At the Capitals development camp this week, Grubauer has shown that his addition to the team’s rich goaltender pool adds depth and that the Rosenheim native has the potential of becoming an elite goaltender with his excellent athleticism, and very good glove and lateral movement.
At the young age of 18, Grubauer already has an impressive resume—including leading the Windsor Spitfires to their second Memorial Cup championship and being named U20 WJC Top Player on Team for Germany—and he is looking to add to his CV.
After Wednesday afternoon’s intrasquad scrimmage in which the German goaltender went three-for-three on penalty shots, Grubauer reflected: “I felt great during the game. A couple of mistakes, but I can work on that....”
While he admits his strengths are his quick glove and rebounding skills, he considers his skating “rusty” having only had a six-week break before starting development camp. “It’s still not perfect skating for me right now. I’m falling all over the place so I got a little bit of work on that. It’s always hard the first couple of days.”
The former Belleville Bull understands his weaknesses and works on perfecting the various skills required to become an elite goaltender, which isn’t surprising considering German work ethic.
Last season Grubauer split team between Belleville and Windsor, ending the season with the Spitfires with a 23-15-2-5 record and 16-1-1 with two shutouts in the playoffs.
Grubauer believes that his recent trade from the Spitfires to Kingston Frontenacs—his third OHL team in his third year in the league—positions him one step closer to the NHL. The Spitfires had acquired starting goaltender Jack Campbell, and tired of feeling like the step-child on the team as the backup goaltender, Grubauer looks forward to a starting position with the Fronts. “It’s a good trade for me because I [get] playing time. I didn’t want to spend time with Jack Campbell so they moved me.”
Photo credit: © Kim Janelle
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