Hockey Goalie Resource

With tryouts only a few months away, I thought this would be a helpful post for any hockey goalie who is trying to make the team. These are a few tips for getting noticed by coaches and scouts and getting picked for the team that you are trying out for.

1. Do whatever you have to do to get as much net time as possible - You don’t have to be a jerk to the other goalies to make sure you get in the net, but it is a good idea to be assertive and make sure you are seen in the net. Do your best to be the first goalie in for each drill.
2. Communicate as much as possible - Make sure that you talk and talk loud (yell if you have to) to your defensemen, let them know if they have time to skate with the puck or let them know if they have somebody on them and they need to get rid of the puck.
3. Play the puck - Coaches these days are looking for goalies who can handle the puck. Make sure that you are making smart plays with the puck, also make sure that you are making hard crisp passes onto your players sticks. Don’t flip it!
4. Be the last goalie to leave the ice - Make sure that you stay out there on the ice as long as possible because you will be noticed as a hockey goalie who loves to play and wants to take as many shots as you can.
5. Never give up on ANY play - This is something you should practice whenever you are in net…Train yourself not to give up on anything. Even if the player has a wide open net and you have to dive 6 feet to get to the puck and there is no chance for you to stop the puck…still go for it. It will show that you have work ethic and that you hate to be scored on. You will actually be surprised how many saves you will make in desperation situations if you train your brain to NEVER GIVE UP. Coaches love that!
6. Work on foot speed drills when you are not in the net - Sometimes you might be trying out against up to 10 goalies if not more, so it is important to make sure you are staying warm when you aren’t in the net. It will also show coaches that you are a hard worker and it will give the coaches another chance to evaluate and possibly remember you.
7. STOP THE PUCK!

If any of you watched any NHL games this year, it should have been pretty evident to you that it is very important for a hockey goalie at a high level to be able to play the puck. Marty Turco, Martin Brodeur, and Rick DiPietro are prime examples of goalies who have the ability to act as a third defenseman. They are relied upon to go out and play the puck and often make a tape to tape breakout pass. What this does is it buys your teammates time, and it also makes opposing teams weary of playing dump and chase hockey. I can almost guarantee that when a team has to play one of those goalies they make some changes to their game plan so they don’t have to deal with just giving the puck away to the other team. If you are a young hockey goalie it is definitely a good idea to start learning how to make accurate passes, clear the zone, and have poise with handling the puck.

Check out this funny video with Steve Carell playing hockey goalie and maybe you can pick up some tips on training without any shooters.