Delmas spent time in both the ECHL (Wheeling) and the AHL (Hamilton) for the second consecutive season in 2012-13. He only has nine games of experience at the AHL level and is far off from being considered for a spot in Montreal. The Canadiens re-signed Robert Mayer, the primary netminder for Hamilton last season, so it would appear, at best, Delmas will back up Mayer in the AHL.
Delmas' career has been foundering ever since being selected with the 61st overall pick by Colorado in 2008. The 20-year-old goalie began last season off grid in the Central Hockey League (Wichita Thunder), but got a chance when injuries struck Wheeling, Montreal's affiliate in the ECHL. His performance for Wheeling, easily the best stretch of his career since turning pro, puts him in a position to challenge for a backup job with AHL Hamilton. He's got pretty solid skills between the pipes, but can get into trouble with rebounds or when he strays.
Delmas has spent the past several seasons in the QMJHL, and was a combined 20-16 last year with the Quebec Ramparts and Halifax Mooseheads, posting a .896 SV% and a 3.25 GAA. Delmas used to be considered one of the Avs' goalies of the future, but at this stage, it's not clear to us whether he will ever make it to the NHL. As a first step, he will need to sharpen his game considerably just to make it out of the 'Q' and into the AHL.
Delmas took a step back last season, his third with the Lewiston MAINEiacs of the QMJHL. His GAA rose from 2.84 to 4.11 and his SV% fell from 0.903 to 0.867. He sits well back on the Avs' goalie depth chart, behind Craig Anderson, Peter Budaj, Tyler Weiman and Trevor Cann, so his fantasy value right now is about as close to zero as you can get.
Delmas plays a solid positional game, but at just 18 years of age, has some more developing left to do. He is too far down the Avs' goalie depth chart to have any real fantasy value right now.
