Burnaby(BCHL) goaltender Matt Gordon has committed to Alaska-Anchorage, presumably for next season. Gordon played exceptionally well in the BCHL playoffs.
Gordon's commitment brings about questions about Nathan Lawson's future in Anchorage. There have been rumors this offseason that Lawson won't be returning to Anchorage next season. From what I've heard, it's looking unlikely that Lawson will be back with Anchorage next season, but the door isn't completely closed on his returning. Third-string goalie Mike Rosett won't be returning to Anchorage, so there would be room for Lawson, Gordon, and Jon Olthuis on the roster.
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Nathan Lawson will not be back in Anchorage. He has had enough and is moving on. A huge loss to UAA. This kid could win you big games as seen in the playoffs over his tenure there. I don't know if the goaltending is strong enough to move out of the cellar with Lawson leaving.
I can just as easily lay a lot of blame at Nathan's feet for 5 regular season losses. Had those losses been wins then UAA would have probably earned home ice.
Nathan is a talented goalie. He has a great glove hand and an ability to stand on his head and/or even carry a team from time to time. However, he also was over the course of his first three years at UAA quite often inconsistent.
I'm not one to believe that goaltending is the biggest factor to success in the WCHA. One could name any number of WCHA goaltenders that weren't endowed with great talent in the past decade that made it to the Frozen Four and/or won National Championships.
Jonny-O showed himself to be very solid last season. If Nathan returns he should expect nothing less than strong competition for playing time. If Nathan doesn't then the task will fall to Olthuis and I anticipate he'll be up to the job; so the magnitude of the loss (IMnsHO) isn't "huge". It won't make it easier to succeed in the league but it won't be a barrier to that success.
Lawson had one solid year at UAA, his freshman year. He added no consistency the next two years, and his prima donna attitude hurt more than helped the team. Olthuis earned more playing time that Lawson did.
I don't consider Lawson leaving a loss at all. Had he played up to his potential the last two seasons, I would see it that way, but he didn't. The ONLY time he played to his potential was in the playoffs, too bad we didn't see that kind of committment and focus out of him the rest of the season.
I understand that UAA is still looking at another goalie.
Is there any truth to the rumor that Lawson was shown the door at UAA over pre game incidents where his behavior reflected poorly on himself and the program at UAA?
With Lawson leaving the program and losing Beagle to the ECHL these are two huge losses. The young goaltending will be challenged with this roster in front of them.
Anon @ 8:14 am: Lawsons antics were pretty childish, but that had nothing to do with his leaving.
Being weirdly superstitious and/or having a goofy routine isn't really childish in my book but they certainly had nothing to do with his leaving (if he has indeed left).
I'ver heard from several very reliable sources that Lawson won't be back, and I am one fan who hopes those rumors are TRUE.
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