The Louis Domingue Era has begun in Arizona

When the Arizona Coyotes traded Devan Dubnyk to the Minnesota Wild for a third-round pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, I suggested that Louis Domingue was probably about to get his shot as an NHL starter.

With a steady uphill trend in his stats over the last two seasons in the AHL, Domingue has shown that he’s ready to take over at the NHL level.

Not unlike Malcolm Subban for the Boston Bruins (who was recalled yesterday in favor of Niklas Svedberg), Louis Domingue is performing at the AHL level far above where the rest of the league is — he has an 8-4-1 record for the Portland Pirates and a .922 SV% (quite an improvement over last season’s .890 SV% when he made the jump from the ECHL to the AHL).

Drafted in the fifth round of the NHL Entry draft by the Coyotes in 2010, Domingue is one of the last products of Patrick Roy’s QMJHL coaching system — and although the two weren’t exactly fans of one another, the former elite-level goaltender certainly had an influence on the younger netminder.

Domingue is only 22, so he’s probably got plenty left to learn — but he’s a lanky, well-positioned goaltender who plays an athletic game (like Mike Smith, but with better positioning) and a high talent ceiling.

Things Coyotes fans should know:

1. Domingue finished last season for the Portland Pirates with 35 PIM, because he got in a goalie fight. Fiery goaltenders are passionate goaltenders — and at the very least, the Arizona Coyotes are in for an exciting guy in net.

2. With the Coyotes playing back-t0-back games Saturday and Sunday, it’s likely that fans will get their first glimpse of Domingue at the NHL level as early as the game against the Montreal Canadiens. As a Quebec native, Domingue could be facing his childhood team (and now we all have to tweet at him and ask if that’s the case)

3. Last season, Domingue was miles above the competition in the ECHL — and although he struggled when first brought up as a starter in the AHL, his game splits show that he’s been on a steady uphill trend since making the leap.

4. Mark Visentin, the team’s other NHL-ready prospect, has been out this season with a leg injury — but if Domingue doesn’t pan out, Visentin could be the next guy to back up Mike Smith next season. If Domingue does pan out? Then the team is stuck with too many good goalies to back up the starter — not a situation many complain about.

Everyone shoot Domingue a follow on Twitter, and give the team’s newest netminder a warm welcome to the Coyotes family!