2009 4th Round Pick Jean-Francois Berube

The Los Angeles Kings added to their strong stable of young netminders by trading up in the draft (with the Atlanta Thrashers to 95th overall) to select Jean-Francois Berube from the Montreal Juniors of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in the fourth round.

At 6′1″, 198 pounds, Jean-Francois Berube is a butterfly goaltender who was a walk-on to the Montreal Juniors this season. In 20 games with the Juniors he posted a record of 6-9 with a 2.89 GAA and a .900 save percentage. He spent the majority of the season backing up St. Louis Blues prospect Jake Allen. Berube credits Allen with helping him along this season. “I’m very aggressive in net and I never give up”, said Berube in an interview with Daryl Evans at Kings Vision. Kyle Woodlief Red Line Report thought highly enough of Berube to say he was the best goaltender in this year’s crop (albeit a weaker crop).

In a recent interview with the Montreal Gazette, Berube stated “It’s an unbelievable feeling to be wearing a Los Angeles Kings uniform. I wore the exact same sweater when I was younger, so I’m very proud to have this sweater on my back today.” Berube was the first Quebec-born player selected in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Berube joins the company of Jonathan Bernier, Jonathan Quick, Jeff Zatkoff and Martin Jones as future LA Kings players between the pipes. Now that Dean Lomardi has replenished the prospect pool, we don’t have to think about rushing these guys. Personally, I like the pick of J-F Berube. It’s always good to have another goaltender in the system. Berube’s size, strength and aggressiveness will certainly be beneficial for Los Angeles down the road. Denis Fougere, the Kings’ QMJHL area scout, was also very high on Nicolas Deslauriers who we selected in the third round. It’s nice to see the scouts staying active around the globe.

You can read more about your 2009 LA Kings draftees in our continuing series. Kyle Clifford and Nicolas Deslauriers have already been profiled by the fine folks at KingsCast. Stay tuned for more!

Resources:
Kyle Woodlief at USA Today
Montreal Gazette
Hockey’s Future

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