wings’ mindset in a nutshell. No-name prospects sit in the minors, correct their flaws, learn how to play the game properly, and when the team feels they can slide in seamlessly with the rest of the veterans, they’re brought up. Nicklas Lidstrom was a 3rd-rounder in 1989. Sergei Fedorov was 4th-rounder in 1989. Pavel Datsyuk was a 6th-rounder in 1998. Henrik Zetterberg was a 7th-rounder in 1999. Jonathan Ericsson was last player taken in the entire draft in 1999.
This philosophy has players making their NHL debuts in their mid-to-late 20′s, but allows them the crucial and rare experience of learning from seasoned, championship-experienced veterans who can pass down years of knowledge, experience and know-how from generation to generation. Steve Yzerman to Zetterberg. Igor Larionov to Datsyuk. Lidstrom to Niklas Kronwall. Vernon to Osgood to Howard.
“Our philosophy of developing ultimately is about the respect that I have for the league and how hard it is to win. You can play in the league. We want to win in the league,” said Holland.
While Howard was growing impatient, waiting for his chance to shine, Holland’s plan was working perfectly. Countless goalies had been called up, rattled and sent down, having their confidence shattered. Howard would not be one of them. Wisely, the Wings waited until they were sure he would be able to be a rock between the pipes.
From 2005-09, Howard played in just nine NHL games. He would, however, practice with the team during the playoffs, sponging off guys like Osgood and Dominik Hasek, as the Wings won the Stanley Cup in 2008. Howard continued to wait, until 2009-10 when he played his first full season.
The result? Howard, 26, went 37-15-10 with a 2.26 GAA and .924 SV%, finishing as a runner up for the Calder Trophy.
“Looking back on it, I guess Kenny had a great plan. At the time, sometimes you’re looking around, and you’re seeing other guys around the AHL getting called up. But you’ve got to keep telling yourself to keep working hard and sooner or later you’ll get your chance and take full advantage of it.”
Like with all of life’s challenges, however, Howard still had learning to do. In his first playoff run, Howard was much-criticized after the team was eliminated in the second round by the Sharks. Last season, Howard’s play was inconsistent, although the Wings’ had a rare sloppy year defensively. Howard was eventually signed to a 2-year/$4.5M extension, but not before the team tried to acquire G Evgeni Nabokov off waivers. Individually, Howard was much better in the postseason while the defence remained out of sync. The team was again eliminated by the Sharks in the second round. Detroit, however, nearly pulled off an incredible comeback after trailing 3-0 in the series. Howard kept his team in it with 27 saves in the 3-2 loss in Game 7.
“Just over the course of the summer, your belief in yourself. After a couple of years, you believe. After you’ve seen yourself do a couple of things, you believe that you can do a lot more.”
Howard still faces his fair share of critics, but he’s learned to take everything in stride. There’s always room to grow, but much of it comes with experience. After years of learning from guys like Osgood and Hasek, Howard has all the tools to become an elite NHL goalie in just his third professional season.
“It’s been quite the progress. You look back on it, you see how you’ve grown and how you’ve come from an immature college kid to a … you know, young adult. I’m just sort of taking it all in stride and enjoying it.”