According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the psychological definition of hoarding is: "the compulsion to continually accumulate a variety of items that are often considered useless or worthless by others accompanied by an inability to discard the items without great distress."
Now, while anyone who watches hockey will tell you, you can never have too much goaltending depth, the reality is the Boston Bruins are living up the definition of hoarding when it comes to goaltending. While goaltending is not useless or worthless by any stretch, the Bruins are certainly living up to the
"compulsion to continually accumulate" and "inability to discard without great distress" sections with extremely high success rates.
In Boston at the NHL level, they have Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman who are at the top of their game, though the former is getting older and the latter has an extension that is imminent. At the AHL level in Providence you have Michael DiPietro and Brandon Bussi, both of which are battling for the number one spot there along with recently signed University of Notre Dame goaltender Ryan Bischel.
Finally, at the ECHL level you have Kyle Keyser, along with soon-to-be prospect Reid Dyck from the Swift River Broncos of the WHL and, in a few years, Providence College prospect Philip Svedeback. Svedeback may play all four years for the Friars, which would mean two more seasons, but that also decreases the amount of time he has to impress general manager Don Sweeney, outside of development camp that is.
To recap:
NHL - Swayman, Ullmark
AHL - Bussi, DiPietro, and *Bischel
ECHL/Future Goaltenders - Keyser, **Dyck and **Svedeback
*indicates AHL deal
**indicates future
That's eight netminders that have at least some promise in them. The question now becomes: once Svedeback and Dyck come onto the scene, will they have too many?
In this reporter's opinion, that question is moot. Boston already has too many by adding Bischel, and, in turn must get rid of a goalie or two or three until the dust settles and they figure out exactly what its plans are moving forward - especially with how young Swayman is too.
It's clear that the Bruins have a habit of collecting goaltenders when in reality, they should be more focused on signing reputable scoring forwards like defenseman Ty Gallagher from Boston University or Dustyn McFaul from Clarkson University. Maybe even forwards Quinn Olson from Minnesota-Duluth or Jake Schmaltz from North Dakota. Maybe those signings will come after the NCAA tournament, but to this point, there have been no rumblings of anything out those individual's camps.
At this point, Boston looks as if it is just stockpiling netminders, but that could turn into hoarding in the years to come if they were to not make any moves with anyone existing.