PITTSBURGH — With the 45th pick in the 2012 NHL Draft, the Flyers have selected Anthony Stolarz, a goaltender from the Corpus Christi IceRays in the North American Hockey League. Stolarz, a native of Edison, N.J., grew up a fan of the New Jersey Devils. His favorite player? Martin Brodeur.
ISS has him ranked as the 10th-best goaltender in this draft — he was the third to be drafted, indicating the Flyers probably could have traded down to take him. He’s a big guy, weighing in at 6’5′, 200 pounds, and he uses that size to his advantage. There’s simply not a ton of net to shoot at, even after he drops down into the butterfly. Quickness would probably be the one word to describe Stolarz, as scouts say he’s extremely fast post-to-post.
Stolarz compiled a 2.84 GAA and a .920 save percentage in 50 games with the IceRays last season. He’s committed to the University of Nebraska-Omaha, so it’ll be awhile until we see him in the Flyers farm system.
Here’s audio of Stolarz meeting the media:
