The past few seasons the one major problem that has plagued the Philadelphia Wings is goaltending. On September 14, just two days before the draft the Wings made a move sending Drew Westervelt to Colorado for Ryan Hotaling the #12 & #18 picks this year and a first round in 2015. The Wings took the 2015 selection and paired it with a 2017 first rounder for 26 yr old Orangeville Ontario native Evan Kirk.
During Kirks first two seasons he split time with Tyler Carlson going 7-7 with a 12.08GAA. In Kirks rookie season he went 4-4 with a 9.81 GAA. Adding Kirk to this team finally gives the Wings a solid goaltending tandem, as well as a goalie for the future.
Brandon Miller enters his 14 year in the league, his 7th with the Wings. In thirteen seasons Miller has a 44-63 record with a 12.27 GAA. This season Miller will have a solid back-up. In years past when they have struggled and the defense has left Miller hung out to dry, the back-up didn’t fair much better. At times they did worse, forcing the Wings to keep Miller in between the pipes.
Last season the Wings had eight goalies in camp, none of which made it through camp. So the Wings go and acquire Kevin Crosswell, well needless to say that was a disaster.
With the league expanding to eighteen games, the acquisition of Kirk will give the Wings and their fans some comfort knowing in the back to back games they will have a quality starter, as well as someone who can come in relief should the other man struggle.
Both Kirk and Miller are from Orangeville Ontario and this past summer helped the Six Nation Chiefs win the 2013 Mann Cup. Going into camp you can say there is no guarantee who will be the number one goalie. But one thing can be guaranteed, training camp will be exciting as both Kirk and Miller push each other to do their very best.
