I’m a goalie. I willingly stand in front of objects being fired at me. I’ve gone through many rituals that can only be described as strange. And I’ve loved every second of it. I’m a goalie. And thus I enjoy following and specifically watching other players of the same position. And I’ve noticed, albeit slowly over the seasons, that pure read and react goaltenders are certainly a dying breed. I for one, am sorely disappointed that unique styles tailored to the strengths of the individual are being taught less and less every year. Reflex netminders are some of the most entertaining and some of the greatest to ever play the game. Instead, he who has mastered the art of positioning is rewarded, any any unorthodox play type is ignored as nothing more than a glorified street hockey style.

The NHL we view today is full to the brim with goaltenders who are all pads, all positioning and minimal improvisational skills. The best example to me currently has to be Jean Sebastien Giguere. While taking nothing away from his early years, which were to me his absolute peak, though from then on he seemed be be focused more on tweaking every pad and piece of protective equipment to be larger, and less on being mobile. He to me, is the posterboy for robotic, immobile goalies who sometimes don’t even bother to try when they feel the play is lost. On the other end of the spectrum are goaltenders such as Tim Thomas, Evgeni Nabokov and Chris Osgood who play a much more reflex based game. As a purist, this is what I appreciate most. But goalies like this are rare these days, and some players seem so concerned with getting in position, routine saves become unnecessarily difficult. What drives me insane is watching a goalie scramble, while the opponent is in the midst of a good scoring chance, to get in perfect position instead of scrambling to do what is necessary to make the save if that’s what the play calls for. Every great goalie has a certain amount of positional ability, and every great goalie always knows instinctively where the net is behind him or her but reacting to whatever the other team will throw at you is something perhaps you can’t teach. At least, not easily, and it seems we’re content to not even try.

I think what’s most responsible would be the natural reaction to each style. As human beings, we’re creatures of habit and comfort. This I believe extends deeply into our assessment of players in sports, specifically in the goaltending position. Unorthodox goalies are worrisome, make us sweat and when they let in a goal, it often will appear worse than it really was. On the other hand, a regular, familiar butterfly goalie who comes far out of his net and gets into the position you’d think he was born in, and makes the save by just letting the puck hit him. And then you have to look at it from the perspective of someone who is employed as a coach or scout or is involved with the player in some shape or form. Your job is likely to be safer if you don’t stray from the familiar, comforting butterfly style, and what’s more, if your unorthodox protégé fails to deliver, the frown in your direction becomes that much larger and meaner. The young players who best master the art of positioning are rewarded as well under the same mindset. This to me, breeds a player who will never truly make the necessary saves needed to become great. The best of all time in my eyes, players like Patrick Roy, Dominik Hasek, Terry Sawchuk, they were goalies who could adapt to any situation and make saves they shouldn’t have been able to make because they could improvise a save that they’d never attempted before. That’s the heart of goaltending. That’s natural talent. That’s what we need more of, rather than coaches and scouts who play it safe for a plethora of reasons.

I think more coaching emphasis should be on teaching younger goalies to improvise. Throw out the traditional drills every once in awhile in favour of some drills allowing teammates to set plays in front of the net with random rebounds. Allow multiple players a puck with a random two taking shots, forcing a young goalie to read and react and make a save he or she has never made before. Grant Fuhr and Curtis Joseph to me are two criminally underrated players who were spectacular at reading the puck coming off of a shooters stick, and doing whatever was necessary to get some part of their body in front of the rubber. Chances also need to be taken on players who exhibit natural talent with a strange or different style. Work with the youngsters who need work on their positioning, but show that they can make critical stops. I think we need to re-evaluate how we judge goalies coming out of junior systems. For every good scout, there seem to be two or maybe three who show that this game still confuses even the seemingly most qualified of us.

The best unorthodox goaltender to ever play hockey, came from a country that wasn’t known for producing goalies in general. He didn’t play in any way anyone had ever seen before. He wasn’t even 6’, and weighed barely more than 160lbs. He had fine positioning, but that’s not what he became known for. Dominik Hasek was the master of doing whatever was needed to get in front of a puck, and in spite of many of his saves seeming lucky, he was perhaps the most methodical and misunderstood netminder in hockey history. Everything he did was thoroughly thought out and planned for a reason. An extremely intelligent man, he pioneered a style still lost upon many today. It’s Hasek that proves you don’t need to play a complete butterfly style to succeed, but that we often see players like him as lucky and fluky.

What defines natural goaltending to me in a nutshell, is a play that most write off as desperate, or random. It’s a play Hasek has done his entire career. On a breakaway or a good scoring chance, he would rush out of his crease and dive, usually sideways, at the puck carrier. I once read a quote by Hasek as to why he does this and it made perfect sense. It wasn’t random, it wasn’t him “just hoping” to hit the player. He said he carefully watches the play unfold, and looks at the eyes of the player going for the puck. If the puck is bouncing or the player isn’t in complete control, he’ll make his move and dive at the puck knowing by the time the player gains control or realizes he’s out of the net, it’s too late. He thought of it all by himself. He thought out the angles his upper and lower body would be at when he gets there. Pure improv. Pure entertainment. Pure goaltending. Know you’ll make a save. Don’t hope you will. Chicago took a chance on an unknown 207 picks into the draft. The reigning Vezina trophy winner is the most unorthodox goaltender playing in the NHL today.

Perhaps we should stray from the norm a little.