Patrick Munson

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League
Games Played – 13 / SVS% – .932 / GAA – 2.12
Challenge Cup
Games Played – 1 / SVS% – .857 / GAA – 4.00
Play Offs
Games Played – 3 / SVS% – .882 / GAA – 4.13

Joe Balm
Joined the Panthers roughly half way through the season as a backup and started nervously which is understandable given that he hadn’t played for a few months and this was his first professional contract.  Throughout his time with the Panthers, Munson has improved his game and he grabbed his opportunity with both hands and ran with it.  A string of good performances in net lead to him being given the number 1 spot for the playoff quarterfinals and the playoff finals weekend.  A future number 1 and would have him back next season.

Sam Balm
Since Munson joined the club mid-season he has really seized the opportunity given to him and has usurped Garnett as the number one goalie for the Playoffs.  Munson has performed well but struggled against one of the larger teams in Cardiff which is a concern for me if he was to be signed as the number one goalie for 19/20.  If he was to return as the import backup to share the load with a more experienced goalie then I would be pleased with that.

Antoine Marie-Jeanne
Brought in in November to bolster the Panthers options at the back, Munson had never played pro hockey before.  His attitude quickly endeared him to the Panthers fan-base and he put in some stellar performances throughout the season however his inexperience showed too.  Do I think he’s good enough for the number 1 spot?  Currently no, but the potential is there.  I’d be interested to see where he goes next season.

Adam Reddish
Brought in to provide relief to Garnett ahead of a busy festive schedule, but had to bide his time before getting regular starts. A very raw and aggressive netminding style meant you could never fully be at ease with his presence in net.  What he lacked in positioning however, he made up for with lightning quick recovery reactions – understandable for someone his age.

Favoured as the #1 down the final stretch, he got fans on his side with his showmanship and shutouts, but his positional naivety was badly magnified against Cardiff in the Play Off Semi Final with experienced and skilled forwards exposing his shortcomings. A decent talent no doubt, but nowhere near ready to be a #1 netminder at this level just yet.

Tina Taylor
On occasion I can sound like a broken record, for three seasons in a row now I’ve been quite vocal on my views surrounding the additional import netminder situation, I’m quite happy to concede that last season I was probably wrong, with all of the CHL games on top of a full domestic season Galbraith was a useful acquisition.  I’m not willing to concede that I was wrong this season, no additional games and a decent Brit backup, that deserves to be tested, already in place meant I was a bit miffed when we announced Munson’s signing.

He’s certainly got enthusiasm, he is entertaining, he knows how to make a connection with a fan base and he certainly has potential but he’s young and still needs to gain some experience to develop his positional play and reading of the game.  He’s had some good games in a Panthers jersey and I wouldn’t be averse to seeing him further down the line but I don’t think he’s quite ready to be our number one just yet despite a number of Panthers fans letting their hearts run away with their head!