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041 - The Path to Playing Pro Hockey with Luke Lush
121 Plays3 months ago
Show notes are available at https://thediygoalie.com/pod041
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This week, Connor sits down with ECHL goalie Luke Lush to take about his journey to pro hockey, his gear preferences, his shift towards goalie coach, and so much more. Luke provides a ton of valuable insight that goalies of all ages will be able to learn from.
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Transcript
Podcast Introduction
00:00:06
Speaker
Welcome to the DIY goalie podcast where hosts and goalie coaches, Nathan Park and Connor Monday share their insights on how to become a better goalie.
00:00:19
Speaker
goalies How's it going? My name is Connor Monday and welcome back to the DIY goalie podcast.
Meet the Guest: Luke Lush
00:00:25
Speaker
I do not have Nathan park with me today. He is out on assignment. So it is just me, uh, in the big boy chair today. And I'm very, very pleased to have a good buddy of mine, current East coast pro East coast, hockey league pro gold, tender
Early Life and Hockey Beginnings
00:00:41
Speaker
Luke Lush. Luke, how we doing today, buddy? I'm doing great. Thanks for having me.
00:00:45
Speaker
Awesome, awesome and excellent to have you here, much appreciated. For those who don't know, Luke and I have coached up with each other a couple of summers ago. i Keep in touch here and there, great guy, excellent coach, excellent goaltender as well. Definitely has some of the better style in the league. um I'm not gonna lie, the hair kind of threw me off a little bit like the first time I mentioned, but I was like, okay, all right, whatever.
00:01:08
Speaker
And then the the CCM Revoke pads I wanted to ask you about that as well because I was like as I was searching up and down looking for those and I was like Where the hell did he get those and say? oh and i found out that like he scream pregnanting them afterwards but no That's awesome, but Luke we're happy to happy to have you here um Obviously, we have some questions for you here today. and I'll just we'll just kind of jump into it. You betcha, you know excited for it Awesome. First off, I guess let's let's get a little bit of an introduction, Anya, just kind of a bit of a background about you, your playing career, growing up in the Short Park area here in Alberta, and just kind of how you got into hockey and why you became a
Becoming a Full-Time Goalie
00:01:46
Speaker
goalie.
00:01:46
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. Ridgey and my parents, actually, they grew up in the mountains in a small town called Grand Cache, not too far from the Hinton and Jasper area. And then shortly after I was born, we actually moved to Fort McMurray. And that's kind of where Ridgey set up our roots and where I began playing hockey. ah So we were there for a good part of my childhood.
00:02:05
Speaker
Uh, didn't quite transition to be at a goalie just yet, but I had been bitten by the bug. Uh, my dad was a goalie and so I'd go watch his men's league games here and there. And, uh, I was pretty interested with that. And I always loved going into the garage and checking out his old gear. And then, uh, from there, we actually moved to red deer and we're there for a few years. And that's where I became a full-time goalie. Uh, I tried to, you know, everyone would get their turn in that when you're younger. And, you know, I always relished those opportunities when they came my way. And then, uh,
00:02:35
Speaker
We kind of lucked out where there was another guy in the team who wanted to be a goalie, but our coaches were adamant that he couldn't do it full time just yet. And so we kind of proposed that we split it the time instead. And so him and I kind of, you know, we already had a full tandem going in the time we were in novice and yeah, just never looked back from there. My dad definitely had a big influence on that too. Like like I said, he was a goalie as well. And, uh, even actually his his dad was also goalie as well. So I guess it was kind of in the stars. There's only a matter of time till I did that. you know Fingers crossed if I ever sudden that maybe he's smart, he's the one that breaks the chain and smartens up and decides to be a forward or something. But we'll we'll see if that happens.
Progression Through Hockey Leagues
00:03:16
Speaker
And then- I feel like that's one of those things where it just, it happens, you know, because my dad was a goalie and my grandpa, ironically enough, was not.
00:03:27
Speaker
then I became one and then my younger brother became one as well. So I was like, it always it always starts, it's always on, it's always because of dad. So it's like, oh, dad was a goalie. So then everybody else beyond has to be a goalie as well.
00:03:39
Speaker
Totally. Yeah. And, uh, but yeah, I really, you know, I'm really fortunate to have made that decision, you know, about 20 years ago, almost now. And, uh, after a few years in Red Deer, we moved to Shrewd Park and yeah, my family's been based out of there ever since, but even so I, I have kind of been all over since then. I i played my minor midget year in Grand Prairie. And then returned back to Shrewd Park for a couple of years to finish out midget and then had three different towns and junior before going down South for school.
00:04:07
Speaker
Right. I just, I have your elite prospects off here. So you spent a couple of years with the sugar park one year with the savers, one year with the flyers. Uh, like you said, you spent the 2013, 14 season with the grand parade store when you 16, double a triple A, uh, went back to the shore park Kings UAT and triple A for a couple of years.
00:04:24
Speaker
Then he spent a couple of times with La Ronge, Ice Wolves, Cameras, Kodiaks, and Drayton Valley Thunder of the HHR, respectfully, Sacred Heart University of the NCAA, and then currently with the
Challenges in Junior Hockey
00:04:34
Speaker
Tulsa Oilers there. So I guess just just kind of just talk about like the like the different experiences that are going from, part of my ignorance here, but part of it going from, you know, major June, from minor, midget, bantam, whatever, to going into juniors, to playing you to playing university and then going to play pro. Obviously we'll touch a little bit more um about that afterwards. It's just kind of ah this the career there and just this kind of the experiences that came with it.
00:05:05
Speaker
Totally. ah It's been kind of interesting to look back on my career, not that it's over yet by any means, but ah whenever I do look at it. And then it's nice to have my dad to kind of, you know, he gives me a little bit of wisdom here and there. And a lot of the instances in my career that have led to big changes and all oftentimes are pretty sudden and unexpected have been some of the biggest opportunities I've received. And even though they felt absolutely devastating at the time,
00:05:30
Speaker
um So I ended up in Grand Prairie, my my minor midget year, ah really unexpectedly. it all I went from thinking I was playing you know a minor midget in Short Park with a bunch of my buddies that I played with the year prior to getting cut just to you know just over a day before the league deadline for rosters were set, to having to call around the league to see who hadn't already submitted their rosters. And I remember I got cut. it Just about around midnight on a Sunday night and then I had to go to school the next morning and ah Thankfully my parents were able to help and make a lot of those calls for me while I was in my English and social class and then just before lunch time I got a text for my mom saying hey you gotta pack up your stuff for
00:06:11
Speaker
we're going We're going to Grand Prairie to try out tonight. So we did the four or five hour drive that evening, skated with the minor midget team and then the midget double A team just so they get more of a look at me. And then we drove home or most of the way home because she had to work the next morning at 8am back in the Edmonton area. And so we we drove to our our extended family's house in Grand Cache, kind of where my parents grew up.
00:06:37
Speaker
Slept for a couple hours and then got back on the road and of course it was blizzarding and whatnot. It was just, you know, exactly like you'd write up in a story in Alberta in the mountains. all burn Yeah. made Made it back to Spruce Grove just in time for my mom to clock in for work and for me to get a little bit of rest and then Yeah I got told that morning that I'd made the team in Grand Prairie so I was home for that day to pack up my things and were back on the road the next day for my first practice so it was pretty sudden and a lot to go through for only being 15 at the time and finding a bill at that day and everything and you know my parents kind of saying goodbye to me when I was you know frankly too young to be away from home but it ended up being a great experience and
00:07:16
Speaker
I had a ah really strong second half to that year and I was able to develop a lot and I was fortunate that ah my Billa brother and I both affiliated for the Major Midget team and would practice with them a couple times a week and so that really helped me in the the step to Major Midgets and made me feel comfortable and going back to Short Park and trying out there and ultimately making the team and you know playing well for two seasons there.
Growth and Perseverance
00:07:40
Speaker
And then from that point, I had a really hard time finding a junior A team. i Not that statistics are everything, but I put up good numbers both years in Major Midget and especially the second year we had a strong team, which helped my case, but I just couldn't quite get my foot in the door with the team. you know I had a lot of teams interested, but no one willing to commit to me. and ah It came pretty late in the summer where Laurent was willing to sign me and you know, I was really happy to to have something a little more solidified and I went there and Even the the first little bit I felt comfortable at the level But I wasn't really getting a lot of bounces and I had bad numbers this start and I eventually became the the third string goalie there ah pretty early in the season and
00:08:24
Speaker
yeah it was really difficult at times. We were a very really struggling team and you know to not even be playing when it's a struggling team didn't really help me much and I didn't have much of a resume either at the time so I couldn't even go ask for a trade or anything to go play more because I would have just been released and uh kind of just hard for one of those things you know like you want to you you want to showcase what you got and and to play for this team but the team's just kind of just rolling with the punches right now. And so they don't, like they're not necessarily saying, well, what's the worst that could happen? But it's just like, we're not really in a position to put you out there either. Right? Cause we want to ice our best roster possible. Totally. And to their credit too, like I wasn't doing myself any favors at the start of the year when I did get in the net. I remember there was a stretch of time where before there was three of us and I was the backup. I i'd played well, my first start and you know, we, we lost, but I was solid in there and felt good about my performance. And then.
00:09:20
Speaker
Following that or other goalie who was getting the majority of the starts, he went through a tough stretch and I remember after five or six each game he'd get pulled somewhere in the second period and I would go in and I'd be stellar. I'd either shut the door or maybe give up one more and then I would get the following start only to not be as good. I would give up five or six on anywhere from 35 to 45 and it just wasn't quite cutting it and we weren't getting the wins. It wasn't bad enough to get pulled but not good enough to keep the net. So then we'd go back to the other goalie and again he just was in a
00:09:58
Speaker
wasn't in his best mind frame I guess at the time and was really struggling and so he had five consecutive starts where he got pulled and I'd go in and I'd play really well and then I'd get I'd start the following game but again I just wouldn't play that well and so I had all these opportunities where he would struggle and I'd go in and do well in relief But I wasn't really taking charge of it afterwards. And so that's when we picked up a third goalie. And you know I had to understand that its Junior hockey is a business. there is ah Unfortunately, there is a bottom line. you know They're trying to make money. And the coaching staff is doing it for a living. And he they've got families to feed. And so they've got to do everything in their power to
00:10:37
Speaker
not just keep their job and do the bare minimum, but to win and try to you know be of be an asset to the organization. And if you're not going to help you know him on his journey or his mission, then you know you're of no use. So
Breaking Through Team Dynamics
00:10:50
Speaker
I wasn't doing myself any favors there. And so he had to look elsewhere. And that's when we picked up a third goalie who came in and played well in his first few games. So that basically relegated me to the the press box for a pretty good stretch.
00:11:02
Speaker
So then what's, what's, I mean, not this isn't my list of questions here, but you dropped a really interesting nugget where and what's the, what's the mentality then with that? Like, like you, you come in relief, you, you do play very well and then you get the start of the next game and.
00:11:19
Speaker
you You don't you don't do very well in the mountain then all of a sudden at some point you're bringing you bringing in the circle goal as well That's got to be taxing for you mentally as a goalie right on top of just like now like Almost all three of your positions are in jeopardy whether it be 1a or whether it be position number one number two number three so just what like was there any kind of thought process where you're like, you are potentially not going to be on this team for very much longer or was it just, yeah i can um I can imagine so, but it's it's like, this the like whats how do how do how do you overcome that as a goalie?
00:11:59
Speaker
Totally. ah You know, at the end of the day, there's a lot of things outside that's going on that you can't control. And while I didn't take charge of those opportunities to where I had starts, it having that another goalie come in and being relegated to that kind of third position was a little freeing in a sense that I said, really, all I can do is take care of each day, at like one day at a time, and you'll take care of the things within my control. and Really all that was was you know working my butt off doing whatever I could to improve for when I did potentially get a chance and trying to enjoy the game as best I could. you know i I was pretty happy to be done with high school at the time. I was taking one college course and it was a bit of a joke. It was wasn't that difficult or time consuming for that matter. and I thought to myself, I was like, what college course?
00:12:50
Speaker
ah Just it' just in English just in English class just English 101 so it was it was pretty it was pretty basic a Couple books that had all had movies so you can kind of fill in the blanks there ah sure But it was really freeing. I said, i said what you know, what more could you ask for? i All I have, I've got a free housing, I've got food supplied to me by wonderful billets. ah I live just a few minutes from the rink and we're in a tiny remote town where there's as much ice as I want. So it's like, you know what, life could be a whole lot worse than that.
00:13:22
Speaker
and so ah I made the most of it. I just, I worked my butt off every day. I stayed on the ice for you know hours on end. I remember ah one of our Fords was in a similar boat and we were good buddies and we would be in the press box, kind of goof around all game. And then after the game was over and the guys got out of the room, we'd put our gear on and go on the ice. Cause we were allowed to close up the rink ourselves and everything. And we'd stay out there for, you know, until we got too tired or until it was past curfew and we had to head home.
00:13:50
Speaker
And it was kind of a daily occurrence and I'd stay on the ice for two, three hours a day. And I was just really enjoying it. And I do love skating and it paid off. And yeah, there was a sense of, you know, I don't know if I'm going to be sticking around here all that long, but I know that while I was there, I was going to make the most of it. And if I ended up somewhere else, then so be it. And I'd make the most of that situation too.
Transition to College Hockey
00:14:10
Speaker
And.
00:14:11
Speaker
It did get close a couple times. I even had goalie coaches from home reaching out to teams in the KIJHL and Junior B in British Columbia. and I wasn't too keen on it at the time because ah I was playing for free in the SJ, whereas Junior B is pay to play and I didn't really have the funds to to to to pay for those fees. and so ah I lucked out, I guess, to with someone else's misfortune, but our our head coach was eventually let go during that stretch. And our interim coach ah didn't know the team very well. And he just said, you know, I know we're not supposed to have three goalies, so I'm going to give each guy a look to play. And, you know, we'll go from there. And I think a lot of that work I'd put in and I'd kind of let go of any sort of outside results was really freeing. And in my first start back, I i played really well and we won.
00:15:03
Speaker
And I went on a very short run, I guess, there for, you know, we, we only won six games out of 58 that year. and But in the next, I think it was four games, I'd won three of them and lost an overtime in another. So I had a pretty solid stretch there and, uh, which kind of solidified my spot there. And one of our goal is it kind of solved the problem for the three of us. And it was actually called up to the Western league.
00:15:27
Speaker
and And out of the three of us, I actually played the most games out of anyone there and had a great season development wise. It was hard with our win-loss record, but I saw a lot of rubber that year. It made me a better goalie for the four as well. Perfect. Just looking at elite prospects here, you played 38 games, had a 4.8 goals against Savage, 895 save percentage. You did go 3, 27 to 1, but like you said, the team wasn't exactly doing all that hot night that year.
00:15:56
Speaker
Second year in the 2017-18 season, continuing with LaRange, played 10 games, had a 4.19 GAA, 902 save percentage, went 1.91. And then at some point throughout the season, you transfer you transferred over to Cameros. So what came about there, because you went 26 games, you went 2.92 GAA.
00:16:19
Speaker
0.907, save percentage, you got a shout out, so good job. You went 9-9 in six, and then you had a bit of a short-lived playoff run there. I don't know if I'm reading this correctly, but three games played in the playoffs, 2.26 goes against average, and 0.917, save percentage. Yeah. Yeah, that following season, I had returned to the raunch. We had a new head coach where that was hired midway through the previous season.
College Experiences and Transfers
00:16:45
Speaker
And, you know, I did have a lot of,
00:16:49
Speaker
I guess I was a little careful in going back there just because the you know some of the struggles that we had the year prior. night My goal was to move on to a school, a Division I school. and Yeah, I went back and I gave it my best shot. And eventually the, I just felt that the fit wasn't going to be the best moving forward. And so I eventually asked for trade and you know, now it's, I think the statute of limitations had gone by and, but I I'd gotten word that there were some teams in the the Alberta league. They were interested in me and I i figured that would give me my best shot to, to move on to where I wanted to be. And I actually, ah I got sent home for asking out. And so I sat at home for, uh, just a little over four weeks as kind of, uh,
00:17:30
Speaker
I don't know, sending a message to the guys who were would also asked out or were looking to. And so that was, that was a struggle as well. And I got to, you know, shout out to my goalie coaches back home who were doing everything they could to find me any little bit of ice possible so I could kind of try to stay fresh. Uh,
00:17:47
Speaker
Yeah. Funny enough too. I, I, I just trying to stay in contact with their coach or a GM in the range to, you know, to kind of get the process going. Cause I was growing a little restless staying at home and I think my parents were too. If they weren't used to having me in the house for that long. So so we got get out of here gee And funny enough, anytime I tried to call our coach in GM with a 780, like, Edmonton area number, he wouldn't pick up. And I called him from my phone, my parents' phones, our house phone, the phone on my GM, like, any phone I could get my hands on, right?
00:18:18
Speaker
you wouldn't answer and ah that that same player actually who we used to shoot on me after games he yeah he he was he was living in the area but he had a Saskatchewan phone number and so I brought him ah coffee and breakfast to work one day just to borrow his phone and as soon as I called our coach with the Saskatchewan number he picked up second ring and It was a little bit of a funny conversation. I was at my wits end and, you know, I was pretty frustrated at this point with all that time that it passed. So once I he'd asked who was on the phone, I said, that it was hey, it's Lusher. It's good to see your phone still works. Let's so let's get this trade going already. And funny enough, it it works. kelly I got traded the next day. I got sent to cameras and started up there shortly afterwards.
00:19:02
Speaker
And yeah, it was a good season and I really loved the setup there. We had ah we have great facilities and really good coach who was a great mentor there as well. um he He wasn't just focused on building good hockey teams, which he he had and he built that program but pretty much himself from the ground up.
00:19:17
Speaker
over the past 20 years at that point and he was also keen on you know building better people and I totally ate that up. I was really happy with the structure and everything that we had there coming from my previous situation and I was really thankful for it but I just I knew I still had a little more to give and fortunately that just didn't work out that season and then The following year I came in and was ready to really give it my all and leave it all out there going to my last season of junior eligibility.
Achievements and Overcoming Injuries
00:19:44
Speaker
I even went all out and ordered pretty bold red and black gear and I've got a painted mask and everything to go along with it and just a few games in I actually I kind of got my heart broken and got traded to Drane Valley.
00:19:57
Speaker
Uh, but which again too, I was devastated when that happened just because I loved camera so much and you know, it was unreal and I could go from my home insured park to my build house in 40 minutes flat. Uh, sometimes I didn't give myself quite enough time to get home for curfew. but I usually cut it pretty close, but, uh, if you've ever, if you've, if you've ever been to Alberta and as I've traveled through there, through, uh, you know, for going to Banff Jasper or no. Oh, sorry. That's, you're thinking of Canmore. Oh, Canmore. Right. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I do agree though. Cameras is beautiful, but the that doesn't quite have the mountains, but it's a, it's a beautiful little, uh, town kind of surrounded by a lot of agricultural communities and they've got everything there you could possibly need. It's actually a really beautiful town, but.
00:20:46
Speaker
ah But yeah, drain Valley, maybe not quite a little rough around the edges, but ended up being an absolute blast. I was so thankful for that opportunity. And even though I was pretty bummed out about it at first, uh, it ended up being the best thing for me. And, you know, I, I still think about it quite a bit now, especially the group of guys I had there, a lot of longtime friends on that team.
00:21:07
Speaker
Yeah, no luten ah Nathan's going to have a field day with this afterwards. singing camorph I always do that. I always mistake Canmore for cameras and vice versa. is it Don't you feel bad? I remember when my team in La Ronge made the same mistake when I got traded to cameras they on their press release. They they said Canmore and I had everybody confused, but yeah, so don't you feel bad?
00:21:29
Speaker
Fair enough. Okay, so then after that, you spent four seasons with Sacred Heart University and the NCAA, and then a season with the RIT, the Rochester Institute of Technology there. So I guess if you if you would like, you can briefly touch on that, because I do see some awards attached with it, and we probably could have talked about this a little bit as well, because in the 18-19 season, you were the AJHL North All-Star team, and as well as the AJHL Best Goal Tender,
00:21:58
Speaker
And then the 2023, 2024 season, you're the NCAA champion, uh, in the AAHA, not sure what that's referring to. And then as well as the NCAA, AHA regular season champion, uh, there as well.
00:22:14
Speaker
Yeah, you bet. Like I said, too, I i remember i I was on the verge of not reporting to Drain Valley when I got traded just because I was so heartbroken at the time. And ah my building cameras, you know, ah the last thing we were pretty close and he was upset that I was leaving as well. and But he kind of urged me to go and try it out because I guess he knew the head coach there.
00:22:35
Speaker
He knew him pretty well. And I'm so thankful that he did because based on that alone, I just kind of went on a whim and I didn't pack really any of my stuff aside from my gear and just went and forgot to tell my family that I was reporting because originally I wasn't going to. And I'm really glad I did. Like I said, I had an absolutely wonderful experience there and an unreal head coach and Eric Thurston, who is now coaching with Trail and the BCHL and was a long time coach with the Golden Bears at U of A and won, you know, multiple national championships. And It was unreal. I couldn't have asked for more things there. I had an unreal bill of family, like I said, an unreal group of guys. And lucky enough to it, you know, I had a good season personally and it just was the right fit there based for how I play and there are our systems and whatnot really allowed me to kind of.
00:23:19
Speaker
Give everything I have at that level and you know luckily enough that worked out where I was able to get a couple you know individual recognizations and awards and You know most importantly I was able to get my education covered and go down to the south you know go down south and kind of You know achieve
Reflections and Future Goals
00:23:35
Speaker
that goal. I've had for a little while Yeah, and then at Sacred Heart, I had four very different seasons there. My freshman year, we were still sharing the Islanders AHL rink with their affiliate. and i just i wasn't is this still was it Was it still Bridgeport? Yeah, it's in Bridgeport, yeah. on soundite yeah
00:23:56
Speaker
And so yeah we were we were sharing the space of the sound Tigers and you know kind of getting used to the life in the states a little bit and this time being away with no built parents and just some adjustments being made and I my game just wasn't where it needed being. You know I didn't quite appreciate that enough at the time and I thought I should have been playing when I wasn't and.
00:24:16
Speaker
So it was, there was a lot of frustrations there that season and, you know, but it it led to a lot of growth as well. Uh, and then the sophomore season, I, I'd had a really good summer, a longer summer thanks to COVID. And I, I came in, I think, you know, and with a lot of improvement and kind of took over the job in the second half of the year, even though we had a, you know, limited season, unfortunately, uh, you know, and started playoffs for us. And then.
00:24:43
Speaker
kind of I kind of had built up a lot of momentum going to my third year, but unfortunately it had I had injured my ankle um in the summer at the end of the season in playoffs and then I re-injured in the summer, leaving me unable to play when I first got back to school and eventually having to get ankle surgery. So that put me on the shelf for a while and I had a really tough recovery with that. It was supposed to be a pretty minor operation um with a four to six week recovery. And that eventually went down to 17 weeks until I was cleared and I still wasn't even anywhere near a hundred percent.
00:25:13
Speaker
Do they know why? do they like why the white Why is such a drastic? Not really. it just Originally the recovery was going great. I was on schedule, maybe even a touch early. and i just I had a setback kind of out of nowhere. My foot just started swelling up and I had to start off you know completely over. I had to put my foot back in the boot and get back in the crutches. I had to take it a lot slower the second time around. and You know, and and that was as difficult as it was as much as I wanted to be playing. Again, that was in another hurdle to kind of get over and I think maybe better in the end, ah you know, dealing with that kind of mental frustration. and I dealt with it pretty well. And yeah, I came back and I played a few games and i I played really well and, you know, had good numbers and whatnot, but had some bad luck. And shortly after coming back, I had actually, I tore my shoulder really well or really bad.
00:26:05
Speaker
and needed shoulder surgery and that was the end of my season and took up most of my summer as well ah but you know the difficulties I had with the ankle recovery I guess served me well with the shoulder and I dealt with it even better that time and I was in good spirits going through with it and it set me up for a senior season where I i got to play a lot and I and it was just that was a much better experience and kind of what i was hoping for the the previous three years and but i was just happy that it was all coming together then and had some success and we had a pretty strong team and we didn't nearly finish out as strong as we would have liked to and or myself individually but we had a really cool experience that year too where we opened up a new campus or a new rank on campus and that was a ton of fun so we went from
00:26:51
Speaker
being in ah in a big building off campus where we didn't get too many fans to being right on campus, you know, selling out every night with a few thousand people behind us, you know, and those college crowds are the best too. Like they're really into it and usually pretty intoxicated too, which helps the experience for us on the ice.
00:27:09
Speaker
and it was It was a whole lot of fun that year and it was a really nice cherry on top of my experience there. ah and kind of All those games played helped set me up to get some interest in the transfer portal just because it wasn't going to work for me to go back to Sacred Heart for my fifth year.
00:27:24
Speaker
uh, which is okay. and And you know, I had a great experience there and there's no hard feelings, but it really set me up well to, you know, have enough somewhere else to go to the following year. Whereas if I don't get all those minutes my last year, I don't think that opportunity is available. And so, and I lucked out and I was able to get my master's covered, you know, as well out of it. So it really served me well.
Passion for Goalie Gear and Pro Hockey Journey
00:27:45
Speaker
So I was really happy with it.
00:27:51
Speaker
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00:28:21
Speaker
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00:28:41
Speaker
ah Having been at a couple of Golden Bears games, i don't i mean I don't think the energy at the Golden Bears games can any could match the NCAA at any by any stretch of the imagination like people and just people down there this label on their sports and generally obviously the Football and basketball are the two major ones down there if I can imagine that the the the crowd energy is the same when it comes to hockey um So moving on from that you end up now with the Tulsa Oilers of the East Coast Hockey League and
00:29:18
Speaker
But before I ask you about that, you had some very wild and interesting pads down there. So i wanted is I wanted to ask you this here quickly, how much of a gear guy are you? um What are you currently wearing this year? We saw it in the balanced Instagram takeover that you did, that we'll talk about in a second.
00:29:40
Speaker
But I think my favorite, they're the the two sets that I really remember, like I said, that the CCM Revokes, looking like the Reebok Revokes from way long ago. And the, the looks like the Tiger print kind of pads that you had there as well. Obviously all screen printed, I'm guessing. yeah um But just,
00:29:59
Speaker
how much of a gear guy are you? you know do Do you spend a lot of time kind of tweaking different stuff? And then just kind of, what are what what are you rocking now? And just like kind of just take it from there.
00:30:10
Speaker
Totally. i Yeah, I'm definitely quite a bit of a gear guy. I i think it's the best part of goaltending, honestly, and I think it's what gets a lot of people into, you know, in between the pipes and something I really like to, like I said, early on when I'd go through the garage and be able to look at my dad's, you know, current setting is maybe a couple of his older ones, too. I thought it was just so neat. and made me want to you know be a little bit more like him and get some of my own so ah yeah I've always liked it i I figured why not take full advantage of it not it you know only a couple guys on each team get the the opportunity to really customize their stuff players maybe aren't as fortunate as we are in that you know aspect the outside of skate sticks there's isn't really really much that they get to to work with or you know show some of their personality so
00:30:53
Speaker
I like to use it I think you know it's it's really fun and if you know I know some guys like to all white stuff and I can't say much because that's pretty much what I'm wearing now but I think it's really cool to have neat gear and ah this is kind of what I'm wearing now I guess I'll show the cameras this little car they gave us this year is just a pretty plain hyperlight 2 set ah I've got the vapor 90 like the 580 clone glove and then the the vapor two-piece blocker which is pretty similar to the CCM or LaFave blockers. ah But yeah at school at Sacred Heart we had to wear CCM which was fine that I was wearing that my final year junior and I like the stuff and it finally became available to us. I got in contact with the goalie rep who kind of took care of the college and pro guys and
00:31:40
Speaker
CCM was just launching their printed designs and whatnot for a lot of the pro guys. So I, you know, I shot my shot and reached out and was hoping to see if I could get in on some of that. And luckily enough, I was able to and was able to get the access to line a little early as well. So I wanted to look at some of the older, you know, either Reebok or Coho designs that I could make work in. At the time CCM wasn't printing on their outer rolls just yet, so I wanted to make sure whatever design I went with kind of, you know, wouldn't clash with that.
00:32:12
Speaker
You know, a lot of their older stuff, you know, kind of the graphics rolled over on the outer role. So the Revoke, I thought was the best that I could use. And I wanted to make sure that I use a lot of color. So yeah, I had mostly red with some silver and the kind of the white tribal graphic down the middle. And I think they turned out great. And CCM did an awesome job. They were, yeah, they were, they were fantastically. I always wanted a set cause.
00:32:36
Speaker
delorier had the yeah when he was with the oilers you know yeah the the the cop The copper outside the blue tribal thing in the middle and the white inside those were yeah, I wish they'd bring those back Honestly, yeah, on like you you had me you you had me fooled. I was so excited I was like man CCM is really like taking over Reebok here and they're gonna bring them back and then I found out that they were did Yeah. got so but yeah so But I mean, I guess that's just a testament to how well CCM did in the printing job. I know they'd even went as far as making fake stitching on all the parts of the graphic as they printed it on and stuff. So it was pretty cool. I really liked that set and they served me well.
00:33:14
Speaker
And sure enough, that was the that was the year that I got to play a lot of games, too, with Sacred Heart. So they they definitely saw a lot of action. And then going to the RIT, we were the Tigers there. And now we had full range to kind of wear whatever gear we wanted there. And I still wanted to stick with CCM. I had a really good relationship with the rep there, and they'd been good to me. But we were at Bauer School. And so we had more perks offered to us if we went with Bauer.
00:33:42
Speaker
Like I think I got three gloves that year and a couple blockers and and stuff. So it made sense. And I and i had i'd used power in the past. And so I'd, I um went and switched there and they had a, you know, they have some crazy graphic options as well. So I'd gone with the the white portion of that gear.
00:34:00
Speaker
Is kind of the the bottom portion of her the tiger head logo We have it kind of matches that stripe and then I'd put tiger print and stripes all over them and stuff too So those are pretty bold as well and got my number in the team logo on the side too And so I really like that set up and those are great too And they you know, they they held up well too and my dad's actually currently wearing those now it is but Gates so he's he's he's been a fan of those two and They were, uh, I was just a little weary, I guess, going into pro hockey with those. I know a lot of older kind of old school coaches aren't huge on really bold gear and stuff. And frankly, there's not really any teams that would match with, I don't know many other tiger teams in North America. So.
00:34:42
Speaker
Uh, I was kind of on the search for something new and, and I didn't want to necessarily break the bank either. You know, as a broke college student coming out of school and you know, gears not cheap these days. So, uh, luckily enough, I had a friend with a bit of a connection who helped me get into the set I'm in now just before training camp started. And so I owe him a big one and I probably going to get him a nice big dinner here. Uh, next time I see him.
Pro Hockey Challenges and Mentor Insights
00:35:07
Speaker
But yeah, so that's I've been in something with more play now, but it's getting time. I'm going to be ordering something shortly here soon, but I think unfortunately they're going to be pretty pretty boring compared to some of the previous ones. Sure. So um I guess just like just going just going to the gear there just like.
00:35:30
Speaker
What is there anything that like within the gear that um you like about Just just in goal again in general anything that you like anything that you dislike And kind of how much free range and customization with the pads that you have had um Did you have over them right like because like even like with the skates was only like I think I like the long twist loop But the bar pads right, you know, he kind of he kind of pioneered that and such. Yeah Like how like how much how much tweaking with the bad with the pads? Have you done? Are you doing? um Or is it just kind of like
00:36:07
Speaker
I like the feel of the CCM axis pads with the Revo graphic on it versus the the Bowers that you're in now. of kind of Totally. ah Yeah, I really like both Bowers sets I've been in recently and and that last axis set I was in as well.
00:36:23
Speaker
ah But yeah, I definitely do a decent amount of tweaking to my gear. I think the way it's built now, there's less available to goalies to really modify as there might have been in the past. Like, you know, you hear stories of guys like Eddie Belfer, who knew his gear inside and out and was constantly, you know, had a and needle and thread in his hand and he was modifying something to his stuff, whereas just the way the stuff is built now, it's harder to mess with.
00:36:47
Speaker
ah But I definitely do tweak things here and there. I'm always messing with the strapping a little bit and maybe ordering different things to go on it. and i i For a while I did something a little different with my knee strap and that was something I had to modify and I still... modify the perimeter lacing on my glove a little bit just to help it close easier and open up wider. and I know a lot of people are maybe scared to get in there and start untying things on their gloves and you know reasonably so. i I've come close to messing it up a couple times and it's pretty bad.
00:37:18
Speaker
ah Blockers are pretty straight forward, I don't touch those as much, but I modify my chest protectors a lot. ah That's the one thing I'm pretty picky with. I've been wearing the same pair of arms on my chest vector for, I think this is my third or fourth season at least with this set and the set I had before that was the were the exact same and I wore those for two or three years. ah So they get pretty beat up and I just can't seem to like some of the newer ones that come out. So I always end up with a new chest protector and take the arms off and put these old ones in after
00:37:50
Speaker
Trying the new ones and then just kicking into the curb after a couple weeks um In junior I had an old coho chest protector it was a Jason LaBarber pro turn and I Was essentially a Reebok P1 which even at that time would have been old and I modified the crap out of it I had I must have had the biggest shoulders in the league and I was pretty wide and because there's no really rules at that point and no one's checking in and Yeah, I took definitely took up a little more space with that one i I haven't gone crazy like that since but I always added something here or there just for a little protection And just for feel but I always liked mass too. Those are the one piece equipment I keep over the years. I've had a couple mass that I really liked and I think it's just kind of that's the one where you really see a lot of personality sometimes and my dad's always kind of kept his old ones that he's gotten painted as well and so yeah, feel I feel like that's a good thing because I got it
00:38:44
Speaker
my novice one, novice to PB one there. And then that one's the, the HACFA Bantam to to midget one. And then served me well for a little bit and playing beer league as well. And then you take one too many off the face and switches out. So so yeah no, i feel know I feel like with everybody mass, it's kind of just that one where Totally. got it You got to keep it, you know, because like yeah you spend a lot of money on it as well, especially if you get it custom painted as well. We had a guy from Calgary goes by J. Bo Airbrush. I'm not sure. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Heard of him. Yeah. he j Jacob Markstrom's a mass painter there and among a few other a few other goalies. So we've talked about gear. We've talked about kind of your playing career through junior and college.
00:39:32
Speaker
Now you're in the pro levels playing the East Coast Hockey League with the Tulsa Oilers. How did that come about? um And is there any kind of AHL slash NHL component? If you are allowed to talk about it, we'd love it. But obviously, if you're not, then we're not we're not going to we're not going to press that on you. Is it just one of those things like the Tulsa reach out and I have you had any contact with the goals or with the ducks or
Mental Strength and Routines
00:40:00
Speaker
anything about Potentially signing or just kind of you know, you just kind of in the system and you're just there I wish there was ah an NHL or NHL component to my contracts. I'd be making a whole lot more money than I am currently ah But there I guess there has been a little contact it was originally I had switched my representation this summer and they've been great so far so shit, you know, shout out to them and I After my final season at RIT, I didn't get many minutes there. and you know We had a really successful season as a team, so there wasn't much I could say about it either. It wasn't really the what I was expecting for the goalie situation going in, um and which is fine. I had a you know lot of great memories from there, but it left me with not a whole lot of pro options after the season.
00:40:50
Speaker
And I knew that I might have been in tight getting a you know a pro deal just based off my resume. And and frankly, that's what they all look at. right they They've got so many options out there and they don't have time to really do any deep scouting. And heck, their seasons go longer than the college season anyway. So they're not, at least at the East Coast level, they don't have scouts that are out there watching your games. and They do it at the and NHL level and after that it's pretty slim. And so, yeah, you know, I was really fortunate that my new agents were able to get me in contact and get interest from Tulsa and I signed with them pretty much right away as soon as it became available. and So I went on the rest of summer knowing I was heading to Tulsa and this is where, you know, minor pro hockey can be really crazy.
00:41:36
Speaker
And I lucked out where in the last few days at home when I was gearing up and getting things ready to for the long drive down to Oklahoma and to get ready for camp, i I got a call from our coach here and just basically letting me know that John Gibson ah has appendicitis and was going to be out for a few weeks. And because of that, everyone in the Ducks organization kind of got shifted up a little bit.
00:42:00
Speaker
and that the goals were going to be short of goalie for camp and asked if I would want to fill a spot and I said you bet and I was on a plane the next day down to San Diego and so it can happen pretty quickly and it was just me and ah one other goalie there at camp.
00:42:15
Speaker
And it was there for off camp and then a couple of days afterwards, you know, I got the dress for preseason game, which was cool and just had an all around great experience there. And so it was really neat to have that as my first taste, the pro hockey. And i not only that, it really set me up well for when I you know eventually got sent down to Tulsa, ah just feeling really ready and prepared for it. And so I felt great coming to the camp here.
00:42:38
Speaker
But it was kind of stuck to that third goalie role with our 2 NHL contract goalies. and And kind of much like I it was back in the Ronge, I've just taken it this opportunity as a third guy to, and you know, be on the ice absolutely as much as possible and to be in the gym and working on things and doing vision training and, you know, doing yoga constantly to try to just be the best version of myself and really take this as development time. And, you know, i I think my games have proved a lot this year and, you know, I'm just waiting for any opportunity to play and making the most of it when it does come along.
00:43:10
Speaker
So obviously they give preference to the NHL contract goal is first in terms of playing time. Yeah, totally and and reasonably so. you know it's ah you know it's they They do have some influence like the NHL teams and you know those those prospects of theirs are their assets right and they want to see those developed. and you know they the you know As an organization, they the you know have a bit of an obligation here to you know to help develop those assets.
00:43:39
Speaker
right and We even though we're not a Rangers affiliate or even when I signed our coach you know was up front and told me that they had agreed to take on a Rangers goalie because they didn't have room in their system and and They're both great goalies there and they're awesome dudes too and they're really good goalie partners And so I want all the best for them and I want them when they're here to play well so that they get more opportunities You know at the league above and that gives me opportunities here and hopefully allows me to move up as well at some point So
00:44:10
Speaker
Does the day-to-day kind of routine change at all? And I'm more so focusing on like the game day routines. You know, you go through your ball drills, your stretches or anything of the sort. Does that change going from, you know, when you were playing with Shore Park, Grand Prairie up to when you were playing with LaRange and College and the AJHL up to where you are now or just relatively stay the same?
00:44:40
Speaker
Yeah, you know, it definitely does change. Every team has their own dynamics and stuff and, you know, schedules. And I think it's important for goal is to be flexible about that as well. I think oftentimes you get tied too much to routines to the point where they become superstitions. And I remember years ago, this was really freeing for me. Ben Skirvens was doing some sort of live stream and interview and her kind of Q and&A thing. And Someone had asked me if he had superstitions and he what was originally pretty light-hearted interview or Q and&A session he kind of snapped and you know said he's dead set against superstitions and the reason being is if I have a superstition by doing it I'm only now allowing myself the possibility of maybe playing well and if I don't do it I have it set in my mind that I'm not gonna play well because I didn't tie my shoes a certain way or something you know ridiculous or stupid like that right and
00:45:32
Speaker
And just because you did it right, it's not guaranteed that you're going to play well. It's just now you might. And so it's it's really freeing to to sway from that. And that's actually a big difference or a different approach I took going into my final year of juniors, where I found a lot of success. and analogy I made and I i tell anyone who was willing to listen and they kind of roll their eyes after a couple times of telling it but I'd use this simple analogy of just drops in a bucket and so I pictured in mentally a big you know big pail or big bucket you'd see anywhere for every hour I've ever spent trying to become a better goalie right whether that's on ice off ice whatever it is you name it you know I added a drop to the bucket
00:46:13
Speaker
And eventually that bucket gets pretty full and it's pretty heavy. And whatever level the water is at is my ability to stop the puck. However you want to measure that, whatever units, right, it's my X ability stop to stop the puck. And just because I didn't tie my shoes a certain way or, you know, if I messed up my tape job or something like that, right, or even if as far as if I didn't sleep the best the night before.
00:46:35
Speaker
that doesn't mean that all of a sudden half the water was dumped out of the bucket. Like it's still just as full as it was yesterday and before I messed up the superstition routine. And that gave me a lot of confidence and a little bit of swagger even to know that no matter what happens outside of my control or even things within my control that just don't go the right way sometimes.
00:46:54
Speaker
it's not going to change my ability to stop the puck and get in front of it, right? And that was really freeing. And it just, yeah, provided me with a whole load of confidence going in. And it really changed that mentality. Whereas in years past, you know, if if some things went wrong, I maybe over fixated on them and got worried and anxious and, you know, wouldn't allow myself to play well and to be free out there because, you know, something small went wrong. And So that was a big shift for me and it and it's led to a lot of growth in my game as well and it's just also helped with like the I guess like anxiety performance and stuff too like it's I can kind of go through and You know still be ah another just an average person and not a crazy goalie on a game days, right? ah but I guess back to your question is
00:47:37
Speaker
Pro hockey is a little different because there's no team led or like dynamic warmup or anything like that. You have maybe, so you know, you might have a meeting, maybe a little bit of video and sometimes you don't even have a meeting or anything. They just tell you like, hey, be here two hours before and just be ready to go on the ice on time. And there's not really much said. And so you're kind of left to your own devices to take care a lot of that. and even furthermore too you're you're on your own for meals and whatnot too whereas in college we were kind of pampered and babied where we were given heck my last year at Sacred Heart we get given meals the night before a game and then we get breakfast lunch i guess pre-game on game days plus post-game meal all at the rink and so you didn't ever have to worry about cooking or anything really and then you get to pro hockey and it's you kind of have to have your meals prepped and ready to go because you don't want to spend all day in the kitchen before you have to go to the rink
00:48:31
Speaker
ah So there's a little adjustment like that, but having the right approach to it, you know, it allows you to go about your business and take the few things that you need to do to to feel prepared and help you perform at your best, right? Whether it's ball drills and stretches and whatnot and dynamic warmups, you know, just plan those accordingly. And, and if they don't go perfectly right, then that's fine too. But, uh, I think being open to some flexibility is huge for young goalies.
Coaching and Mentoring Young Goalies
00:49:00
Speaker
That's, I really liked that analogy, of the bucket one, because I think in a day and age now where superstitions are all the, for lack of a better term, all the rage, right? To hear something like what you had just said, it's like you have all, you have all these tools in the toolbox, right? And you were a good goalie yesterday. You're going to be a good goalie today. You're going to be a better goalie tomorrow. That's the, that's the hope, right? So.
00:49:29
Speaker
don't essentially allow yourself to be handicapped because you didn't, you know. Totally. Yeah. That's the biggest thing is that you don't want to be, be victim to a superstition and it's okay to have them. And if, and you know, they do provide a sort of feeling of comfort or relax, like a familiarity and that's great. But but too often you see people freak out if it just doesn't go the right way. Like the classic one that everyone knows is the Sidney Crosby, uh, stick handling through the McDonald's hat on the ice. Right. I mean, if he, for whatever reason, one day didn't do it.
00:50:07
Speaker
You know, no one's going to think he's still one of the best players of all time, right? right It hasn't changed anything. Or if he totally messes it up, or if one day McDonald's doesn't want to sponsor the NHL anymore and their logo isn't anywhere to be found, he's going to be okay, right? And, you know, what that's kind of, it brings up all the silliness to superstitions when you put it that way. So that that's the biggest thing I teach, or, you know, I tell to a lot of young goalies and goalies I teach is to kind of let a lot of that stuff go.
00:50:35
Speaker
uh... last question for you here when in terms of uh... being with also uh... do you have to do have you ever had a chance to like talk with any of the pro bullies within the docs organization and i guess by extension probably not the the ranges as well since you do have the rangers prospect uh... you know i have you like when you work with uh... with uh... the san diego goals are like how much Chatter did you get to have with the goals goalie coach? um Same thing with the ducks. Well, have you ever had a chance to talk to guys like John Gibson or locustal style? And I know that's a sudarshan sudarshan Maharaj who just came back from cancer and we're very happy that he is still around um Have you ever had a chance to like to talk to those guys at all because of the connections with Tulsa? I a chance to talk to many of the goalies just yet. I haven't bumped into him at all. But you know, and the day that I bump into John Gibson and tell us is going to be a pretty bad day for him. So I might even just let him be.
00:51:41
Speaker
Uh, but and no, I had, I had a really good experience in San Diego when they were really great to me while I was there too. And we, uh, Jeff Glass, who's actually an Alberta guy, he's basically from Calgary originally. He's the goals goalie coach and has been, uh, for a couple of years and Sudsy, as you'd mentioned, uh, he's the director of goaltending at Anaheim and he was there for all of camp and you know, most of my time there as well. And.
00:52:04
Speaker
they're both awesome to me. you know They treated me like I was one of their guys you know there full time and I got a lot of reps and a lot of looks and a lot of great feedback from them too and a lot of good work and we'd get on the ice early every day with them and and then stay after practice as well and work on some stuff for a while too. And yeah, I got a lot of good feedback and they've been awesome. And then I think too with having this you know that affiliation having you know one of the prospects here is that they they've both come to visit a little bit uh so sudsy's been down here two or three times already and he'll stay here for you know a few days to a week at a time and they same idea he'll run goalie sessions and you know he always makes sure that i feel more than welcome to come out there and you know get reps as well and he's been great for that and
00:52:47
Speaker
you know he's He's always given me feedback and I love to kind of, when I'm not in it during practice, if if all three of us are in Tulsa at the time, you know I love to pick his brain and you know get his thoughts on different plays and situations. And he's you know he's got a wealth of knowledge and he's always happy to share it. So I'm really thankful for that. and Same goes for Glasser. He normally will meet up with us when we're on the road somewhere for an extended time. I can always met us in Tahoe and Wells, Idaho for some of our trips there and run sessions with us either at morning skate or on the off day when we have practice or something. And he's also been absolutely awesome to me too. And, you know, he's a great resource. And I guess that's the other benefit of having goalies from two different organizations is that the Rangers have sent a lot of their development guys here as well to, you know, come to me. My next question.
00:53:31
Speaker
to come check in on Boykes. And so we've had the Hartford's goalie coach, Brendan Burke, who is Sean Burke's son and former U of A goalie. He's been down a couple of times as well as their director of goaltending, Jean Iann. And he's been great too. he's ah He's a French guy, so I like to, you know, brush up on my French a little bit and chat with him. and He's an awesome, he's a beauty, so ah and he's the same way too. He's always more than happy to get us some reps and give us some looks and give us some feedback. and so it' It's really awesome. and it kind of It's interesting too because you know each organization kind of has their different views on how certain situations or plays should be made. and so It's just given me a lot of different feedback. in
00:54:11
Speaker
I guess just options, right? And tools in my toolbox and for me to choose to use accordingly. So I've been really blessed. A lot of teams in the coast don't get the opportunity to even see one goalie coach all year. And, you know, I'm getting some four different pretty high class or, you know, world class guys here pretty often. So I couldn't be ah more thankful for it.
00:54:31
Speaker
No, that's, that's, that's pretty, you know, getting the opportunity to have those resources. No, that's, that's awesome. For a time while, after I graduated high school, I was still in contact with Curtis. We got, oh yeah, from the old team was there. So we, we chat, we chat every so often and, and all that shorts. He's obviously a busy guy, but yeah, that's, that's, that's awesome. um Okay. So.
00:54:57
Speaker
Kind of a two bit of a two-part question here for you. I want to start with this one um You and I obviously I've worked together a couple of times as as coaches on the ice with why it wasn't Chuck and goalie coaches um So how did you start? How did you how did you get in contact with Wyatt? How did how did you manage to come about into the system? And then how did you also start getting into goalie coaching as well? Because we also know that you have your own Kind of goalie school company over on ah over on Instagram. yeah I Yeah, I just lucked out. i Growing up, i always always I never really turned down many ice times. I didn't believe that there was such a thing as bad ice time or an ice time where I couldn't get better.
00:55:38
Speaker
and that's kind of barely players would say otherwise but okay and And as I've grown up, I've i've come to agree. And so I think there's times where I need to pick and choose it, especially now with the love who I am. I can't maybe risk getting hurt at that 11 o'clock, you know, peer league session somewhere in the summer. ah yeah I guess given that that I'm doing this for a living now.
00:56:00
Speaker
But, and that kind of bled into goalie coaching. I've, and I kind of take that approach more so now with goalie coaching. I think, you know, it's, I make ah an okay living doing it in the, in the off season. And I work for a lot of great goalie coaches back in the Edmonton area and over in the Okanagan region in BC when I'm there. And I think there's just so much value to be pulled from it, right? Not even just from a coaching standpoint, but even to implement in my own game. And I make a couple bucks while I'm doing it. So it's a really great setup and ah Yeah, I got a text from a random number. I didn't recognize once from and it was was he And just saying hey, we've got this camp in the Duke your number was passed along to me We were short of body. Could you come help us out? And I was thinking to myself like duke's a little bit of a trek, you know, and yeah, and and I think
00:56:49
Speaker
I believe this, I was already in college at this point and so I didn't have a vehicle at home at the time and so I was like a little hard to manage that but I'm so thankful that I did. I found a way to make it work and I went and worked a few sessions for them and had I had a blast doing it and you know I really appreciated all the organization and time and effort that Wazzy puts into his camps and they're running a really ah professional business, right? Like a world-class business and he's doing really well for himself and deservedly so. He puts in so much work into it And it's been ah he's been a great resource and a great contact ever since I've worked that camp in the Duke pretty much every year for the last few years now after that. And I've just passed some Raven works for him for a couple of weeks in Montana and that was an awesome experience. and
00:57:33
Speaker
He's been absolutely unreal. A couple of times I've had to drive through Minot 2 on my way to school and I always make sure to stop in and grab lunch with him. and He's just so down to earth and an unreal guy. and i like I'm so thankful for that relationship I have with him and you know looking forward to working with him more going forward.
00:57:52
Speaker
So, ah but I got into goalie coaching years ago now. I was really thankful for it. It's kind of come full circles. It was my first year in Truett Park. I was lucky enough on our PUE team that we had a goalie coach that was there pretty often. It wasn't just somebody's dad either. I guess it was, he was buddies with our head coach and wanted to help.
00:58:13
Speaker
and I was super driven then, and not to say that I'm not now, but I was really dialed in that year in particular, and I was really working hard and getting better, and I just, I loved that I had someone else at pretty much every practice to to work with us and give me tips, and I just wanted to be a total sponge, and it worked out that he was actually running a goalie camp for the first time ever ah that summer. His name was Bob Golden, and he was working with his other, his partner, Rickor Shogg, and they had the Crease Masters goalie camp.
00:58:42
Speaker
in Shure Park and they had a pretty young beginner age group and so they actually even offered to have me work that age group while being with the older one and so I was training with them with the older group and then I'd stay out and coach younger one even though I was only freaking 12 years old at the time but you know we're talking with you know pure beginners who are seven or eight so ah That's where I got my kind of dippped my toes in and got my feet wet and I really love the experience. It was awesome and I ended up coaching with them every summer for the following nine years after that. it was ah and I've got some long time friends that have come out of ah of those camps and I had a great relationship with Rick and Bob and they're like you know they're like family to me now. and
00:59:26
Speaker
ah Once COVID had happened, that you know there their kids were kind of at a point where they were done and they were kind of busy with life and everything else. This was just a purely side gig that they had for a couple weeks every summer and it was going to be a little too much for them. So for a number of years, the the camps subsided and I've actually, and you know I guess the first time publicly announcing it, but I was really happy to recently take over the name and the brand from them. So they've they've passed it on to me and I'm working with a good friend of mine that I grew up playing against and with in training with Pierce Diamond, who's full-time in Penticton now. And so we're we taking this brand to to kind of try to
01:00:07
Speaker
address a lot of goalies with online coaching and offering a program there as well as a lot of different video review and stuff and so I'm really excited for that and that'll hopefully lead to some summer camps as well in different locations right based on the interest and what we kind of have going on so yeah so it's been It's been over 13 or 14 years now that I've been coaching in the summers and ah the last couple of summers now that I've been doing it full time and not just as a little side gig. And, you know, I i love doing it and I think it's something I could totally see myself going to when ah I hang up the pads.
Future Plans and Advice for Aspiring Goalies
01:00:41
Speaker
no This will be my 10th year coaching goalies. So I'm very, very happy about that. It flies by. having It does. It absolutely does. cause i started I started when I was 15.
01:00:55
Speaker
grade kind of in grade 11 that year. And then I've been working with Nathan for the last couple. But no, that's been, that's been awesome to know. Yeah. Like you said, why was he's a, was he's a great guy. I don't know if he, I don't know if he's listening or not, but why we love you. I'm sorry. I wasn't there last year. That guy's too busy. He's good. I know. I know. I know. He's the busiest guy. I know. I think well, 100%.
01:01:23
Speaker
Yeah, he's got a million. I think I'm pretty sure he's actually, I think he's still over in Italy right now for the, uh, okay. I believe it's the Pfizer games, the FISU, like the international student games with team USA. So I should go check in and see how they're doing. And, uh, I'll probably reach out and catch up with him once they're back. Cause, uh, I, I'm sure he's got a lot of stories to tell from that. He's a fun guy.
01:01:48
Speaker
100%. We definitely plan on having them having them on the pod here at some point. um Last couple of things and we'll we'll let you go here for the day, andve probably taking up a little bit more of your time than than we promised. But um you recently did the the balanced goaltending Instagram takeover. That was fun to watch. How did that come to be? Where did where where did where did that all come from?
01:02:13
Speaker
Yeah. So I've known, um, I known of Mike Broder for a little while. I followed along with his career. He, he's a camera's Kodiak's alum and then went on to play, ah ah you know, had a pretty long pro career and had a couple of stints in the in the NHL with Ottawa.
01:02:31
Speaker
And since then, he's ah he's been in coaching and I believe he coached against me. He was with Fort McMurray for a little bit when I was in the Alberta League. And ah since then, ah one of my longtime friends from Fort McMurray, when I grew up there, Ethan Paul and Hatch, he's an awesome goalie and even better guy.
01:02:48
Speaker
He went on to play at Linenwood for four years and then he's you know this is his first year not playing and he's gone on to be a full-time coach with a balanced goaltending in Mike and you know he's living in Airdrie now. He's got his place there and so a lot of their stuff is kind of you know located around that Calgary in the northern Calgary area and extending into Carstairs and closer to Red Deer and He's also a scout for Spokane, so any goalies out there interested in getting looked at by a WHL scout, reach out to him and maybe book a couple of sessions and get a couple of bucks in his pocket. But ah he was going to be gone for Spokane's camp, actually, and was going to miss a camp that Balance Coltenning was running that week and asked me to kind of cover for him. And I happily obliged and housed that forum and even got into a little training with of my own with ah Mike before the camp would start.
01:03:40
Speaker
and just had an all-around awesome experience with them and really thankful for it and and for the connection I made with Mike and the other coaches there. and Ethan, he runs all the social media for them now. It's part of his duties and he'd asked me as kind of as a favor to do the takeover and kind of hopefully generate a little bit of buzz. I don't know how successful that was. I don't have the biggest following myself. so But I was happy to do it and kind of you know share a glimpse into what the life's like here. And yeah, I guess that's how it came about. And I hope it i hope it helped him on his end and in terms of getting a couple more clicks for them and a couple new eyes on their account. I don't know if you remember or not, but when goalie coaches and Wyatt were two separate entities, goalie coaches had Snapchat.
01:04:26
Speaker
And so on the Snapchat, they did a similar thing to the account takeover for for the day. Probably something I should reach out to Nathan about, because I feel like that would be a great DIY plug there. but there go it was it was very It was very interesting, very cool just to kind of see the the ins and outs of what you're going through down there in Tulsa. um And I think even again afterwards after you and I had known each other for a couple of years and just kind of seeing what you're doing. So I'm able to keep up with you that way because I know we don't we don't talk a lot. We're both busy guys, but um it was been it was very very interesting and very exciting for you to to to to go through that experience.
01:05:10
Speaker
Totally. Yeah, that's actually as as much credit as I'll give Ethan. He's working hard on the on the social media side of things as well as ah on the ice of wood running sessions. Like it wasn't an original idea. He when he had reached out about it, he I'd asked him, you know, is there anything particularly that he wants to see? And he's like basically one of those, you know, OG goalie coaches, Snapchat, Snapchat takeovers. So, ah yeah, I used to be tuned in all the time with those and.
01:05:36
Speaker
I really enjoyed kind of keeping up with those, especially when it was someone that I maybe knew a little bit. I was, you know, even more keen on watching what their life's like. And yeah, I think that was a great marketing ah move on their part in that brand. And I think that's a big reason why their brand has grown to be as big as it has and has been a, you know, definitely a factor and was a success with goalie coaches as well.
01:05:58
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. Okay. Well, we'll kind of we'll kind of start to wrap things up here, but again, I just want one more thing. I'm turning into Kevin Woodley here in this regard where this is one more question, one more question. But I feel like it's important. I feel like it's important here. Like we mentioned earlier, and you might've already talked about it, so you can call me out. You have your own goalie coaching company on Instagram, blue clutch, goaltending.
01:06:19
Speaker
um kind of talked about it already where you know the the previous owners had kind of passed their kind of brand along over to you there and now you're doing some work with with Pierce. How's that going? Is there anything that we can expect from you over the summer this year? i where's where's Where's that at currently?
01:06:40
Speaker
Totally. I haven't posted in in quite a while now on my on my personal goalie account, the Luke Lush goaltending. Just been busy with other things. and But ah yeah, Pierce and I, we've been working kind of around the clock, actually. There's a lot more work that goes into building a website and a whole program and everything that people might expect. and but you know We're trying to make it look as professional as possible and doing our best there. and making sure that The biggest thing is providing value you know to all of our clients and wanting to make sure that, especially the online platform, you know making sure that you're over-delivering. I think oftentimes you know there's everyone's trying to sell something online and you order it and then you don't the last thing you want is to be left feeling empty-handed a little bit.
01:07:24
Speaker
so That's been our big focus and there's a lot of work going into it. So yeah, if if everyone follows me on Luke Lush goaltending will be announcing it soon and ah our Our accounts on Instagram at least is crease dot.masters. And so we'll be seeing that and then Online or our website should be up pretty shortly here. It'll be cm goaltending.com and Yeah, we're really excited for it. We'll be we'll have a couple few official announcements here shortly and yeah, I've got really you know, I hopes for it and I think it could be a really great thing and Yeah, I'll be. I'm still not for sure, but I'll likely be all around the inventory again. So i'm I'm always running ice times there, ah kind of depending on the demand at the time. I don't advertise or book too much in advance, just given that my schedule can be a little hectic and unpredictable. but
01:08:09
Speaker
I, you know, I contract myself out to a lot of different goalie coaches and, you know, between ATC goaltending, Dave Ravicham goaltending, Ian Gordon goaltending, as well as like the balanced goaltending when I'm around Calgary. I also with Pierce Diamond at Diamond Cut goaltending when I go visit BC. I work with OHA, Penticton a little bit. so I'm a little all over the map, but but you know these are all people that have played a role in my development as a goalie and I like trying to give back as little you know as much as I can there. and I have a lot of fun working with all of them and getting a lot of insight for them too. so it's It's been really a valuable experience for me and I'm really happy to be able to return some of that.
01:08:51
Speaker
Well, I'm sure it's goaltending. We'll have their summer sessions coming up here, so we'll see if we can convince them to get you out there. but Regardless of that, I guess lastly here, um what's one piece of advice for goat for young goalies out there? What's kind of like the number one thing that you always tell goalies that come up through your system?
01:09:14
Speaker
The two is, you know, just trusting the process, but most importantly is enjoy it. ah I guess going kind of tying it back into the gear is for the longest time, it's ah it's something I've actually had embroidered on my gear. On my glove, I always have just keep it simple. And on the blocker just says enjoy it, right? And try to enjoy the moment and enjoy the experience.
01:09:34
Speaker
and because you know At the end of the day, that's why we do it. right We do it for our enjoyment and develop development as people and as players. ah and Try not to get too bogged down by the the politics of it all and everything because we all go through it one way or another. and You can either overcome it or just fall victim to it.
01:09:51
Speaker
right and It's totally fine and you know what frankly it happens at every level, you know, I had I dealt with it in college Having yet dealt with it really in pro and and knock on wood I don't have too much but it does happen at every level and so you don't think that you're the one and only victim in the world going through whatever it is at the time right at whatever level because it happens and you know, you can either deal with it or move on and so that's those are two big things just you know, trust the process. And if you keep working, you'll get rewarded for it at some point and you don't know when that is, but just be ready for when it does happen. And yeah, do your best to enjoy it. Otherwise, there's really no point to it.
01:10:31
Speaker
Awesome. Awesome. Well, Luke, as always, it is a fun time here on this podcast and I'm definitely happy to have you. um where can Where can people find you? Obviously we talked about the Luke Lush goaltending over on Instagram. Talked to a little bit about crease masters there as well. But where can now people personally find you over on the social media platforms that are still around as long as TikTok it still doesn't get banned?
01:11:00
Speaker
Yeah, thankfully, I haven't got too much into TikTok, so I won't be affected much by that. But yeah, like you said, ah at Luke Lush goaltending on Instagram is probably the best place to find me. You can also reach out to my personal account, which is Luke W Lush. And then, yeah, I guess keep your eyes tuned. We'll have crease dot.masters up and running shortly here.
01:11:19
Speaker
And, but yeah, the Luke Lesh-Goltoning is definitely the best one to reach me at and feel free to reach out with any questions or tips or anything like that you might need help with. I'm more than happy to share whatever I can to, you know, help aid in a goalie's journey.
Podcast Conclusion
01:11:33
Speaker
Absolutely. We'll link all that down in the show notes there. Luke, my friend, thank you very much for coming on. Much appreciated. Definitely happy to have you here. Awesome. Well, thank you for having me. Connor was awesome.
01:11:49
Speaker
And for all you goalies out there, thank you very much for listening. Much appreciated here at the DIY Goalie Podcast. If you are new to the podcast, first off, thank you for listening. Much appreciated. But again, you can give us a follow on all your favorite social media or all your favorite podcasting platforms, whether it be on Apple, iHeart, Spotify. ah You can also find us on the social media platforms as well alongside with Luke at the DIY Goalie across all social media.
01:12:18
Speaker
If you are in the Edmonton area, please feel free to check us out over at TrueNorthGoldtending.com. We do have a few promotions that are happening as of as of right now, where we do have our July four-day camp and our August five-day camp. Those are both live over at True North Goldtending.
01:12:37
Speaker
We are also again offering special prices to first year goalies. You can go check that out there at truenorthgoldtending.com. And then we also have our open house happening at february on February 4th and February 6th, 5 to 9 p.m. at the new training facility that we have out there in this view. All that will be provided at truenorthgoldtending.com.
01:12:58
Speaker
Again, you can follow us on the social media platforms for t true north goaltending, which is just true north goaltending But except for instagram because we like to be different. It's at YEG glory Luke again much appreciated I'm sure Nathan would love to have you on or what I would have liked to have had chat with you But we'll definitely have to get to back yeah you you betcha. Look forward to it. Perfect. Well, that's it from us guys. Thanks so much for listening Thanks so much for watching over on YouTube as well. Make sure you hit a like and subscribe We'll see you guys next time make some sense. Take care