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098 - Olympic Wrap Up and Season Wind Down
116 Plays1 month ago
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Drill of the Month: Line Walk Option with Low to Slot Pass: https://truenorthgoaltending.com/drills/line-walk-option-w-low-to-slot-pass/
This week we sit down and discuss the Olympic hockey tournaments and talk about some good hockey that was played. We also talk about what to do going into the off season and how to reflect upon the season that is wrapping up.
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Transcript
Introduction to DIY Goalie Podcast
00:00:06
Speaker
Welcome to the DIY Goalie Podcast, where hosts and goalie coaches Nathan Park and Connor Munday share their insights on how to become a better goalie.
Episode Topics Overview
00:00:18
Speaker
Welcome back goalies to another episode of the DIY goalie podcast presented by true north goaltending with your hosts Nathan Park and Connor Monday today. um we've got a little bit of kind of a, a smorgasbord, I guess, of, uh, of things we're going to talk about today. There's lots kind of on the go. So we got a couple, uh,
00:00:43
Speaker
topics. We'll see where we're at for time, i guess. We might save one for another day, but we'll see how things go. um We'll also kind of throw out a drill of the month since it's the end of February and we have not done that yet. So, you know, we'll hold true to our word and and give you guys one of those too. And then we'll also start just kind of like a little bit of a wrap up on on Olympics because we're recording this the day after or I guess the day of but after the gold medal game from from the Olympics. So um I know Connor's chomping at the bit to. to maybe start crying on uh on camera here but uh yeah so we got a few things to get through today um i don't know i guess we'll start off how are we doing kind of end of the season wrapping up light at the end of the tunnel that's gonna be tying into one of our topics today but uh how are we feeling with uh Maybe that last little burst of energy before before we wrap up.
Canada's Olympic Performance
00:01:44
Speaker
ah Well, I don't want to talk about that. i want to talk about the end of the Olympics here. Just ah the disaster. Just the disaster of that. ah No, yeah, no. We we can we can talk about this kind of the end of the season here. um Yeah, I don't know. Just...
00:02:01
Speaker
you You mention it a lot, and I never really seem to get my head around it until until it's too late. We're just basically after the Christmas break heading into January. just it's all When I say it's downhill, it's not like it's going bad, but it just it goes by so fast. like I was just telling you off camera here that literally my KCU-18 AA skates wrapped up literally last week.
00:02:31
Speaker
just kind of sprung up on me. I thought I had, you know, maybe another week or two before, uh, um, you know, before we actually really get into the, to the end of the year here, just kind of heading into playoffs. And, um, so, so that, so that kind of caught me off guard a little bit, uh, I'm a lot i'm a little sad a little little upset about that, but you know it it is what it is. again evan Evan, I know you listen to this podcast, so just again want to say thank you for you know letting me take part in that this year. that was It was a lot of fun. Definitely looked to be brought back. but um
00:03:04
Speaker
yeah I don't know. It was just just it all goes by so quickly, and you don't even really realize that until basically the end. Yeah.
00:03:16
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know. I'm still just kind of wrapping my head around it here. because I have my last skate with my female group this upcoming Tuesday. And then with my with one of my minor minor hockey organizations, we still have another
International Hockey Discussion
00:03:29
Speaker
couple of weeks. But um yeah, I don't know. just it's all just just It's all coming to an end here so quickly compared to last year. So it's kind of thrown me off a little bit.
00:03:38
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, and we'll dive more into that a little later in the episode, because that's Connor's segment. We're going to kind of do a little bit of a a season end kind of reflection and and some of that stuff. But I guess, yeah, we'll just rip the bandaid off. We'll talk about it. um As a Canadian, very disappointed. Like, that's the best word that I can describe it. I thought I'll go on record 100% and say that I thought the Canadians were by far the better team.
00:04:08
Speaker
I will give major stick taps to Connor Hellebuck, probably had the game of his life, um played really well. i know he's a very polarizing character, but I thought overall Bennington did what he had to do. I know Connor isn't a huge fan of him, but you know, he he gave them a chance. That's kind of all he needs to do. I'm not a huge fan of his approach of flying 10 feet out of the net in the half butterfly, but It does work for him, I guess, this when it comes to these sorts of games. I mean, he he kind of got beat in that overtime goal because of it, but he also made a couple really good saves, both in overtime and in regulation over the last couple games and in the the Olympic tournament there. But yeah, a lot of good hockey to watch.
00:05:00
Speaker
um I don't think my boss listens to this, but, you know, watched a few games at work, um not only just the Canadian games, but it was kind of fun to watch some of the other um other teams and countries that were participating. One thing I really like about the international stage is kind of some of the hidden gems that get a chance to really showcase themselves and kind of make names for themselves. You know, I mean, we've seen it in previous years with a lot of Latvian goalies um in the Olympics this year. it was kind of you know, the, the Clara and the, i don't even know how to say the guy's name. Halavi, the Slovak goalie, both of them I thought did pretty good. You know, who I thought actually had a really solid tournament was Jacob Markstrom.
00:05:51
Speaker
um It was kind of Philip Gustafson's net to run with. He kind of dropped the ball a little bit. Markstrom took over and, I thought he was solid that game against the States, um, heartbreaker for them that that's a quarter final game that they're playing against the States. And, um, it would have been nice to see them pull that one off. I thought he played really well, but, uh, yeah, I do think Canada was the best team there.
