When evaluating the success of the New Jersey Devils over the course of the past decade, the player who stands out is goaltender Martin Brodeur. Consistently amongst the NHL’s finest between the pipes, Brodeur provided the Devils’ backbone during their three Stanley Cup runs since 1995. Just 32 years old, the defending Vezina Trophy-winner has a lot of hockey left in him, and he should pick up right where he left off whenever the NHL’s work stoppage ends.

But GM Lou Lamoriello is never one to rest on his laurels, and the Devils have already begun grooming their backstop of the future, Finnish netminder Ari Ahonen. Tall and steady on his feet, Ahonen is part of a new breed of Finnish goalies, including Calgary’s Miikka Kiprusoff, that are rapidly taking over the NHL.

Ahonen, however, took some time to adjust to the North American game after being selected with the Devils’ first-round pick in 1999. In 2003-04, his first season with the Devils’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Albany River Rats, Ahonen compiled a pedestrian 2.99 goals-against average and .902 save percentage, putting him near the bottom of the league.

The Devils expect Ahonen to improve dramatically this season. He’s surrounded by a talented River Rats team that now includes hard-hitting defenseman David Hale (who played last season for the Devils) and 2004 Hobey Baker Award finalist Zach Parise. Playing within a conservative system, Ahonen will rarely be hung out to dry by out-of-position defensemen. The early results are definitely positive: He’s given up just three goals on 53 shots thus far.

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Taking a cue from their highly successful neighbors, the Rangers have begun placing extraordinary emphasis on goaltending. Over the past five years, the Rangers have accumulated no fewer than four goalies who are projected to develop into NHL starters. Most of the attention is paid to Swedish prospect Henrik Lundqvist and first round picks Daniel Blackburn (10th overall, 2001) and Alvaro Montoya (6th overall, 2004), but 1998 third-round pick Jason LaBarbera may turn out to be the best of the bunch.

Last season, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound LaBarbera rewrote the AHL’s record book. In his third full season with the Rangers’ AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, he accumulated some mind-blowing stats en route to winning the Les Cunningham Award (AHL MVP) and the Baz Bastien Award (AHL’s top goalie). LaBarbera posted a stingy 1.59 goals-against average and .936 save percentage in 59 games with Hartford, and set an AHL-record 13 shutouts.

In a discussion about the Wolf Pack’s star net minder, head coach Ryan McGill intimated that his best might be still to come. Noting a transformation in the goalie’s mental game, McGill is extremely impressed with LaBarbera’s progress.

“He’s getting quicker, and his mental maturity has really shone through since training camp has started,” McGill said. “He’s just getting better at his ability to focus for the full 60 minutes and it’s certainly shown. If he had a weakness last year, it would be in the mental part of his game. The transformation in his mental game through the summer and training camp is very dramatic.”

It will be interesting to see whether LaBarbera can build on his stellar 2003-2004 season. He seems to have picked up right where the left off, and leads the AHL with a 1.00 GAA and a .964 SV% after his first three games.

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Islanders GM Mike Milbury has struggled for years to find a reliable goalie, mostly due to his own poor decision-making. In 1997, Milbury selected Roberto Luongo with the fourth overall pick in the entry draft, only to ship him to the Florida Panthers in an ill-fated deal. The Isles then used the first overall pick in the 2000 draft to select Rick DiPietro, causing hockey pundits to howl in disbelief at Milbury’s impetuous wheeling and dealing.

Last season, however, the supremely confident DiPietro finally established himself at the NHL level. Meanwhile, talented prospect Wade Dubielewicz turned in a dominant AHL performance. Finally, the organization can look forward to a bright future between the pipes.

Incredibly, Dubielewicz actually topped LaBarbera’s goals-against average and save percentage in 2003-04, numbers that would have been unparalleled any other season. The former Denver University standout stopped nearly 95% of the shots that came his way while giving up just 1.38 goals per game for the Isles’ AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. While LaBarbera shattered the league’s shutout record, Dubielewicz’s nine shutouts were enough to tie the previous record set by the Buffalo Bisons’ Gordie Bell all the way back in 1942-43.

As Dubielewicz plays in the shadow of DiPietro, most outside observers have paid little attention to the undrafted goalie. But he’s off to another good start in 2004-05 – posting a 1.98 GAA and a .924 SV% thus far – and that anonymity will soon become a thing of the past.

Success in the NHL begins and ends with goaltending, and the local teams have made the right choices in placing such a strong emphasis there. A relatively short drive to Albany, Hartford, or Bridgeport will give New York hockey fans the opportunity to see Ahonen, LaBarbera, Dubielewicz, and other stars of the future. Topping out at less than $15 per ticket, the entertainment value provided by the AHL is hard to beat – and so are the goalies.

Mr. Greenstein is the editor-in-chief of INSIDE HOCKEY (insidehockey.com).