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On this page you will find questions previously asked to us. If you don't find the answer that you are looking for, drop me a line and I'll answer it for you. Questions and Answers with Kevin Lalande Some of Andrew Mercer's students had the opportunity to ask pro goalie Kevin Lalande some great questions ! See what Kevin had to say ! Click the link below ! QUESTIONS FOR KEVIN More Questions Position in net ? Beat on the stick side ? Hey Andrew ! Who is your favorite NHL goalie and why? A great question about skate sharpening ! I have recently been asked about the different catching glove positions that modern goalies are currently using. There seems to be two main positions that are being questioned. Why do you go through the middle of the crease rather than just going straight to where you need to go? Why do you have your stick blade on an angle and slightly extended from your body while in the buttlerfly and not flush or tight against your pads? Do you have a few pointers to help me get focused before I go on the ice? My coach says I need to be better mentally prepared before I go out on the ice. Do you have any suggestions that can help me? Q.I have a question about where I should be in my net when the play is not in my end. I have been told that I should always be at the top of my crease even when the play is in the other end. I prefer to be almost on my goal line and then come out as the play is coming to my end of the ice. Is any one starting point better than the other? Which one should I use ? Mitchell, Ottawa, On Great Question Mitchell I would recommend starting in and area where you feel comfortable and where you can consistently get to the proper position as the play heads toward your end. If it is a basic 5 on 5 play and the players are in the other end I prefer goalies to stay deep in the net close to their goal line. By finding a "home base" you can easily identify what type of attack the other team is generating as they leave their zone and enter the neutral zone. By knowing how many offensive and defensive players are involved on the play you can set your positioning according to the rush attack. For example if the other team gets a breakaway you can come out and challenge the player and set up for that attack, if the players leave the zone on a odd man rush like a 2-1 or a 3-1 you can set yourself up accordingly for that type of play. Each goaltender is different so it is difficult to say which one is better than the other but, whatever starting place you choose it should allow you to read the oncoming play, and get set up for the attack quickly and efficiently so that you are positioned and ready for what ever type of play they execute on your goal. Andrew Top of Page Q.I have a quick question, I've been getting beat just over the pad on stick side in practice lately. Just wondering anything to fix that little hole, it's not really happening in games mostly just in practice with a lot of repetitive shots. If you think of a solution (which I'm sure you will) let me know. You know how much I don't like getting scored on! Drew Lawson, Brockville, On First I would say start with a good angle, pay close attention to if the shooter is a right or left handed shot, this will ultimately dictate the release angle of the puck. Secondly commit to the shot, if it is low enough, drop down and get you hands active, make sure that your blocker is aggressive and extends towards the puck. One thing to watch out for is, if your upper body is leaning away from the side that the puck is shot to it will make it very difficult to get your blocker in this area. Always make sure that you are looking at the puck, good tracking skills will allow you to see the puck all the way to your blocker, and remember every time you get a change recover towards your rebound! Andrew Top of Page Q.Hey Andrew ! Who is your favorite NHL goalie and why? Great question! My favorite goalie for many years was Patrick Roy, especially in his last few years with Colorado. Roy was an innovator within the goaltending position. He always seemed to have something in his tool belt to outsmart his opponents. Roy was a tactician in his approach to the game, and he watched hours of video off the ice to study his opponents before going into battle with them. On the ice, he was methodical with his overall positioning and his save movements. At his time, there was no one better at reading the play than Patrick Roy. He was that guy on the ice who seemed to know what was going to happen before everyone else knew what was going to happen. His anticipation was key to the overall approach of reading plays, identifying options and filling space. Once Patrick Roy retired, there was a void that I was in no hurry to fill. The goalie who was to become my favorite had some pretty big skates to fill. He had to be a smart goalie who could read the play and he had to have great save movements and recovery skills. I also wanted this new favorite goalie to have the ability to look boring in the net with tactical simplicity or be able to instantly bring an entire arena to its feet in mere seconds with a glove faster than lightning. This was going to be a tough challenge for any goalie in the NHL. I wondered who would take over from Patrick...... Let me introduce to you the next generation