Film Room: 'Mad scientist' Roberto Henriquez is a goalie worth betting on at NHL Draft
It’s almost unheard of for a re-entry to be the first goaltender selected at the NHL Draft; yet, the Chicago Blackhawks did just that when they drafted re-entry Slovak netminder Adam Gajan 35th overall in 2023.
Fast-forward to 2026, and history could repeat itself: Slovak goalie Roberto Henriquez will have his second crack at the NHL draft, just like Gajan.
But here’s the kicker: Henriquez might be better.
Much like Gajan, Henriquez began his journey to the NHL Draft by playing his first season in North America in the NAHL. Where their paths diverge is when they made the jump: Henriquez made the move in his draft year, whereas Gajan did so in his draft-minus-one season.
In his draft-plus-one season, Henriquez graduated to the USHL and was nothing short of spectacular playing in Gajan’s old Green Bay stomping grounds. He finished the season with an impressive 21-9-4 record, a league-high .921 save percentage, and earned a nod to the league’s second all-star team. For reference, Gajan finished his lone full USHL season with just an .893 save percentage with the Gamblers.
Few goalies drafted in 2025 have improved to the same degree that Henriquez has, and even fewer are better than him after a full year of development. Though he may have gone undrafted for valid reasons, we believe it shouldn’t happen again, as Henriquez ranks as the 6th-best goalie and 71st-ranked prospect overall on our final draft rankings.
Special physical tools
Few goalies move with such ease as Henriquez. His skating is at the top of the class with incredible edgework, quickness, and power. He has special ability at all three levels: on his feet, in the butterfly, and in transitions between the two.
Edge access is the first thing that really pops when watching Henriquez. He plays in a pretty low, wide stance, which Gajan was well known for in the USHL. When most goaltenders get lower and wider, their mobility decreases significantly as their legs tense up to hold their position. It’s important for in-tight play so that they can get down faster to cover the bottom half of the net, but they sacrifice their ability to move laterally in the process.
Henriquez has the best of both worlds: He can commit fully to a shot while keeping his legs loose enough and retaining lateral mobility with his phenomenal edges and leg strength and mobility.
Henriquez’s power is also incredible. He explodes out of any position, whether it’s wide and set feet, in the butterfly, or the RVH; he’d probably even figure out how to generate power from lying on his back if he needed to. It seems Henriquez is the world’s greatest scientist, as he has figured out the art of teleporting years before it should have been technologically possible. He flies around the crease, often using strong shuffles for big pushes in place of the more common T-push, which allows him to maintain his form better, be prepared for a shot quicker, and be prepared for a change of direction.
His mobility, core strength, and flexibility are all very high-end. He can make huge outstretched saves, reaching the full splits, but he can hold this position and even keep his body upright in doing so, rarely having to sell out completely. But what’s more is that he can reel his body back in after making big extensions.
He controls himself so well, even after making jaw-dropping saves, that it’s as if he’s still playing with the future in mind, as he never compromises himself just for one save. This mobility and strength are also used when he teleports from being on the ice to his feet. He executes so seamlessly that even when he slides instead of getting there on his feet, he gets up so quickly that it’s as if the slide didn’t happen. He really can recover from any bodily position and make it look like a walk in the park, which is very Dustin Wolf-esque.
Henriquez’s rampant physical talents don’t just make up the foundation of his game but are his identity. They alone make him an intriguing and draftable prospect. To warrant top-75 consideration given his older age, there needs to be something more.
Thankfully, there are.
He really might be a (mad) scientist?
What separates elite goalies from the rest of the pack often comes down to cognitive abilities. The vast majority of NHL goalies are great skaters with lots of athletic potential. But goaltending is a game of millimetres and consistency. Shooters have evolved to be far smarter, more selective, more precise, and more deceptive than ever before.
Long gone are the days of athletic reflexive goalies; now, to find true success, one has to be properly reading, anticipating, tracking, and executing proper decisions. As for our resident mad scientist, teleportation isn’t the only equation he has solved. Henriquez may just be the smartest goalie in this class.
Simply getting eyes on the puck and being able to process where it’s going is such a crucial skill and makes up the foundation of goaltending. Being behind the play by a split second can be detrimental. Henriquez’s tracking is lightning quick: He snaps his eyes to pucks in an instant, off passes, and always moves with his eyes leading first. He tracks shots into his quick hands and out when he makes a save.
But perhaps the most important and best aspect of his tracking is his ability to find pucks through screens. Henriquez fights around screens like a hound, excellent at peering through traffic and finds pucks extremely quickly after being eclipsed for a second. His reactions never diminish, and there is no hesitation in his movements, which bode really well for his future, as much of the NHL game is based on manipulating sight lines.
Tracking, though, is just a habit; anyone can direct their eyes towards the puck. In fact, there exists empty tracking, where all the habits are right, but nothing is processed properly. This is not the case for Henriquez, who processes the game incredibly quickly. It’s evident in his reaction time, which feels practically instantaneous. He springs towards the puck the second it comes off a stick like a jaguar pouncing on its prey, constantly processing play. He never misses a beat, even on weird bounces and quick changes of direction.
