A South Surrey netminder who plays in the Western Hockey League (WHL) is among the nominees for best goalie of the year.
Harrison Meneghin, 19, who plays with the Lethbridge Hurricanes in Alberta, is one of four nominees for the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy, which is presented annually to the WHL Goaltender of the Year.
The goalie, nicknamed “Harry,” grew up in the South Surrey and White Rock area, and – as a Delta Hockey Academy grad, also attended high school in Delta.
Now home for the summer, he’s appreciative of the scenery he’s known most of his life, which includes mountains.
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But he misses the Alberta gas prices.
“The gas prices are a lot cheaper… Alberta is pretty flat, but the people are great, especially in Lethbridge,” Meneghin said Sunday (April 14). “The fans are a lot of fun – they came to support us every game. It’s a nice hockey town.”
Meneghin ranks among the league’s leaders in a number of major goaltending categories, including save percentage (.919, second), shutouts (3, T-4th), minutes played (3,040, fourth) and saves (1,483, fifth), a WHL release notes.
This season – in a career-high 53 appearances – the 6’3”, 170-pound Meneghin went 27-20-5-0 with a 2.59 goals-against average, a .919 save percentage and three shutouts, logging four outings with 40 or more stops.
He was also named Giuseppe WHL Goaltender of the Week for the week of January 2, 2024.
As a goalie, he knows he must perform all 60 minutes of every game.
“I think, in a sense, being a goalie is like being a quarterback in football… you can dictate how the game goes, in a sense,” Meneghin said.
“If you play good, the game’s gonna be 2-1 or whatever – you can steal a game for your team. But if you play really bad, you can lose a game 6-5, and you create a negative outcome for the team… it’s one of those positions where you’re either the hero or you’re… not the hero,” he said with a laugh.
Eligible for the 2024 NHL Draft, Meneghin is listed 26th among North American goaltenders in NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings.
If drafted to the NHL, he would love to be selected by his hometown team, the Vancouver Canucks.
“I think Vancouver would be really cool, just being a huge fan of the Canucks growing up… always watching their games growing up, and dreaming of going there,” he said, but added he would be appreciative to be drafted to any NHL team, whether Canadian or American.
Unselected in the WHL Draft, Meneghin signed a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement with the Hurricanes on September 20, 2021. In 90 career WHL Regular Season appearances, Meneghin is 46-32-7-2 with a 2.72 GAA, .913 save percentage and four shutouts.
Even though it’s summer, Meneghin still works out five days a week.
He’s got a little time off with his family planned before getting back into training hard, he said.
“My whole family is going to Italy for three weeks – it’s our first family vacation for awhile, my cousins are going too – it’s a huge family thing. It’s going to be fun.”
This year’s WHL Awards winners will be announced April 30 through May 9.