of goaltending greatness. Let me introduce to you a goalie with size, 6 foot, 3 inches to be exact. This monster in the net is not only big, but is very mobile and can move anywhere he wants accurately and quickly. Do not let his size fool you, he is not a dedicated blocking style goalie – his appendages can be as fast as lightning. This goalie has mental skills that can be as solid as a rock, and when the going gets tough, this goalie is at his best. This guy plays his best when it is all on the line. His patient style allows him to out wait shooters and make them sweat – he will almost never make the first move. This is the goalie everybody wants playing for them and no body wants to play against. My new favorite goalie was drafted in the 1st round, 4th overall, by the NY Islanders in 1997. He was born in the goalie factory of Montréal, Québec, Canada. He now plays on the west coast of Canada for the Vancouver Canucks. Yes, you guessed it, Roberto Luongo is my favorite goalie. He is the one guy who can fill the void left by Patrick Roy. You can find him on Hockey Night in Canada playing the late game – he will be wearing some assortment of RBK blue, green, and white. With quotes like this, who can’t love the guy: “I don’t fear stopping a 100 mph slap shot, I fear not stopping it”. Now that’s a goalie! Top of Page Q.Hi Andrew I was at a tournament in Waterloo and I had to get my son's goalie Skates sharpened. When I handed over the skates to the skate sharpener behind the counter, he asked me what kind of goalie cut I wanted. I had never been asked that question before. I then said a regular cut I was not aware of any other kind. He quickly responded that he did not know what a regular cut was. He then started asking me what style of goalie my son was to match the skate sharpening to his style. Andrew, can you please educate my son and I on the types of cuts and their benefits? Thanks, Great question Michel, I really did not have an answer for you as I bring my skates to the pros at BK sports for sharpening and repair. I let them work their magic on my skates, we found what I liked and since then they give me the same cut every time. Back to the question, I asked Matt at BK what the difference was and his response was very short and simple. You have 3 basic cuts or depths of cuts you can ask for, a 1/4 is a mild sharpening, a 1/2 is a regular sharpening, a 3/8 is a sharp cut. He also mentioned that the heavier the goalie the less of a hollow that they will need as there is more weight to push the edge into the ice. I recommend that you find out what you are getting on your skates now and in a black marker write it on the bottom of your skates. That way when your regular sharpener is not sharpening your skates you will be able to get the same cut when you are out of town. Top of Page Q. I have recently been asked about the different catching glove positions that modern goalies are currently using. There seems to be two main positions that are being questioned. The first position, we will call it the “traditional glove position”, is where the catching glove sits just above the pad with the “t” portion of the glove pointing towards the side boards. The second position, we will call it the “inverted glove position”, is where the “t” portion of the glove is pointing towards the ceiling. These two different positions have raised concerns from many of my goalies lately. I will do my best to explain some of the pros and cons of each position. However, it is important to remember that it is ultimately up to you, the goalie, to make the decision on which position you will use. I suggest that you try both in practice and find the one that works best for you. Traditional glove position: This position feels natural and can be easy for the developing goalie to learn and keep in position. The developing goalie will find that this position can be efficient in downward movements, such as the butterfly or paddle down. Since the glove is closer to its final position (resting just on top of the pad) in most downward save selections, it is not complicated to have the glove remain in position while executing these types of save movements. However, this can reduce the goalie’s efficiency to catch high shots as they are dropping, since the glove is already low in our stance. It will be difficult to raise your glove hand quickly as you are initiating your drop. The goalie’s downward momentum can create inefficiency, as the glove needs to work against the momentum and gravity to protect the top corner. A few other concerns with this glove position that I did not discuss in this paragraph are listed below in the “Let’s review section”. Inverted glove position: This position can feel a little un-natural at first, and it may take some practice to make it feel more natural. First, we will note that this position occupies more of the upper portion of the net, resulting in a few major advantages. Now that the glove is closer to the upper portion to the net, your hand will have less distance to travel to catch any pucks that are shot high. Your path will also be more direct to the puck, as we can now “reach and grab” any pucks verses using a circular motion to trap pucks. By reducing the distance traveled, and taking a more direct path to the puck, we increase our visual attachment to the puck. It will now