Still, reactivity can only take a netminder so far. Anticipation of play and decision-making are truly what make up the bulk of play reading, and Henriquez has those down, too. Constantly anticipating the play, he frequently scans and then adjusts accordingly. He’ll slowly start a backflow in rush situations with passing options to prepare himself for easier movement, or along the post where he may swing his lead leg back, preemptively prepping for a backdoor pass, or swing it out towards the shooter when no pass is present.
Henriquez can manipulate his positioning like a mastermind. When he knows that a shot is coming off a final pass, he springs out to challenge as much as possible, often getting to the top of the crease and setting his feet, even on cross-ice passes. Otherwise, he will opt to play deeper to keep play in front of him, taking deep routes for maximum efficiency, only attacking when it is most optimal, as if he’s stalking his own prey, the poor shooters who have to face him.
Many goalies have intriguing physical profiles, but few have the cognitive profile that Henriquez does, which really separates him from the pack. This gives our team confidence that there is truly something special about him.
The only question is: Why was he not already drafted?
A rough NHL draft season
Henriquez’s draft year didn’t exactly go as planned. While it was the right decision to move from a weaker Slovak system to North America, he may not have had enough NHL eyes on him playing in the NAHL. Thankfully, he played quite well there, posting a .923 save percentage with the Anchorage Wolverines. However, he struggled in his first USHL stint that year, posting a rough .877 SV% over 19 games.
To be drafted as an NAHL goalie, you need both extreme potential, particularly physical talent, and to prove that you can hang with greater competition. In Gajan’s case, it was his World Juniors performance that solidified the latter. But when Henriquez faced tougher competition, he fell flat.
Quite frankly, he just wasn’t prepared for that level at the time. His technique was severely lacking. His stance was poor, with extremely tight hands and a very wide, low stance. It exposed the reach of his hand capabilities, with misplaced technique, lacking the required precision and quickness, and the struggles to meet pucks in front of him.
According to Instat, Henriquez had just a .756 save percentage on shots above the pad to the blocker side, the result of a very low blocker position where he placed his stick on the other side of his body. Though his glove hand was slightly better positioned, it didn’t fare much better, with a save percentage of .828.
Henriquez was also generally very uncontrolled and erratic. While he showed anticipatory habits and play-reading flashes, his decision-making was chaotic, and he failed to accurately execute his plans. He overslid on most plays with his hands nowhere to be found while moving. He was a complete wildcard; unpredictable to the shooter, but also to himself. He had little structure and no consistency, which usually resulted in bad rebounds and finding himself out of position.
Overall, Henriquez was an extremely raw product. With his struggles to handle USHL shooters and the flaws in his decision-making, technique, and positioning, one can’t really fault NHL teams for passing on him the first time around. But he always had the potential, especially in three of the most important skills that just happen to be the most difficult to develop. Sometimes, taking the risk on potential can pay off in dividends.
A mad scientist with a bright future and promising projection
It has already been outlined, in perhaps excessive detail, the incredible physical and now cognitive talent that Henriquez has blossomed into. But even better news: Many of the faults that he had in his draft year have largely been eliminated. Once an uncontrolled, erratic goalie, Henriquez is now extremely efficient. His movements are astoundingly precise and textbook; he moves as a full unit with nothing trailing behind, push after push.
Still, he has some lingering issues, mainly in his stance, which is still low and wide, but the difference between this and the past year is night and day. He is a little more upright and plays in a more “normal” and optimal stance more frequently. He can sink into the old habit of the low stance occasionally, but his hands have become a lot quicker, and he meets pucks in front of him.
The results really speak for themselves. According to Instat, his blocker side above the pad save percentage has now shot up to an .837, with his glove side remaining the same at an .825 clip.
What’s really promising about Henriquez’s projection is that he’s ahead of Gajan’s development curve. It has taken Gajan three years after being drafted (draft-plus-four season) to finally start making the needed adjustments to his game and begin putting everything together. Gajan has now developed a more optimal and efficient stance and plays in a more cognitive and technical manner while still possessing the elite physical traits.
Henriquez, whose identity is nearly identical to Gajan's, is now outpacing Gajan by leaps and bounds. He also managed to put everything together to play a truly dominant season in junior, something Gajan never accomplished. This isn’t to discredit Gajan in any way; he is genuinely one of the best U23 goalie prospects out there, and his development has gone exactly to plan. But comparing the development curves of both goalies really goes to show just how good Henriquez is already.
Henriquez’s elite combination of physical and cognitive abilities, alongside a much-improved positional and hyper-efficient game, makes him a can’t-miss prospect, even if he is older than his peers in this draft.
Truthfully, if Henriquez had this exact profile in his draft year, we would be talking about a potential top-20 goalie, let alone top-75, as his profile fits someone who could easily become a premier NHL starter. Even if he doesn’t reach that upside, it’s hard to see a world where he doesn’t reach the NHL with this profile, incredible work ethic, and rapid development. Passing over him again simply isn’t an option; teams should be chomping at the bit to add this mad scientist to their roster.
