Looking back on an interesting prospect from last season's SMJHL draft, we wanted to follow up and
analyze the young career of Canadian perfumer-turned-goaltender Yves "Stinky" D'Odeur. He showed a lot of
promise and hype prior to his drafting, but his results in the following season have been a mixed bag to
say the least. Extreme highs and lows have mired the young prospect's career, and today we're going to
explore them.

Yves D'Odeur, the prodigal scent-based goaltender, was seen as a total wildcard in the S73 SMJHL draft,
falling into the 3rd round and being selected by the Great Falls Grizzlies to serve as a backup behind
GFG starting goaltender Beau Kavanagh. Shortly after the draft, D'Odeur was selected as the primary
netminder for the Team Canada WJC squad in an attempt to fulfill their hopes of medaling in the tournament.

Prior to the start of the SMJHL season, D'Odeur suited up as the starting goaltender for Canada's international
junior team. D'Odeur's performance in the WJC was nothing short of dominant. He held a game rating of 84, the
highest in the tournament among all players, both goalies and skaters, by holding a .924 sv% over 7 games played
en route to a bronze medal for Canada. Advanced models suggest D'Odeur could have been argued as the strongest
goalie in the tournament despite finishing 3rd in voting for best goaltender, though his performance did result
in a strong winning campaign for the rookie of the tournament award.

Once the SMJHL season began, however, D'Odeur's winning results seemed to evaporate entirely despite rather
strong individual numbers. His clutch gene seemed to fall out of his back pocket, posting an embarrassing
2-17-3 record in his 22 starts despite holding the 14th-highest save % in the SMJHL with a .901, as well
as tying for the 15th-best game rating among SMJHL goalies, with 72. With such results, the inevitable rumors
of D'Odeur as a drain on the locker room and a poor fit with the team began to swirl in local Great Falls media
and have continued to persist throughout his rookie season.

D'Odeur has spent the offseason honing his positioning, rebound control, and mental fortitude to try to clean up
some of his inconsistencies and present a more stable in-game presence for the Grizzlies to rely on in the upcoming
season. His will to make a big impact in the SMJHL remains unfettered, and he's hungry to achieve a more prominent
role and reputation in the league. In an effort to improve his overall skillset, has worked with elite Finnish sniper
Axel Hamalainen to round out some of his weaker areas in net and bring himself up to a level in which he feels
confident staring down any shooter in the SMJHL.

We will be watching D'Odeur's sophomore season with great care to see which SHL team bets on the budding goaltender,
as well as whether or not Yves can maintain his elite upside while rounding out the weaknesses in his game. Some folks
think that his ability to "smell the puck" is just a gimmick for a mediocre goalie, while others think it could provide
just the edge needed to truly transcend the goaltender position itself.


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