Named As One Of The Best

If there was one goalie who always seemed to thwart the opposition in key moments while playing in Canada West, Alberta's Lindsey Post might be that netminder. One can't argue with her stats or track record of success while defending the Pandas' nets over her university career, and that led her to finding work as a professional hockey player in Sweden with SDE HF in the SDHL. Since arriving in Stockholm, Post has put up incredible numbers during the regular season despite SDE failing to reach championship heights in the playoffs where the wheels seem to come off for the team. Not counting those playoff losses, it's pretty clear that Post has been a key member of the SDE club as she gets set for her fourth season in Sweden where she'll stop pucks for SDE again.

If you've been following Canada West hockey for a while, none of this should be a surprise. We saw Lindsey lead the Pandas to a National Championship in 2017 where she recorded a 2-1 victory in overtime over the Melodie Daoust-led McGill Martlets. She was outstanding in that run to the Golden Path Trophy, and was the winner against Saint Mary's and Concordia by 2-1 scores as well. Named to the All-Tournament Team, I cannot state enough how Post was a "big game" goalie for the Pandas during her entire career.

It isn't often you hear legends of the game talk about Canada West hockey stars too often, but Swedish hockey legend Pernilla Winberg, who does commentary work for C More in Sweden, spoke about Post in glowing terms this week in previewing SDE's chances of winning the SDHL championship this season. Winberg, whose successes include an Olympic silver medal and two SDHL championships, is one of the best to have ever laced up the skates for Sweden, so her opinion carries a lot of weight in this writer's view.

SDE signed former MoDo goaltender Viktorie Svejdova to partner with Post in defending the SDE net, and Winberg noted the importance of having Svejdova alongside Post in making Post better.

"Post may have had a slightly worse season last year, but she is still a top goalkeeper in the league," Winberg said in her assessment. "She provides security back there to SDE. If she has stable backup, they can lift each other up."

When asked where Winberg would rate the goaltending of SDE, she showed her belief in Post and Svejdova as a tandem by stating, "I would still say top three."

There are a couple of things to take from this assessment, and it shouldn't be lost on anyone that Winberg thinks highly of Post's abilities. I don't disagree with her that Post may need to be pushed from time to time, and Svejdova can certainly do that after partnering with Czech goaltending standout Klara Peslarova in MoDo last season. Take nothing away from Peslarova's own work that she's put in to be considered one of the world's best stoppers, but having a motivated goaltending partner in Svejdova can help push Post back to her 2019-20 numbers where she recorded a 2.01 GAA and a .942 save percentage despite being 10-9-0 on the season.

The other thing that should be noted is that Winberg views SDE as having top-three goaltending in the SDHL despite expecting them to finish in eighth-place this season. You don't usually see teams that barely avoid the relegation playoff having top-three netminding in hockey, but Winberg clearly sees goaltending that carries SDE more often than it lets them down. To me, that is a huge compliment towards Post as it shows just how important she is to the SDE club in Winberg's opinion, so we'll see if Post can continue her stellar netminding in Sweden.

Not lost on me, though, is the final feather in Post's cap compliments of Winberg. When asked who SDE's most valuable player is, Winberg named someone familiar which should surprise no one.

There are some very good teams in the SDHL that can pick apart defences quickly. Having a world-class goaltender to bail out the defence if they get beat should be a priority for every team, and SDE certainly has one in Lindsey Post. I've known this since watching her as part of the Alberta Pandas, but it seems that Pernilla Winberg is of the same opinion as I am when it comes to Post's skills between the pipes.

The season starts for Post and SDE on Friday as they'll visit Linkoping at Saab Arena. If she continues her strong play as she's done in recent seasons, expect SDE to steal a few games they may seem overmatched in while leaning on Post to help them win their fair share of contests down the stretch. It will be up to Post to make the saves, but I have a feeling she'll prove both myself and Pernilla Winberg correct in being a top netminder in th SDHL once more this season!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!