NHL draft tracker: Jake Paterson, Saginaw Spirit

Jake Paterson is delivering on his promise.

When the Saginaw Spirit made Paterson the first goalie selected in the Ontario Hockey League priority selection draft, there were the usual questions of how he would adapt to the junior game after playing for a stacked Toronto Marlboros midget team. The way the 17-year-old is playing in the Spirit's second-round series against the London Knights — Paterson had a 42-save first-star effort Monday when Saginaw won on London ice for the first time this season to take a 2-1 series lead — has borne out the wisdom of that pick.

On Monday, just hours after he was ranked third among North American goalies on NHL Central Scouting's final list, Paterson stoned London by thwarting what Spirit coach Greg Gilbert called "seven or eight high-quality, Grade A chances." It was part of a late-season arc that has seen Paterson, counting his nine playoff starts, post a 2.45 goals-against average and .926 save percentage since Feb. 1.

"That kind of comes with confidence," Paterson, who is the youngest starting goalie still active in the OHL playoffs. "When you're feeling good and you're used to the league and the speed of the OHL, it just comes naturally. You're playing bigger and you're out a little more on the shooters."

Whether the Spirit can oust the regular-season champion Knights remains to be seen. Getting this far with a second-year goalie is notable. Only three other Canadian Hockey League, all in the QMJHL, managed to win a playoff round while relying on a goalie below the voting age. Paterson, who turns 18 in three weeks, has looked like a veteran netminder while helping stymie the star-studded London and Sarnia Sting lineups.

"Terry Barbeau, our goalie coach, has done a great job with him," Gilbert says of Paterson. "What I've noticed is he's become very efficient, a lot stronger and more confident in challenging shooters, coming out over the blue paint [in the goal crease]. He's not wasting energy. He's just getting square to the shots. He's come a long way."

At 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, Paterson has the requisite size NHL teams prize in a goaltending prospect. The Mississauga native, who's giving up his beloved lacrosse this summer to focus on his craft, notes Barbeau has built on the tutelage he'd also had from his regular goalie coach, Piero Greco.

"He [Barbeau] has been a big help this year," Paterson says. "He's taught me a lot of little things. He's been working with [Buffalo Sabres goalie] Ryan Miller, so it's always good to be working with someone who works with a goalie of that [Miller's] calibre. It's been a large part due to Terry that I've been having the success I've had lately.

"He hasn't tried to change my game. Sometimes it's the little things that add up. Obviously, I have my goalie coach back home, Piero Greco, who's taught me pretty much everything technically. He [Barbeau] has been there all year. He'll see something in my game that needs a little tweaking."

The Spirit, who climbed from ninth in their conference to fifth over the second half of the season, did so while platooning two draft-eligible goalies. Paterson shared time with 18-year-old Clint Windsor, but won Gilbert and the team's confidence in time for the playoffs.

"It was earned," Gilbert says. "Clint Windsor came in and did a great job for us to help us get into a playoff competition, Both goalies have learned about internal competition and pushing each other. The great thing is they have a great relationship. Clint understands his position right now and so does Jake."

1. Every goaltender has to develop his own style, but whom in the NHL do you study closely?

"I don't really try to model game after any specific goaltender, but just comparing myself, I'd probably say I have similarities to [Montreal Canadiens'] Carey Price or [Buffalo Sabres'] Ryan Miller. That's who I figure I'd be similar to as far as style or technique goes. But I just try to focus on what I've brought up with.

"I've always been a big fan of Carey Price. He's had a rough go sometimes and it's somewhat similar to how I had a rough go with breaking into the OHL last year [going to Junior A for his 16-year-old season]. He's someone I can look to for how he's battled, especially in his first couple years with [Jaroslav] Halak [for the Canadiens' starting job]."

2. You were part of a post-season run last spring with the Soo Eagles (of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League). How does that experience apply to this post-season in the OHL?

"The playoff experience from last year has really helped out — just having the same mindset going into a series. Even though it's not the same level, you know it's about having to win four games to move on to the next series."

3. Who are the most challenging forwards you've faced in the OHL?

"I would say London and Plymouth are the two toughest teams I've faced as far as offence are concerned. They each have so much depth. That's kind of our biggest concern in this series, keeping our defence focused because all four of their lines can really do so damage to you. London's got four full lines of guys who can put the puck in the net."

4. How did you end up becoming a goaltender?

"It's actually a pretty funny story. My first-ever game in goal was just in a house league where you rotated goalies and I just hated it. I never wanted to be in the net. I played forward. A couple of years later when I was eight or nine, our goalie was away for a wedding and somehow I just ended up getting thrown in the net. guess I liked it. The next year my parents [mother Anne and father Kevin] bought me a set of pads and guess I liked it and stuck with it."

5. Knowing your teammates, what are they more excited for: that there's going to be an Anchorman 2 or that will be a Dumb and Dumber 2?

"I hadn't even heard there was going to be a Dumb and Dumber 2. Our team are pretty big Will Ferrell fans, so they're probably definitely more excited for Anchorman 2."

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.