A nice feather in the cap for Philly’s and Buffalo’s scouting departments on Thursday.
Cal Petersen, the Notre Dame product taken by the Sabres in the fifth round of the ’13 draft, and Harvard’s Merrick Madsen -- Philly’s sixth-round pick that same year -- have been shortlisted as 10 semifinalists for this year’s Mike Richter Award, given annually to the NCAA’s top goalie.
The rest of the field includes: Michael Bitzer (Bemidji State), Park Gahagen (Army), Kyle Hayton (St. Lawrence), Tanner Jaillet (Denver), Hunter Miska (Minnesota-Duluth), Jake Oettinger (Boston University), Shane Starrett (Air Force) and Charles Williams (Canisius).
It’s worth noting that Miska and Oettinger were the lone freshmen nominated.
Introduced in 2014, the Richter Award has gone to some pretty prevalent names. Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck was the inaugural winner, followed by Bruins farmhand Zane McIntyre in 2015.
Last year, prized Canucks prospect Thatcher Demko captured the trophy. Demko is currently with Vancouver’s AHL affiliate in Utica, and was called up to the Canucks in a backup role earlier this season.