Jaroslav Janus

Janus has the skills and talent to start in the NHL. But his path to the league is murky at best. He spent almost all of last season in the crazy and chaotic ECHL where he posted fairly respectable numbers. But the presence of Cedrick Desjardins and Dustin Tokarski in the Bolts' goaltending pipeline combined with Mathieu Garon signed to a two-year deal as back-up with the big team mean that the time horizon for Janus and the others is at least three (if not more) years away. There's no keeper value in that ... at least right now.

Janus doesn't have a lot of size. But despite his small frame (5-11 and 190 pounds), Janus has shown us that athleticism and acrobatics can still earn a guy a job in pro hockey. He's capable of winning -- no, stealing -- games in the NHL. He just has to fight through a crowded crease of fellow goaltending prospects in Dustin Tokarski, Riku Helenius and Cedric Desjardins. Keep an eye on him; he may be the best of the lot.

Janus was drafted 162nd overall in 2009 and was playing with the Erie Otters of the OHL in 2009-2010 when the Bolts signed him. They were impressed with his somewhat exponential growth in his game and signed him mid-season; they assigned him to the team's AHL affiliate and displaced former first-round draft prospect Riku Helenius.