00:06:17
Speaker
i guess a hat tip to the Americans for finding a way, but, uh, realistically that one's all in Hellebuck's court in my opinion. And, uh, That combined with the fact that the Canadians, for some reason, forgot how to score.
00:06:30
Speaker
ah But so now we get to sit here and listen to it for the next four years, even though, you know, I don't know how deserved it was. But.
00:06:41
Speaker
i'm I'm also one that because of this very reason, I don't like to chirp the other side too, too much. So well ah we'll leave it at that because I don't want any chirps coming back my way if things don't go my way. So I kind of like to keep my nose shut ahead of time.
00:06:58
Speaker
But no, I thought it was a lot of good hockey, a lot of good goaltending and was a fun kind of week and a half there. And Now it's almost back to reality, and I think the NHL games aren't really going to seem like they have quite the same energy. It'll kind of be like the post Four Nations lull last year. Yeah.
00:07:16
Speaker
So. Yeah, I mean... Yeah, disappointing is all you can really say just with how Team Canada showed up at the at the at the gold medal
Goaltender Performances Analysis
00:07:30
Speaker
game. um I honestly wonder if Pete DeBoer was in John Cooper's ear and was like, don't play this Logan Thompson guy.
00:07:40
Speaker
Like, like i like like i know i I don't know. tom like Thompson... i didn't I didn't necessarily like the way that Bennington played the last couple of games leading up to the gold medal game.
00:07:55
Speaker
i definitely think that maybe Logan Thompson should have maybe gotten another look because he only got the one game against, what was it? Sloan? No, not Slovakia. It wasn't France. It might have been Slovakia. No, Czechia was Bennington. It was either France or oh who else was in their group now? Switzerland. I can't Might have been Switzerland. I think he played Swiss. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was Switzerland. Yeah.
00:08:23
Speaker
yeah I don't know. I would have, I would have liked to have seen Logan Thompson, maybe get another look. um But I mean, like obviously, you know, in kind of met in the playoff fashion makes sense to run with Bennington. i just, I just thought he looked really shaky in those two, in those two games leading up to the gold medal game.
00:08:43
Speaker
um But yeah, definitely like hats off to to Connor Hellebuck. I give him a lot of crap. I give him a lot of flack. I still think he's overrated. But he had he he had a really good game today.
00:08:56
Speaker
ah He had a lot on the line for him. And I think for him, like he had something prove compared to you know last year with the with the Four Nations Cup loss and everybody was saying how he's a choke artist of a goaltender in big game moments. And so I think having...
00:09:10
Speaker
You know, um just kind of the game that he had, I think, silenced a lot of people. And hopefully that reflects back to, you know, his play with Winnipeg. And maybe you can turn it around a little bit with Winnipeg. But yeah.
00:09:26
Speaker
yeah and then Yeah, and then now we have to hear about it from the Americans for the next four years. So, you know, that's going to be the tough part. And I don't know how to feel about it. You know, I'll try to keep try to keep politics out of here. But just with the political climate being what it is, and just I think this maybe amplifies it a little bit.
00:09:47
Speaker
But as a member of the goalie union and who as somebody who wants to see goaltending, across the entire world succeed.
00:10:01
Speaker
usa hockey, you know, props to them, you know, in terms of in terms of their development patterns and their and their development style and just bringing in more American goaltenders to the game and really have kind of overtaken Canada and the goalie department a little bit. um results the results show right there and so i think uh you know as much as we like to criticize hockey alberta hockey canada here i think that we need to need to step up in that department but uh i don't know just it's it it sucks it's a little bit of a glum day today um i mean even ah you know even on the women's side too i don't know if you've had a chance to watch a women's hockey um at all but even i felt you know i thought i thought both teams you know both team canada teams um
00:10:47
Speaker
Both teams had really good rosters. I just don't think that they were constructed enough well to win. um it just it just it just seems that both both groups just kind of had that, I don't know, just were a little lackluster and in in some areas. and you know I mean, i wasn't I wasn't exactly happy with Anne-Rene de Bienn. playing in the gold medal game of that.
00:11:11
Speaker
You know, one I thought of, I was i thought Emerson Mashmeyer's net was more deserving, but I don't know. It it is what it is. Sorry? She did play well, though.
00:11:21
Speaker
like Oh, yeah. No, ah you know i'm not im i'm not I'm not taking anything away from that. I think just... You know, like my my thought process with Bindington was the same way with with with Davian. I thought she just looked a little a little shaky and just I didn't have a lot of confidence in her. I thought Mashmire was the better option for Canada for the Canadian women's team, but.
00:11:44
Speaker
You know, it is it is what it is. this is why i'm This is why I'm a goalie coach. This is why I'm a podcaster. I can talk about this stuff, and I'm not the guy making the decision. So, I don't
Hosts' Olympic Event Choices
00:11:53
Speaker
know. just it is it is It is what it is. um Unfortunately, i' I might have to turn off Twitter for the next four years. so we'll ah So, we'll see. But I'm happy for Hellebach.
