Carolina Hurricanes‘ 2nd round pick in the 2014 draft (#37 overall) goalie Alex Nedeljkovic(30) is voted winner of the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Award AHL Top Goaltender for 2018/2019.
The 5’11” 190 lbs. net minder played a career high 51 games posting a league best 34-9-5 record with a 2.26 GAA and a .916 SV% and had 4 shutouts with 1196 overall saves.
An American kid from Ohio, he took the route of going north for his junior hockey and was selected and signed by Plymouth Whalers, where he spent four years putting up best rookie numbers then followed it up with the 2013/2014 OHL Goaltender Of The Year title.
He’s appeared in a pair of NHL games as a first year back stop, then another look last season when he got the win in his first start posted a 2.00 GAA and .923 SV% on 26 saves.
The 23-year is at the end of his entry level deal heading into his first restricted free agency.
It would be zero surprise to see the parent club extend him for another pair of looks but first he has to see if he can lead the top rated affiliate Charlotte Checkers to an AHL Calder Cup championship.