A little over a day after highly touted NCAA prospect Cam Atkinson made the decision to leave Boston College to start his pro career with the Blue Jackets, he was joined by another blue chip NCAA player – Allen York, previously of the RPI Engineers.
York, a 6th round selection in the 2007 entry draft, has been given time to develop at RPI, where he turned from being a promising high school prospect to one of the best netminders in Division 1 hockey, positing the best all time GAA among RPI goaltenders, and fourth overall in save percentage.
Each step of the way, York’s stats have improved, and the general consensus is that he’s got the talent to develop into an excellent professional quality netminder. The big problem is going to be giving him that time to develop – the Jackets’ pipeline isn’t terribly deep, as we’ve previously discussed.
For now, York will be assigned to Springfield, where he’s likely to get a bit of action given the current flux in goal for the Falcons with David LeNeveau hurt.
In the offseason, it will be interesting to see how this affects the Jackets’ relationship with Gustaf Wesslau – the European netminder was on a one year deal, and it’s entirely possible that he might look for another option rather than give up playing time for York, who will almost certainly be positioned as the starter for next season.