00:12:06
Speaker
you know as much as again like i said as much as i give him crap but um yeah i don't know it's just it's i think just in terms of hockey canada and you know canadian goaltending just kind of where to where do we go from here you know like what what what do we do to you know be back on top and we've we've had that discussion before but yeah and yeah it's we won't open up that can of worms again that might be something though maybe we can revisit um and kind of do a bit of a deeper dive on that side of things again and kind of, you know, circle back and have a discussion on that again. But um in terms of, you know, the Bennington and Thompson situation, i i definitely see where you're coming from. There were a couple kind of, you know, hold your breath moments when it came to Bennington, kind of in the semifinals and stuff. But what I will say,
00:13:00
Speaker
You know, he took you to the dance at the Four Nations and he didn't really show any reason to take him out throughout the tournament. Like you could argue that, yeah, maybe he didn't look the strongest, but I do think that the Canadians didn't lose because of him.
00:13:18
Speaker
And I also, on the other hand, don't think he necessarily like stole anything for them. But one thing I will say is. I mean, who knows what things are going to look like, you know, 15 years from now or whatever, but.
00:13:34
Speaker
Has hockey ever seen such a colossal set of rosters play against each other in a game before? like And the the the crazy part is, is there's some guys that were left off of both sides that you could even argue.
00:13:51
Speaker
should have been there too, right? like i mean I don't know. Maybe Shifley can give insights on how to beat Hellebuck a little bit more. Well, what that will that will that that that that would have been Josh Morrissey, though. Yeah, I guess. Even though he was injured, Morrissey still would have been a guy maybe to...
00:14:10
Speaker
you know, maybe provide some insight on that. I think team mean team Canada, I think team Canada left more to be desired in terms of their roster construction compared to the, compared to the U S I thought, you know, the roster that, that the U S had put together is probably the best that, that they really could have put together um for Canada. I mean, you were left out Conor Bedard, but Conor Bedard was in it. So, all right, sure. Mark Shifley,
00:14:38
Speaker
hasn't really been playing all that well, but I, maybe I would have took him over somebody like Mark stone as an example. um I'm trying to think of, you know, yeah I don't mind stone being there. The one that kind of th bugged me and there is some moments where I'm like, I don't,
00:14:56
Speaker
This is why I didn't want him on the team, but it was Bennett. nice Yeah. there's There's some questionable things there with Bennett. Now, that being said, I mean, that line did put together a pretty critical goal against the Finns, but i don't know. I digress. I mean, like there's yeah mean like there's like like like there was talk here in with Bouchard and with with Hyman.
00:15:21
Speaker
um Maybe you know maybe you could put Hyman in in the Mark Stone, Sam Bennett spot. um you know Evan Bouchard, yeah i questionable, but i mean you know maybe maybe take him over maybe take him over josh more seat i don't know but And then and I think was lacking a bit though on the back end. So I think that's where Boosh would have been useful.
00:15:48
Speaker
Yes. um And then, I don't know, even like like even with like the goaltending side of things too, I mean, definitely Bennington Thompson for sure. Even though Darcy Kemper didn't get into a game and I'm kind of maybe thankful for that. I think maybe there are better options than Kemper, but it's hard to ah It's hard to really say. Stuart Skinner should have been on the team. Okay. But so yeah, I don't know. Yeah, yeah I don't know. I think um I definitely think Canada left a lot more to be desired.
00:16:20
Speaker
um But if you can imagine, you know, maybe Sidney Crosby pushes out another four years of playing, ah be which would be nice. You know, you got Crosby, McDavid, Celebrini, Bedard all together, right? Maybe even, yeah, maybe have Matthew Schaefer as well too, right? So I don't know. I mean, it's kind of, it's, it's kind of that same talk with the world juniors, both this past year and the year prior where team Canada had left off a lot of good young players that they should have brought together, but they didn't. So yeah,
00:16:52
Speaker
I don't know. It is what it is. It's definitely it's definitely hard to say right now compared to you know like the 2014-2010 team where you had guys like Jonathan Taves, Duncan Keith, ah P.K. Subban, Scott Niedermeyer, Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo. lot of a lot of really big Canadian names.
00:17:13
Speaker
And then now now, nowadays it's like, eh, maybe, you know, like Hagel's on the team. That's, i mean, you know, good for him, I guess. Mark Stone, same deal. You know, nobody really exciting or outstanding.
00:17:26
Speaker
I don't know. Celebrini is a stud. I'll say that he came to play. Yeah, he did. Absolutely. That that duo of McDavid and Celebrini was a lot of fun to watch.
00:17:38
Speaker
I just I don't I wish. Sorry, just I just I didn't I didn't like McDavid. I hated McDavid's line when then they initially had it, you know, was Celebrini, McDavid, Wilson.
00:17:49
Speaker
I thought that i'd like that i don't that that was just a bad line. I mean, when they eventually you know put McKinnon up there, I thought that maybe was a little bit better, but I don't know. I wasn't a fan of McDavid's line combo. so What would you think if it was Celebrini, McDavid, and Hyman?
00:18:04
Speaker
I think that would have been better, honestly. and know Hyman, hyman netfront net front presence. Celebrini works off the half wall. McDavid rushes that puck into the zone and no one is able to move it around and be able to find passing options.
00:18:18
Speaker
I thought maybe that would been better. a lot of shoulda, coulda, wouldas. I mean, McKinnon hits that empty net. That's a whole different ball game or you know if Hellebuck doesn't get his paddle on it or whatever. But Anyways, that's how it goes. We could sit here going round and round all day. but yeah Well, I do.
00:18:40
Speaker
I do. Sorry. i I do want to ask you this just because we are on the subject of the Olympics, not just Olympic hockey. If you had an opportunity to participate in any other Olympic event, what would be the one that you would do?
00:18:58
Speaker
uh i don't know i've always wanted to like and this is probably the only sport that i think you know if i really wanted to it could get into it but i've always wanted to play like curling at a high level like that's um that's kind of one that's uh you know i've done it a little bit and it's a lot of fun to play um but also kind of watching some of the um you know, like the freestyle half pipe or the free ski or whatever, where, you know, those guys are going down and just going back and forth, flipping around and stuff.
00:19:35
Speaker
That looks like a lot of fun. um I don't really like though, like the sports or events or whatever you want to call them that are like judged.
00:19:48
Speaker
Like i I like an outcome, I guess, like, you know, where you can get a score or whatever, like ah an actual like goal or whatever the case is. um But I also think speed skating is an interesting one to like those guys can fly and it's a lot harder than it looks.
00:20:06
Speaker
And those skates are ridiculous. Like just how big they are and all that. Those like those blades are sharp too. like they are They are incredibly sharp. I would say for me mean, yeah, curling.
00:20:22
Speaker
And i've i've done I've done curling as as ah as a phys ed topic in school. um Yeah, speed skating is another one. But I was also thinking, like, I don't know, bobsled or luge or, you know, now just something else sunday along those lines, too. i thought i mean i'm not i'm i'm i'm I'm not a thrill seeker by any means, but just I remember...
00:20:44
Speaker
like I remember specifically when, you know, I, the, the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, like that was like the very, very first time I really paid the attention to the Olympics and ever since then.
00:20:54
Speaker
And I don't know, just something about bobsledding or, you know, the loser skeleton or just something in that realm. I i don't know. Just interesting to me. So. Yeah. Those tracks are crazy. Like you don't realize how 90 degree though.
00:21:09
Speaker
Yeah. Ice tracks are until you actually see them. But, uh, Yeah, no, there's a lot of fun things going on. i don't know. I'll give mad props to the cross country skiers. Like my God, that would just kill the legs. but No, um I think, you know, fun week and a half kind of back to reality a little bit, I guess. yeah But yeah yeah, no, I guess we can kind of work through into the drill of the month now and kind of go from there. i don't know. I don't really have much more to add to the Olympic side of things. So.
Goalie Drill Explanation
00:21:49
Speaker
Fair enough. um Yeah, so yeah, let's jump into the ah let's jump in and drill of the month here. um Sorry about bringing this in like basically at the end of the month. ah Obviously, in the very first very first episode of the month, I said that I might put it in. Obviously, I didn't. So we are now here at the end of the month with...
00:22:08
Speaker
The drill of the month presented by true North goaltending. It is the line walk option with loam to slot pass. ah In the last couple of sessions that I've been working with our minor hockey organizations and even with ah um my U18 AA team as well, we've been talking a lot about screens and backdoor passes and just working real and tight in our crease here. And this is one of those drills that almost simulates very perfectly an actual play that would develop in our own end. So here's how it works. So the goaltender will start on their post with pucks in the corner. X1 makes a pass up to X2, who will then walk basically to the to basically the walk towards the middle of the ice and a kind of walk in for shot.
00:22:58
Speaker
X2 will kind of follow as well, serving as a backdoor option. X2 can either take a shot or they can make a pass over to X1 as a backdoor read.
00:23:09
Speaker
ah From there, X1 will then regroup and pick up a pass as X2 makes his way down and then kind of ends up in that hash mark-ish area on the ah on the opposite side where X1 will make a pass to X2 and X2 will take a shot and then you know the rebound will ah essentially play off from there. Here's what the actual description says, because mine was absolutely terrible. Goalie starts on the post with pucks in the corner.
00:23:37
Speaker
X1 passes up to X2, then attacks the net. Goalie pushes up to X2. walks the line. Goalie makes small adjustments with X2. X2 can either make a shot past X1 or dare to deflect from the side of the net, or they can shoot on that for a quick rebound.
00:23:52
Speaker
Goalie then resens resets the post. X1 circles back to corner and picks up another puck. X2 will then drive low into the slot backdoor area. X1 makes a pass X2 for a quick shot.
00:24:04
Speaker
Goalie must get across preferably on feet if possible to beat the pass and then play out the rebound. If I had a difficult team, the second shot can add the option for X1 to drive the net for shot or stuff as well as a backdoor pass. so A lot of lot of different options there.
00:24:19
Speaker
ah Key points in this one is the aware the awareness of threats so making sure that we're scanning to play around us. Proper rotations before any movements. Use the head to find where to push. Then rotate body and hard push across. Getting set, i.e. beating the pass, making sure that there's a hard stop at the end of the push or making sure that we catch our edge. If you are going to do that ah butterfly slide, catch the edge and drop down drop the knee down almost immediately. Small adjustments to a deflection. Do not over slide into the save.
00:24:49
Speaker
Again, this is one of those drills, you know, where it almost perfectly simulates a play that would happen into the end. I mean, again, we watched the the Olympics ah here almost basically capture that entirely. We know where McDavid would send a pass up to the, to the you know, to the D-man. D-man would kind of walk towards the middle and then. somebody celebrini mckinnon mcdavid whoever would be setting up and you know that backdoor spot area um and then same idea again you know where you have mcdavid pick up that puck from the corner and then try to feed that puck you know through the um through the slot to the opposite side the ice obviously our shot in this instance here's ah where the hash mark says so it's it's it's a per it's it's it's almost a picture perfect play of you know what
00:25:31
Speaker
what exactly would almost entirely exactly happen, you know, in ah in a game setting. um And, you know, just with the goaltending side of things, this is one where precision really plays into it here. You know, especially when we're talking about, you know, those backdoor passes. i had i had a few good arguments, you know, with goaltenders where they were like, oh, I got to get back to my post. It's like, well, not necessarily true because if you get so worried about, you know, getting back to your post, you're essentially selling yourself short. So we want to end up essentially in that kind of that space you know in front of the post not exactly behind it um because again we're still trying to cut off that angle in front and so i think just you say like i said like if you you might sell yourself short if you worry about so getting exactly back to the post but you want to get back to that space you know almost directly in front of the post there when you're making those backdoor saves so and can i add to that
00:26:25
Speaker
No, but we're moving on. Goodbye. ah Perfect. There was twice in the Olympic Games that I said I was like, we're too comfortable getting back to our post. We need to get in front. And one of them was McKinnon's last minute winner against Finland um that just got between the post and Saros's pad. Like,
00:26:51
Speaker
I, I get it. i do. But the problem is, is when that puck's higher up, like if it's bottom of the circle, yes, by all means push to the post.
00:27:02
Speaker
But if it's like up top, like that McKinnon one, he was not quite at the face off dot. Like he was a little closer to the net, but he was roughly on that same angle or somewhere around there. Right. And, uh,
00:27:15
Speaker
And to me, you got to get in front of that because there's there's that little bit of space like when when your foot hits that post, your body kind of doesn't really get over all the way sometimes or at least not as quickly. i think the other one that was i think it was in the other semifinal game with the state scoring on Slovakia, I think. Um, same thing. The goalie came across and kind of pushed over and into their RVH and got beat over their short side shoulder where I thought if they had pushed in front of that post, that would have hit their body. Um, so that's kind of one thing that, uh, like kudos for touching on that. Cause I think that's something. And i I, was actually working the other night with, uh, the MLAC with Ethan's team, the U15 AAA team that I've been out with.
00:28:07
Speaker
And, um, You know, we were working on in tight plays and stuff. And there's the one goalie kept pushing back to their post and I kept finding little holes to squeeze the puck through. So I was like, why don't we try pushing in front? And I think as goalies, we tend to get a little too comfortable getting to our posts. And that's kind of our default.
00:28:27
Speaker
And i i would say 50 percent of the time we're probably better off being in front. So and that's all situational. Right. So. um But yeah, no, that's a good drill. Lots of options, lots of lateral movement, reading the play. And that's kind of if you guys can incorporate that sort of stuff into your drills, into your sessions, that's really what's going to help set you apart is being able to scan for threats, identify threats, be able to anticipate but not cheat and, you know, kind of have those game like situations. So good drill to kind of incorporate if you guys can.
00:29:08
Speaker
Sorry, there something popped up in my Facebook feed here that I thought was that i thought was interesting. um Yeah, um again, like guess I said, it's one of those drills, you know, where it almost perfectly sets up, you know, what an actual play would look like. And then, yeah, talking about the, you know, back to our post situation, I find that...
00:29:30
Speaker
you know, a lot of goalies, you know, like you said, like they get comfortable and, you know, that's, and just cause that's what they're always thought. Oh, get back to your post, get back to your post, get back to your post.
00:29:42
Speaker
and But we don't exactly think about that from a, I know from a practicality perspective, right. You know, it's like when when we say get back to your post, we don't exactly mean, you know, get back to your post. You want to get back to,
00:29:56
Speaker
You know, that your your your post is your reference point, but it's not exactly the, you know, the the end position, the end point of where we want you to be in your movement. It's the same deal, you know, with, you know, moving across your crease, you know, point to point.
00:30:13
Speaker
You know, a lot of times goalies, you know, will will slide across thinking out there faster. You know, well, no, get over on your feet or they'll slide across and then in their butterfly because they think like, oh, like that's that's position that I got to be in.
00:30:25
Speaker
say well, no, like if you get a proper rotation, you you get ah you get a proper look across and you get a proper push and you end up on your feet, you actually have a better chance of making the save rather than turning or looking, turning, rotating, sliding, and then potentially getting beat. And then now you've taken yourself out of the play, right? Because you you don't you don't have any edges to work with. And a lot of your power and your movements comes from your feet.
00:30:47
Speaker
Right. So it's just, I don't know. Hockey IQ is the way that I'll, is the way that I'll end that there is no, not, not even hockey IQ goalie IQ is what all is, what all is, what I'll use. Actually, there's a little bit of a little little lackluster in, in some of those spots. So I just, I think this, that's, you know, something to consider as well, you know, especially, you know, we got to pay attention to what's going on around us.
00:31:08
Speaker
Yeah. Last thing I'll say on that is there is also a difference to getting to your post flat kind of in like, an rvh but not on your goal line and there's a difference between getting to your post where your foot like you're in a regular butterfly and your foot hits the post but your body's in front so that's another thing too to think of if you're getting back to your post are we getting there in kind of an rvh position
Reflecting on Past Season Achievements
00:31:36
Speaker
because that puck's low in the zone or am i getting there getting my foot to the post, but my body's in front of the post kind of just in a regular butterfly because it's a little higher or even higher in the zone still, am I just clearing that post altogether? So that's ah something to think of. Food for thought for you guys today. We've kind of gone on a little longer than I thought we would in terms of the Olympic stuff and just kind of side tangents. So maybe what we'll do is we'll save my segment, I guess, for another episode and we can dive into kind of talking about, you know, season wrap up type stuff like
00:32:16
Speaker
You guys listening are probably going to be in a bunch of different boats. Some of you maybe who are playing, you know, junior or triple A or something like that, you might still have a couple months of runway left, depending on how deep you go. There's some teams that are already done and like have wrapped up, whether this past weekend or weekend before or something like that. um Like I know for us, like our oldest season is for spring hockey practice with his team tonight. So, you know, that's stuff's already starting up. So, um yeah, we'll get into kind of what you wanted to talk about with the season end. And we can kind of talk about, you know, reflecting on your season and kind of what to do as we wind up here.
00:33:01
Speaker
Yeah, well, I mean, like I said, you know, like the end of this season this year has just kind of sprung up on me a little bit. You know, I thought i thought I still had a little bit of little bit of time left, you know, in terms of ah accomplishing what I wanted to accomplish with with certain groups or even just, you know, thinking that, you know, that the season maybe you know runs on a little bit longer than i had thought.
00:33:23
Speaker
um I wanted to just kind of touch on just, you know, just reflecting on confidence, ah you know, in terms of, you know, did I as a coach and did you as a goalie, you know, a accomplish the the goals and the, um you know, the stuff that that you wanted to accomplish, you know, this year? Did you feel good about the year that you had?
00:33:51
Speaker
this year, despite, you know, what your personal stats were, despite, you know, what the record of your team was and how successful you were in playoffs, just you as an individual in terms of your play, your development, your progression, you know, ah how did, how did you guys feel at the end of the year this year? um For me personally, talking from a coach's perspective, um you know, like I said, I,
00:34:19
Speaker
Kind of unbeknownst to me, you know, last Thursday was my last practice with my U18 AA team. And so i had to I had to kind of pivot and be like, hey, well, now we got to be in a position where, um you know, where I'm doing everything that I can make you guys feel good, you know, to to help you guys succeed, you know, towards the end of the year. So we talked about, you know, going back to basics, you know, in tracking and proper rotations and movement and and all that stuff. um As I look back on the end of the year this year with my group, mind you, mind you I still have a few more skates left with some other groups.
00:34:55
Speaker
I don't know if I'm totally happy, you know, with how things ended this year. um i thought I had some skates that were better than others. I thought I had some sessions, you know, that were that were better than others. um You know, I thought in terms of ah how I delivered...
00:35:16
Speaker
you know The stuff that I had wanted to to teach and had what I had wanted to um you know bring forth to the table for for some goalies were were were better than others. And I thought that you know I had hit my i had hit the the nail on the head with with some points versus others.
00:35:33
Speaker
from from From a goaltending side of things, you know you guys have to think about, you know did I get better this year despite you know whatever your... your personal stats were? Did you, um you know, did you get better at skating this year? Did you get better at your movements? Did you get better at your rotations? Were you happy with the level that you played at this year? Was the level that you played at, whether that be, you know, double A, triple tier one, two, three, whatever, was that the level that, you know, you were expecting it to, to be like this year or is maybe, was it something
00:36:06
Speaker
totally different or maybe was it something that you weren't expecting and so you had to you had to change on the fly in terms of how you approached you know coming coming to the team same thing you know with with the junior a standpoint or the junior standpoint as well you know was playing at junior abc you know the the everything that you expected it to be or were or was were there things that you had to you had to change on the fly So as some of us, Nathan's kid in particular, it's heading into spring hockey this year. Take a few moments just to, you know, think about you, the end of your winter season, the end of, you know, what most of us, most of us would consider regular hockey season.
00:36:48
Speaker
And, you know, think about, did you get done? Did you accomplish what you'd want to this year? Were were you happy with, know, your personal development this year, both as a goalie, as a person, um and what can you do to improve on that next year, if anything.
00:37:10
Speaker
I know for myself, you know, developing practice plans, you know, this year was a lot more challenging than normal because I don't usually do that a whole lot. Even going through video this year, this this year in particular was like the very first time where I really had to pay attention to to game tape and I hate going through game tape. Um, and so I just, you know, having to figure that out as well and try to do that in a timely manner so that I can relay my thoughts and, you know, bring the information that I'd wanted to bring information to, to my goal is before we stepped out on the ice. So,
00:37:44
Speaker
a lot of a lot of learning curves for me this year and taking more of a role as a as a head instructor than i normally do with uh with uh with true north but uh i mean all in all i would say for me is was it was a good year am i totally happy with it no one am i totally upset about it no so it's just a matter of you know how do you guys feel at the end of your year good bad so-so yeah the uh I feel like the coaching side of things probably has just as much, if not more development as the playing side of things. But yeah, I will say on the coaching side, man, September to December is usually grind.
00:38:30
Speaker
yeah and then january to march is usually like oh we're done like that was quick um but what i will say is what i think is really important for you guys as your seasons wrap up um do take some time to reflect but reflect on both sides both the positives and the negatives so Think of the things that worked well for you and think of what you're really proud of and what you accomplished.
00:39:02
Speaker
And then also think of some of the things that you think didn't work so well or that you'd like to improve on. Because now is the time, while some of like this season is fresh in your mind, to start figuring out a bit of a plan moving forward into next season, how you want to develop, how you want to, i guess, like,
00:39:21
Speaker
you know, approach next season in terms of a development plan on ice and off ice, how you want to like, what are the things you want to identify that you want to get better at?
00:39:32
Speaker
What are the things that you think you're really good at and just kind of want to maintain more so? But that's going to be um ah kind of a real important point right now, I think. The other thing, too, is start figuring out your off season. So Take a break, kind of step away from the game for at least a little bit, even if it's two weeks or something like that. Like it depends on what level you guys are at. But even just a kind of two week vacation, right? It's the same as a regular job kind of thing. If you can get away for a little bit, not think about it, just kind of have that reset helps to avoid burnout.
00:40:10
Speaker
and kind of helps develop that love for the game again. But aside from that, figure out what you're doing off the ice and then figure out what you're doing on the ice. Like we're both kind of advocates, mostly against spring hockey, aside from a couple like you know, specific situations. Right. um But, you know, if you are going into spring hockey, what does that look like? Are you getting goalie development? Is it a three on three league just for fun and to kind of do some, you know, in tight battles and stuff like that? Are we going to goalie camps? Are we doing like biweekly skates? Like what does that look like for you in your situation? And what do you want to get out of it too? It's not just what am I doing, but what am I going to get out of it? Right. So you need to figure out what you want to
00:41:00
Speaker
basically hit the ground running with when it comes to late August, early September, depending on when your tryouts and stuff like that are. But right now is a great time to start having a plan, start you know thinking of an approach.
00:41:15
Speaker
And especially while the season's still kind of fresh, you can have an idea of you know what went well, what didn't, and kind of build around that. So I think that's important too, like not only reflecting back, but starting to plan ahead.
00:41:29
Speaker
But also, like I said, take that break, right? Have a little bit of ah decompress, have some time off, you know, and just kind of ah an exhale, a wind down, whatever you guys want to call it. Right. But I know I'm going to be doing that as soon as our winter season wraps up and we're kind of through like the major busy weeks for coaching, I think. So I've already kind of started to exhale a little bit. But yeah, it's definitely kind of nice. The days are getting longer, weather's getting warmer to an extent and, you know, give yourself props for what you did this season.
Offseason Planning and Avoiding Burnout
00:42:07
Speaker
and then take that and make a plan for how you want to continue to develop.
00:42:13
Speaker
yeah um yeah Yeah, definitely. annoying I know that once March 9th hits, which is you know my last skate with my minor hockey organization, it's going to be, well, poop. Now what do I do? Now what do I do until... yeah i do i did I did have a buddy of mine, guy by the name of Sean Grams, reach out to me. He's actually a buddy with na with ah with Mario as well.
00:42:40
Speaker
uh had he had reached out to me asking me to emcee the uh uh his minor heart my minor hockey organization's spring tournament skills competition thing so i'm gonna get to do that um yeah nathan nathan's kind of touched on on it already um you know just with Take a few moments, chill out, you know, worry about, you know, other things than hockey, but just understand, you know, that everything you did this year will translate to next year.
00:43:19
Speaker
And, you know, be proud of you know, the work that you guys had put into this year, the ups and the downs, you know, that came with the season, you know, the wins, the losses, the the the celebrations, the heartache, you know, everything with that experience.
00:43:37
Speaker
And then depending on where you guys are going into, you know, with the off season, whether it's, ah you know, spring, summer hockey, maybe you're going to go play a different sport. Maybe you're playing a different sport for the first time this year, doing something other than hockey or, you know, you're going for, you know, lake trips or, you know, trips overseas whatever.
00:43:59
Speaker
whatever that may look like, just enjoy that. Try not to worry about hockey so much because it's, it's, it's going to be there when you guys come back. um But, you know, just definitely just take a few minutes for sure. Just to, you know, to reflect, recap,
00:44:17
Speaker
you know we always talk about journaling you know at at the end of your journal for for this year just note what you liked about the season what you didn't like about the season what you thought you did well at what you thought you didn't do well at you know just kind of your thoughts in general just on the season and then just kind of what your goals are for for next year if any is it to stay in the same level as you did this year is it to advance to the next level is it you know, to, to go play hockey overseas? Is it to go play hockey in the States or in Canada or you know, Australia, I think is where we had a lot of our, a lot of, a lot of our listenership coming from here for a little bit. So Brazil or I guess, Oh, Brazil. Yeah. and so yeah South America. they the american Yeah. There you go. we made know Maybe, maybe, maybe.
00:45:06
Speaker
maybe maybe go coach or play in South America for a little bit don't know right so we might need to learn Spanish and start spinning out Spanish episodes through Espanol goaltending yeah I don't know that was basically just what I wanted to bring to this year because I was thinking about it you know especially the end of last week Thursday when I found out that it was my last skate with my U18 AA team not entirely certain if I will be brought back, you know, for, for playoffs. um I think there's just a little bit of a determining the financials on that, on that side of it. But um yeah, just, it just kind of got me thinking for a second. It's like,
00:45:49
Speaker
it was my first year coaching double a hockey. Um, how did I think I did this year coaching? You know, did I, did I, did i you know, keep my head above water or did I drown or was I kind of in between, you know, and I, I like to think that, you know, this year, you know, we had a strong team this year. the goalies that I had on that team this year were really good. I was happy with this,
00:46:13
Speaker
with their progression and just who they were as people. And, um, you know, again, like I said, thank you to Evan for, for, forget for, for setting that up. But, uh, you know, it was, it was definitely, uh, um, you know, i don't know, like, like a learning curve for me this year in terms of, you know, getting back into coaching minor hockey and after coaching outlaw hockey for a little bit. And, uh,
00:46:36
Speaker
you know, being away from it last year in particular. um it was ah it was it was It was a lot of fun. Definitely would love to be to be brought back. And, you know, I definitely stumbled on, I definitely fell on my face a few times than this year and hopefully looking to do better next year.
00:46:53
Speaker
You shouldn't be saying that when your boss is on the podcast. I i i have tenure here. I'm fine. no um Yeah, no, there's lots of reflection that happens on the coaching side too. Like I said, lots of development on our end. There's a lot of stuff I have on my list this offseason too. We'll see how much I can get checked off because last offseason I had – quite a list and probably got about a half of it done. So, but it seems like as the business owner too, there's, you know, check one thing off the list, add three more. So, you know, yeah but there are some cool things happening behind the scenes. And I think next season we're going to hit the ground running even
00:47:42
Speaker
greater than we have been. Like this was a big year of growth for us at True North. And I think that we're, or my plan is anyways, to lean into that and kind of keep that train rolling. So we got a bunch of stuff in the works for you guys too.
00:47:58
Speaker
So on that note, I guess, unless you got anything else to add, did you want to let everybody know where they can find us and stuff? Any parting thoughts or? um No, I got everything off my chest this year. I'm definitely looking forward to next pod and then maybe be even the one after. just i think the topics that we have upcoming are are pretty ah ah pretty exciting. so Well, the one after is the big three digits, the big one. That's that's true. That's 100% true. Episode 100, which is kind of nuts that two weeks from now will be 100 straight weeks of of us rambling into a microphone and people still somehow tuning in. But, you know, we're here and we appreciate you guys. Yeah. And then and then and then what it'd be two episodes or so after four episodes after would be three years or it'll be two years.
00:48:54
Speaker
yeah Yeah, see, there we go. that's that's what i was That's what I was looking at. It'll be two years of the DIY Goalie podcast presented it by True North Goaltending. What a segue. um i do Sorry, i know I do have a couple of things that i you know i I just want to kind of get off here quickly. um I did finally finish the vlog that I was talking about.
00:49:14
Speaker
So and i've've I've sent that to Nathan. I'm waiting on his approval for that.
Upcoming Episodes Excitement
00:49:18
Speaker
It was it was definitely in a second of it. Yeah, but i but yeah I believe that did won't be dealt with until July. um But yeah, no, I'm i'm i'm i'm happy with it.
00:49:34
Speaker
It was definitely different for me in terms of a creative aspect. So yeah. um I've been a content creator for a long time, so it's it was definitely different for me. um Yeah, so we have that. And then there was one other thing that I was going to mention as well.
00:49:51
Speaker
it might have been um It might have been the 100th episode special and then probably add the two-year anniversary as well. as probably Probably I was going with that. so But yeah um yeah, I got nothing else either. So that will do it for another episode of DIY Goalie Podcast presented by true north goaltending if you are watching on the youtube side of things make make sure you guys hit that subscribe button if you are a new or if you're returning viewer as well make sure hit the share like button helps the algorithm helps bring more goaltenders together if you are listening over on your favorite podcasting platforms whether that be apple iheart or spotify or wherever it is that you get your podcasts if you're a returning listener thank you very much again hit the share button as a more goalies that we're able to bring together the better if you are a new goaltender to our little program. um
00:50:40
Speaker
Hit the follow button. We release new episodes every Tuesday. um So definitely definitely look forward to having you guys around for that. If you are interested in following us over on your favorite social media platforms, you can find us all at True North Goaltending, except on Instagram, because we like to be different. That one is Y G goalie coach. Speaking of a social media, I finally remember my other point that I was wanting to say, i am looking to reach out to the goalie union as I want to do another hot takes episode. So if you do want to, or if you do have a hot take, then maybe we didn't get around to the last episode. Or if you have a hot take that's, you know, is burning in the back of your mind, you can reach out to us on your favorite social media platforms. Again, all at true North goaltending, except on Instagram, because that one's different. It's Y E G goalie coach. you can also reach out to us as well goalies at true northgoaltending.com or you can reach out to myself personally over on my instagram side that one is monday gc nice little segue there again uh you guys can go check us out true northgoaltending.com as we still have camp bookings available for all of the different uh camps that we do have going on for the summertime this year we have a
00:51:51
Speaker
introductory kind of to goaltending skate uh that one is in early august it's for u11 u7 u9 goaltenders so if you are interested if you are a new goaltender uh and want to try it out on the ice you can come hang out with us for kind of a little mini three it's a what a little three-day camp we got going on Two days, yeah just two days.
00:52:13
Speaker
OK. then we do have our regular week long goalie camp as well. And then we are also offering a ring at goalie camp as well. That one's a three day one, I believe. So you guys can go check all that out at truenorthgoaltending.com. Our website is all changing again as well because Nathan just can't sit still for five minutes. So that was all expect the changes to the website here.
00:52:40
Speaker
sometime soon whenever nathan's able to get that done so don't hold your breath a whole lot on that um hey this time i hired somebody to do it so it's not just me doing it we're doing it properly this time there you go um yeah i got i got nothing else i don't think so unless you have anything nathan parting shots No, not yet.
00:53:03
Speaker
There we go. On behalf of myself and Nathan Park, this has been the DIY Goalie Podcast presented by Drunos Goaltending. Make some saves goalies. We'll see you guys next time. Take care.