Daniel Altshuller: Not an easy ride

Special Thanks to Chris Messina

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Daniel Altshuller has gained a reputation as being a top notch goaltender the past couple seasons, now he’s getting a chance to do it in the Ontario Hockey League with the Oshawa Generals.

The seventeen-year-old was acquired by the Generals from the Belleville Bulls this past summer. The Bulls already had Malcom Subban (who is a top rated goaltending prospect in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft) in net and wouldn’t have been able to give Alsthuller substantial playing time. For the young goaltender the trade has worked out well.

The Ottawa native has been Oshawa’s number-one-goalie appearing in 20 games with a record of 6-12-2, a .897 save percentage and a goals against average of 3.64. Altshuller was drafted by the Bulls in the third round of the 2010 OHL Priority Selection.

“At first it was a pretty hard just getting use to the amount we are on the ice. It’s just a little faster, but I feel like I’ve gotten use to it now,” says Altshuller of the adjustment to the OHL. “Tracking the puck back-and-forth, being able to concentrate on every save. The only way to be able to (get better) is to just play as much as you can and work as hard as you can and eventually it will come.”

Altshuller spent last year in the Central Canada Hockey League as a member of the Nepean Raiders and had an impressive rookie season. In a league where it’s rare to see goaltenders fresh out of minor midget AAA, he put up impressive numbers. In 33 games he was 19-13-10 with a GAA of 3.22 and a save percentage of .906.

In the playoffs last spring Nepean pushed the Brockville Braves to seven games in the opening round of the CCHL playoffs. The third seeded Braves were supposed to make quick work of the sixth seeded Raiders. Altshuller, (still 16 at the time) played well and his team push the series to seven-games. He put up a .911 save percentage with a 3.73 GAA.

His most impressive moment as a Raider might have come two-years-ago when he was called-up as a minor midget to face the Pembroke Lumberkings (eventual league champions). Nepean lost the game 2-1 but Altshuller stopped 45 of 46 shots thrown his way.

Last season, Altshuller garnered a lot of attention in the hockey world when he won gold as a member of Team Ontario at the World Under-17 Championships in Winnipeg. He was one of only two players not playing in the OHL at the time to be named to the team. The other was Robert Polesello of Vaughan in the Ontario Junior Hockey League.

He followed up that international performance this past summer with another stellar showing at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Under-18 Tournament, where he was once again Canada’s number one goalie on a gold medal winning team. The experiences helped Altshuller prepare for making the leap from the CCHL to Major Junior.

 “I think it’s helped a lot. It has the same professionalism you need to play in the OHL. Get use to the fact you need to come on time and always have to be ready to go every game,” says the 17-year-old of his experiences representing his country. “It’s hard to describe the feeling you get when you put that jersey and you think of all the other great hockey players who have put on that jersey. Just to be able to represent your country in anyway is amazing, especially to be able to represent your country playing hockey.” 

If Altshuller has a strong finish to this, he will have a chance to have his name called at this summer’s National Hockey League entry draft. He is listed by the NHL central scouting bureau as a goaltender to watch for the upcoming draft.  

“I try not to really think about those things, whether they are positive or negative. I honestly couldn’t remember right now where I was on that list. I try and not think about and just focus on playing hockey,” says the Generals rookie netminder.

For the time being Altshuller’s Generals are battling for a playoff spot in the OHL’s Eastern Conference. If he can play well and help Oshawa lock down a playoff spot in the second half it will go a long way to helping his draft stock.

Bulls Daniel Altshuller has some tough decisions ahead

Belleville Bulls goaltending prospect Daniel Altshuller is having a dream year. First with his hometown Nepean Raiders Jr.A club Altshuller took over the starting role when then starter Michel Kowalew suffered a serious ankle injury. It took Altshuller about 9 games to get adjusted to his new role with the club as he went 2-7 in that stretch before adjusting to the speed of the game. Altshuller then won seven of his next ten including a 3-2 win over the Cornwall Colts a perennial league powerhouse.

Daniel was then invited to the Team Ontario U-17 camp for the upcoming U-17 world challenge Altshuller was a long shot as his competition all had some experience playing in the CHL but Altshuller had a fantastic camp and made the team as a back up. At some point between being named to the team and the beginning of the tournament Altshuller had outplayed Jake Paterson (the original starter) and was named the starter just before the tournament was to begin.

Altshuller led Ontario to a 4-0 run in the round robin and eventually to a gold medal while being named the tournaments top goaltender. The Belleville Bulls third round pick received glowing reviews from Bulls GM George Burnett as he told the Ottawa Sun that "Daniel was the goalie of the tournament and that was a great oppurtunity for him to face such high-calibre talent every night." Altshuller then returned to the Raiders and finished off the season with a 19-13-6-4-1 record along with a 3.22 GAA and a .906 sv% leading the Raiders into a sixth place finish and a first round matchup with the Brockville Braves.

Then this summer an invite to the U-18 squad came along for the upcoming Ivan Hlinka tournament in the Czech Republic and of course Altshuller was on the flight overseas as the team left yesterday. Once again Altshuller was a bit of a long shot to make the team as he was the only one without any Major Junior experience. Battling for one of two roster spots with six goaltenders at camp some had said that he may make the team as the backup. Once again Altshuller not only found a way onto the squad but will be playing the starters role while wearing the Maple Leaf in the Czech next week.

Altshuller's quick rise has forced the Bulls to try and woo the young 17 year old (Altshuller turned 17 on July 24th) into the OHL and onto their roster. As he has expressed his interest in going the NCAA route instead of through Major Junior it's proving to be quite the task. There are other cards at play that make the situation more complicated for the Bulls, Altshuller's father Brian owns the Raiders his Jr.A club and his brother Shawn plays as a forward for the club. The Bulls may have some help from Hockey Canada who will surely advise Altshuller that the best thing for him would be the CHL.

In the meantime Belleville has room on their roster for Altshuller as they traded Tyson Teichmann to Erie just this week essentially giveing Daniel a spot on their roster. As of now it looks like Altshuller is closer to signing with Belleville than he's ever been but the Bulls will still have to wait for an official decision as Daniel will be spending the next few weeks stopping rubber in the Czech Republic.