IMLCA Players Summit '27s: Top Goalies

With how hyped the Class of 2027 goalie group has been as a whole, there was no shortage of lights-out goalie performances at the annual IMLCA Players Summit. Here's a look at five promising sophomore prospects that showed out down in Florida:    Sobel is as good as advertised, and that's probably putting it lightly. A tremendous ball-stopper who stands 6'4 and nearly 200 pounds, he moves around like he's significantly smaller and is far more than just an hulking target for shooters. The South Jersey native does an awesome job of getting down to low shots, and when he's not able to make the save with his stick, he soaks shots with his upper body or makes a kick save, something he did against Mad Dog while making five saves and allowing two goals in his half. On the clear, he's super decisive and composed with his outlets. In between the pipes, Sobel shows no wasted movements and allows his defense to play with the utmost confidence. On pace to start for the next three years, it's scary to consider how much better he'll get given that Hall of Famer Brian Dougherty is his head coach at SCH, which also has some guy named Blaze Riorden on staff.     After evaluating Ward with Team Ontario's U-17 squad, I'd love to know more about him since details are relatively scarce. He's a '27 but is eligible to reclass as a '28 (due to how Canada's schooling system differs from the U.S.), though I couldn't find his high school listed anywhere. However, he's from Brampton and plays box (but isn't a goalie) for the Brampton Excelsiors, and he's also an accomplished hockey player. Showcasing an electric style of netminder, the 6-foot-2 lefty fills up the net and has excellent reflexes. He tends to flop too frequently but controls rebounds more often than not and make some ridiculous saves, so it's something you live with. Ward settled down a bit after looking jumpy to start and was very impressive both in and out of the cage, utilizing his athleticism to help lead the clear. He'll be one to watch going forward.     He may not be a show-stopper right off the bat, but after a few games, I developed a tremendous appreciation for the way he played and how he led his defense en route to a championship. Eynon is the epitome of a 'steady Eddie' at his position. He never got too high, he never got too low, and he was just as impactful out of the net as he was inside the crease, where he's patient and always in control. I was incredibly impressed with how disciplined Eynon was. He didn't bite on doorstep fakes, holding his line and coming up big. He embraced and excelled at all facets of his job, which included run-outs, big groundballs, timely saves in the clutch, and communicating with his teammates when the game was on the line. The future is bright for Eynon, who was named All-Nassau County as a freshman and is on pace to be a rare five-year starter.     There's nothing understated about Stake, a fiery and energetic ball-stopper from Massapequa. Whether he's barking out instructions and words of encouragement to his teammates or chirping at a shooter he just stymied, Stake can impact a game with his voice and lift his team with his big-save ability at a high level. He has explosive hand speed that allows him to attack and corral shots from any range, and he moves laterally exceptionally well to cover all four corners of the cage and stop shots from any release point. Lights out in tight, he was also quick to trigger transition with his long and precise outlets, with his work on the clear routinely leading to fast break goals on the other end of the field.     While he's more well-known for his shot-stopping ability, Kaplow first caught my eye for the beautiful outlets that he threw on the money from range without any hesitation. From there, he demonstrated an impressive all-around game and was a driving force in helping 2Way to the quarterfinals, where they came up short in OT. Cool under pressure and dialed in fundamentally, Kaplow came up huge with some massive stops, whether that meant throwing his body in front of the ball, getting a piece to disrupt the opposition's momentum, or catching the ball cleanly and calmly tossing the ball upfield. When he let one in that he wanted back or made a miscue, he was quick to respond with an impactful play. As 2Way's only rostered goalie at IMLCA, he saw a lot of rubber yet was a big reason why his team was able to eke out so many narrow victories.

With how hyped the Class of 2027 goalie group has been as a whole, there was no shortage of lights-out goalie performances at the annual IMLCA Players Summit.

Here's a look at five promising sophomore prospects that showed out down in Florida: