Jonathan Boutin

Name: Jonathan Boutin
Position: Goaltender
Catches: Left
Height: 6.01
Weight: 210 lbs
Born: 3/28/85
Acquired: 2003 Entry Draft, 3rd Round, 96 Overall

Junior Career
Jonathan Boutin's junior career began after being selected in the 4th round, 56th overall of the 2001 QMJHL Midget Draft by the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL out of the Yamaska AA bantam program. Lauded as the heir apparent to the tradition laid down by great Mooseheads goaltenders like J.S. Giguere, Boutin immediately made the leap to major junior at age 16. However, Coach Shawn MacKenzie chose to lean on veteran Dany Dallaire for much of Boutin's rookie season limiting the talented youngster to just 11 games in 2001-2002. Boutin's play, with a record of 4-1-1 with a 2.35 GAA and .902 save percentage, garnered Boutin the support of the Halifax fan base and was a point of criticism for MacKenzie for not playing him more. The contentiousness of this first season would carry over into the rest of Boutin's career in Halifax. In 2002-2003 Boutin began the year as Halifax's starter and played well through the first half of the season, but when the young netminder showed signs of hitting the wall in December of 2002, Halifax switched to journeyman goaltender Guillaume Lavallee who also handled starting duties in the playoffs where Boutin saw action in just one postseason game. Boutin posted a 22-11-2 record that season with a 2.90 GAA, a .889 save percentage and 4 shutouts. He also was selected to play in the 2003 CHL Top Prospects Game. Convinced that Boutin would rebound the following season, the Tampa Bay Lightning selected him in the 3rd round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, in which he was ranked the #4 North American goalie by NHL Central Scouting. Things in Halifax only went south, however. Boutin struggles at the start of his 2003-2004 campaign posting a 2-8-1 record with a 3.98 GAA and a .873 save percentage. Rumors abounded of Boutin clashing with the Halifax coaches and he also missed considerable time with a concussion as well. Jason Churchill soon seized the starting job away from Boutin and at midseason he was traded to the PEI Rocket. With the Rocket, Boutin began to refind his groove under former Montreal Canadiens head coach Alain Vigneault. He surged to a sterling 11-4-1 record with PEI with a 2.35 GAA and a .910 save percentage and took the team's starting duties in the postseason where he helped carry the team into the second round with a 2.06 GAA and a .933 save percentage before losing to Moncton. Boutin returned to PEI for the 2004-2005 season and started the year white hot earning QMJHL Player of the Month honors in September, 2004 with a 4-0-1 record with a 1.17 GAA and a .951 save percentage. For his efforts he was selected to represent the QMJHL in the 2004 Canada-Russia Challenge. However, playing behind a PEI blueline that played 4 and sometimes 5 rookies on any given night, Boutin could not sustain his hot start and by midseason he had slumped to a 15-14-2 record with a 3.24 GAA and a .898 save percentage. In the midst of a youth movement, PEI dealt Boutin to the Quebec Remparts and their GM, Patrick Roy, at the QMJHL trade deadline. Boutin was immediately installed as the Remparts' starter but missed almost the entire final month of the regular season after receiving an emergency appendectomy prior to a scheduled February start. In his absence, Quebec gave the starting duties back to rookie netminder Maxime Joyal. Roy gave Boutin the start in the team's opening playoff game against Victoriaville, but Boutin allowed 5 goals in a 6-3 loss and was replaced by Joyal for the next 4 games of the series. Joyal fared little better and, facing elimination and down 1-3 in the series, Quebec called upon Boutin with their backs against the wall. Boutin swept the rest of the series delivering Quebec into the second round against Chicoutimi. He shut out Chicoutimi in Game Two of their series and staked Quebec to a series lead with a 45 save performance in Game Three before the Remparts wilted in the face of the Sangueneens superior offensive firepower. He finished the playoffs with a 5-4 record with a 3.22 GAA and a .897 save percentage with 1 shutout. In the regular season, between PEI and Quebec, Boutin had a 19-19-2 with a 3.27 GAA and a .899 save percentage.

Professional Career
Boutin was signed by the Lightning in the summer of 2005 but found his position as the team's "goaltender of the future" taken by former London Knights goaltender Gerald Coleman as he was placed in Johnstown of the ECHL. He did make two starts early in the season with the Falcons when a Sean Burke injury at the NHL level necessitated seperate recalls of Brian Eklund and Coleman. In his AHL debut he set the Springfield Falcons' single game record with 52 saves in a 3-2 shootout loss to Hershey. With the Chiefs, Boutin played well enough to be selected for the ECHL All-Star Game which he started for the American Conference. Shortly after the game he was recalled to Springfield of the AHL where he took over the starting duties from Coleman. In 2006-2007, after a solid training camp with the Lightning, Boutin was assigned to Springfield where he served as backup for much of the season. Boutin went 9-17-1 in 37 appearances with the Falcons with 1 shutout, a 3.29 GAA and a .897 save percentage. In December of 2006 he was named AHL Goaltender of the Month.

Talent Analysis
Pros:
Boutin is incredibly quick and athletic post to post and up and down. He is well schooled technically and plays a textbook butterfly style.

Cons:
Boutin's biggest weakness in junior was in his mental approach to the game which accounted for his inconsistency. He had a tendency to lose focus and confidence at that level, but it has not manifested itself thus far in the pros. He sometimes struggles with rebound control and his size, listed at 6'1.5" by NHL Central Scouting in his draft year, just a bit below the ideal the Lightning organization prefers.

Future
If the past two seasons have proven anything, it is that talent doesn't dry up and eventually the cream rises to the top. Whereas Boutin once squandered his position as the team's goaltender of the future, he has regained some of his standing in the organization through his freshman and sophomore years of pro hockey. Boutin has all the tools to become a starting NHL goaltender. The only question has been whether or not he is mentally tough enough to be successful in the pros. Thus far he has shown the ability to answer the challenge.

Statistics Courtesy hockeydb.com

Profile Created 2/20/06 by Pete Choquette