| Jacob Oster | Guelph Storm | OHL | R | G | 6’3″ | 187 | Guelph Storm | 2020 | Manotick, ON | 2004 | 2021-2022: C |
OHL: Guelph Storm vs Flint Firebirds, February 11, 2022: Jacob continues to struggle with finding consistency in the second half. He will put together one strong outing and then one average one. Or two really strong games and then a poor performance. This happened to be one of those tough evenings for Oster. Jacob and Guelph lead 3-0 at one point and held a 4-3 lead heading into the third which ultimately ended in a 5-4 overtime loss for the Storm. Oster continues to struggle with widening his feet out pre shot which makes him a smaller presence in the net and also limits his mobility if the player decides or attempts to change the shot angle. The competition is way too talented to show your hand or give the player a competitive advantage by dropping early or making himself smaller than his big 6’3” frame. This is going to have to be addressed in order for Jacob to find his name on the draft board this summer. Grade: C (Evaluation by Neutral Zone NHL’s Brennan Poderzay)
U20: 2022 NHL Draft Eligible Goalie Report, December 8, 2021: Last 5 game snapshot- Coming off an impressive 3 win and 2 losses in the previous 5, Jacob has been up to the task with 4 of the games being a 1 goal game. This will continue to build mental toughness as the rest of the season goes on and has him learning to deal with pressure and limiting mistakes that could be costly. Oster has great size and a good presence in the net. He moves very well laterally and does so in stacked manner which limits any holes while he is moving. Along with his physical traits, it can’t be neglected to mention his strong 8-2-win loss record. One area that Jacob will have to continue to develop in is keeping his feet underneath him as the play progresses in the zone. When he starts to widen his feet out, he starts to limit his lateral mobility on his feet and makes it more difficult to control rebounds if the shooter changes the angle of the shot. Guelph continues to develop must watch prospect goalies, so I would be interested to watch Oster’s second half of the season. (Evaluation by Neutral Zone NHL’s Brennan Poderzay)
OHL: Owen Sound Attack at Guelph Storm, November 19, 2021: Oster has good size and covers the net well with his angles and confidence to challenge shooters. He is platooning in the Storm net so far this season and has been effective in his starts and has won 6 of 9 games coming into this evening’s game vs Owen Sound. He controls his rebounds well but could improve in this area. There are times under pressure where good angles allow pucks to hit him vs catching pucks to offer his team a breather under pressure. Much of this could be attributed to his youth and adjustment to OHL shooters in his first season. Oster stopped 23 of 25 shots and 2 of 3 in the shootout in this game and scrambled well to see pucks when his team was under duress. Oster should continue to improve as he strengthens his legs and core. He is young and has time to develop physically. This added strength would allow him to maintain his balance and reset more quickly to face a second shot situation. Grade: B-
U18 Ontario: HEO Midget AAA, February 19, 2020: Tall, athletic netminder who moves well in the net, can extend to make difficult saves and plays the puck with confidence. He made a great pass to the far blue line and was able to come out of his crease and stop wrap around dump ins. He has good footwork, he maintains body control despite being peppered with shots and he has a calming influence. He could garner some OHL Draft attention given his size, frame and movement but he’ll need to continue to work on his technique and positioning. Grade: B
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images