Could Scott Wedgewood’s incredible start earn him a spot on Team Canada? ‘It’s really cool just to be in the conversation’

Maybe there is still time for Scott Wedgewood s great start to become a storybook tale Wedgewood s star turn has been one of the preponderance surprising developments at the start of the - NHL season The goaltender has helped the Colorado Avalanche to the top of the league standings But what if this could lead to something bigger like say a spot on Canada s Winter Olympics crew Hoping for it obviously I don t know how it all works Wedgewood stated It would be something cool It s really cool just to be in the conversation Just thinking about being a Canadian kid growing up and all that stuff it was everyone s dream Wedgewood leads the NHL with wins He leads all qualified Canadian goalies in save percentage and goals against average While this is the majority exposure Wedgewood has ever received in his career the quality of his play has not just come out of nowhere It s the quantity that has changed Wedgewood s save percentage since the start of the - season is third among Canadian goalies with at least NHL games played behind only ex-Avs netminder Darcy Kuemper and Logan Thompson who are both at Even if we take out the red-hot start to this season his save percentage from the past four seasons is and tied for fourth among Canadian netminders with Adin Hill jumping ahead of him The truth of it is if you demanded anybody in the summer they d laugh at you right Wedgewood announced But I think the things that I ve really built with my encounter are very high-end The ability that I have the awareness the situational positioning all that stuff I do at a high level I just haven t had the opportunity to consistently put that on display The issue is Wedgewood s never played more than games in a season and until the start of this year he s never had the chance to show he can handle the workload of a No goaltender He s played in games since the start of the - campaign with starts That disclosed he is - - in games since joining the Avalanche with a save percentage and a GAA He s proven he can excel in situations where he faces a lot of shots and when the Avs are dominating and he has to wait for the scoring chances against him His reputation as a great locker room presence preceded his arrival in Denver Jordan Binnington who backstopped Canada in February to a Four Nations Face-Off win has starts since He also led the St Louis Blues to a Stanley Cup in and now has the Four Nations tournament on his resume as well Still one reason beyond Wedgewood s play that has even entered the conversation is the lack of strong play from other Canadian candidates Binnington is almost certain to make the gang but he s sporting an save percentage and has the fourth-worst goals saved above expected according to MoneyPuck in the NHL this season One of the three goalies worse than him is Montreal s Samuel Montembeault who was the No goalie at Four Nations The No guy Hill has completed three NHL games this season because of injury There have been reports that Canada had a group of eight to goalies in consideration for the Olympics which will take place in Milan Italy in February Wedgewood reported Tuesday that he has not been contacted by Hockey Canada and he has not been requested to start the drug-testing process required by the IIHF to be eligible Sportsnet s Elliotte Friedman disclosed last week that Islanders rookie sensation Matthew Schaefer had just started that process That Wedgewood hasn t been requested does not disqualify him but it s not clear when the deadline would be The deadline for choosing the band is Dec and the rosters are expected to be declared in early January The Canadian and American teams for the Winter Olympics were reported at the Winter Classic on Jan They re not making any decisions just yet They have time Avs coach Jared Bednar stated It s not just your play on the ice It s not just your play on the ice It s what you bring to the room the intangibles the acceptance of a role Lots of guys have their roles change when they go there Related Articles Scott Wedgewood red-hot Avalanche keep rolling fend off Blackhawks despite another slow start Mackenzie Blackwood s outstanding night helps Avalanche slip past Predators in - slog Avalanche injury situation gets worse Gavin Brindley week-to-week with lower-body issue Grading The Week Broncos Avs Wil Lutz CU soccer DU soccer giving Denver fans reasons to be thankful Avalanche Journal Denver Salt Lake City and Las Vegas about to be NHL s new Death Valley Other goalies who could be in consideration include Thompson who has had back-to-back strong seasons with the Washington Capitals and Kuemper who has played much better the past two seasons since joining the Los Angeles Kings Another guy who like Wedgewood is perhaps a long shot at this point but has been on Hockey Canada s radar is the other half of The Lumberyard Mackenzie Blackwood He has only played four games for the Avs this year but he s represented Hockey Canada before If his shutout Saturday in Nashville is the start of his own hot run he could sneak back into the mix as well The odds for Wedgewood may not be high but that s never bothered him before Counting him out has become a bad idea I feel like I can help Wedgewood declared I can do what I do for this crew for anybody It s how I pride myself with the day-to-day If it becomes an option they know what they re going to get Want more Avalanche news Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis