Glencross, like Bourque, made his way into the big leagues by an unconventional path. He was a 25 year-old rookie last season and he finished the year with his third NHL team since breaking into the NHL. He played his minor hockey for University of Anchorage, his final season managing 21 goals and 34 points in just 37 games.
Again, like Bourque, Glencross went undrafted. He was signed as a free agent by the Mighty Ducks and played for their minor league affiliates (Cincinnati and Portland) from 03-06, managing just 53 points in 130 games. He played 2 games for the parent club before being shuffled off to the Blue Jackets.
There must be something in the water in Columbus because Glencross positively exploded for the Syracuse Crunch. Before being dealt, Curtis had just 6 goals and 16 points in 31 games for Portland. After the deal, He went 19-16-35 in 29 games for the Crunch. That's just an insane reversal of fortunes and I think we can safely infer that the quality of his ice-time and line mates went up when he was moved. He also played 7 games for the BJs, but didn't make a mark.
This was all in 06/07. The next year, Glencross made the big club out of camp. He scored 6 goals and 12 points in 36 games before being moved - again - this time to Edmonton. Curtis is a guy that likes to be traded apparently because, like the Portland-->Syracuse move, his fortunes changed for the better once he became an Oiler. Although limited mainly to 3rd/4th liner type minutes, Glencross scored 9 goals and 13 points in 26 games with Edmonton, aided by an incredible 22% shooting rate.
Doubtless one of the reasons Sutter sought out Glencross this off-season was the Flames "saw him good" last year: Curtis scored 5 goals in 5 games against Calgary, one being an over-time game winner. His SH% in those games was - get this - 71%. He was a stone-cold Flames killer.
What can reasonably expected from GlenX next year? I honestly have no idea. His body of work in the NHL is small and his AHL numbers are conflicting. He went from a plugger to a difference maker in one fell swoop when the Ducks dealt him.
He's got NHL speed, no question. He set an "unofficial" NHL record at the Oilers skills competition last season with a round the rink time of 13.37 seconds (!). Despite that, though, he may just be an older sophomore near or at this major league ceiling already. On the other hand, he may also be a late-bloomer in the Dustin Penner mold.
Here's Glencross' advanced stats:
QUALCOMP: -0.05 - fairly soft opposition.
QUALTEAM: -0.15 - played with the Stortinis and Primeaus of the world.
ES/60: 1.97 - An excellent rate considering his teammates. His G/60 rate of 1.13 is ridiculously high however and unlikely to be repeated.
GFON/60: 2.54/60 - A middling figure. Not bad, but not the best for certain.
GAON/60: 1.88/60 - An outstanding number. Best on the Oilers, in fact.
Glencross played against nobodies last year and seemed to make the most of it. He had worse than average line mates, but still put up a good scoring rate and didn't get scored on very much. His positive corsi number (+5.4) also speaks well of him. He didn't play much on the PP and almost never killed penalties, so there isn't much to say about him on special teams.
Again, this is just a 62 game body of work. It's hard to say whether this is a firm step in the right direction for a bona fide NHLer...or a nice run by a guy who is actually a career minor leaguer.
There'll be ample opportunity for Glencross to prove himself with Calgary next season. Outside of about 5 players up front (Iginla, Langkow, Cammalleri, Bertuzzi and Lombardi) things are wide open for a guy like Curtis to claw his way up the depth chart. It'll be interesting to see if he can keep the good times going and become the bargain his numbers hint at.
For more, here's a Lowetides take on the ex-Oiler.
