| 10 January 2010
Thomas Greiss in the DEL
Like I mentioned when I did a player profile on Marco Sturm, not many of the players on the German Olympic Team will be known to the average hockey fan and here is one of them. Thomas Greiss currently plays for the San Jose Sharks, drafted 94th overall in the 2004 NHL Entry draft.
Greiss played his first game in the NHL on January 13, 2008 and has been a backup to Evgeni Nabokov since the 2007-2008 season. This year, Greiss has 6 starts with a record of 4-3 a GAA of 2.66 and a save percentage of .913. For a backup, his numbers are okay, but he is still a young hockey player who need growth.Although Greiss doesn't have the NHL experience, he does have some international experience. Greiss has played in the World Juniors Championship U18 (2003, 2004), World Juniors Championship U20 (2004, 2005, 2006), Olympics (2006) and World Cup (2006).
Hockey's Future has a nice analysis on Greiss, and they list him fourth on the San Jose Sharks under Top Prospects.
"One of the top goaltending prospects to come out of Germany in recent years, Greiss was one of the top statistical goalies in the DEL. He plays a calm, focused game, and one of his strongest assets is his ability to read and anticipate plays. Because of this is he is usually one step ahead of shooters and is therefore able to rely on excellent positioning to make his saves. At 6’1 195 lbs, Greiss has good size and strength, particularly in his legs."
It is unknown if Greiss or Dennis Endras will get the start for the German Olympic team, but Greiss will more than likely see a fair amount of minutes.
Greg Ezell writes about the Boston Bruins at Something's Bruin in addition to his work on Bloguin's Olympic Hockey Blog.
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