be easier to watch the puck travel directly into the glove rather than track the puck into our glove as it travels in a circular motion. This high glove position can open a little more net low on the glove side and also make the distance from our stance glove position to its final position in a butterfly (glove resting just above the pad) greater. This, however, is not a problem. As you initiate your drop, it is much easier and more natural to move your glove with this downward momentum. This momentum and gravity creates speed for the glove to quickly regain optimal position in your butterfly. Let’s review: Traditional position: Pros Natural feeling Easy to learn and keep in position Quick to position in downward movements Cons Creates circular path while catching pucks Opens up top part of net Can be difficult to track puck into glove Loss of chest squareness while catching pucks Glove may not always be square to the puck as it rises from the ice Inverted position Pros Good coverage to top part of the net Creates direct path to the puck Allows for good visual tracking of the puck into the glove Shorter distance to travel to catch high shots Can make your stance appear higher in the net Reduces glove fade, in turn allows the glove to stay in front of the body while catching pucks Allows the glove to remain square to the puck as it rises up from the ice Cons Can be awkward to learn and keep in proper position Top of Page Q. Why do you go through the middle of the crease rather than just going straight to where you need to go? Thanks, Mitchell (Age 9) A. This is a great question Mitchell ! So it deserves a great answer, and here it is !! The main reason why we "go through the middle of the crease rather than just going straight to where you need to go" or if I can add here, "go through the middle of the crease rather than going to where the puck is in relation to where you are in the net", is to to always remain square to the puck. By remaining square to the puck at all times it can help you play a much better center-net game and make repositioning much quicker and easier. When making a positional adjustment, the goaltender’s first objective is always to gain a new angle to the changing point of attack. The purpose of this adjustment is to achieve optimal net coverage. Two keys to adjustments are squareness and depth. When making a positional adjustment we must first choose a path that provides good squareness to the new point of attack. Once this squareness is achieved, we can now obtain our second key to our new position, depth. When these two keys are used in the proper order it will help you maintain good positioning when you are forced to re-establish your positioning in the net. Key points 1. Prioritize body positioning (angle) over depth. 2. Combine these two key points to create your overall angle. Training notes 1. Always get a good visual on where the puck is going so you can determine where the center of your net will be relative to the new point of attack. 2. Use mental notes in your head: Say to your self when you are re-establishing your angle: “middle and out” and “body then depth”. Top of Page Q. Why do you have your stick blade on an angle and slightly extended from your body while in the buttlerfly and not flush or tight against your pads? Anonminous A. First let me fully describe a situation: The goalie has been put in a scenario where it is effective to execute a butterfly to complete the save. The goalie drops to the ice to cover the lower and middle portion of the net, only providing the shooter with a small amount of space on the “outside” or around the goalie’s body. By executing this save properly, the goalie will be what we call “compact”, meaning the arms are tight to the body, the goalie’s legs are closed, and there are no holes through the goalie’s body, thus limiting the shooter’s options. At this point, the goalie has occupied most of the available space in the net and gives the shooter no other option but to simply hit the goalie with the puck. The shot is then fired and the goalie makes the save. Because of good body position and intense visual tracking of the puck, the shot is controlled and then smothered by the goalie. This situation could have gone badly in a couple of different ways if the stick had been placed flush on the pads. First, if the goalie puts the stick flush with the pads while in a butterfly, it will open up a space in between the blocker arm and the body; this is what we call the 6 hole. With this hole open, the goalie is not compact and can allow goals through the body. When the stick is on an angle and slightly in front of the body, it will allow the goalie to close up and remain compact. Second, when in a blocking situation, there is the chance for an undesirable rebound. With proper upper and lower body positioning we can reduce the number of rebounds we produce. When the stick is tight to the pads, it will send the puck directly back out into the danger zone, producing another prime scoring chance. On the other hand, when there is an angle to the stick blade, it will allow the puck to “ramp up” into the body, producing a much more controllable rebound, and, in most cases, it will not produce a quality second shot. Key points 1. Be careful not to extend the stick too far in front of you as this can create erratic rebounds. 2. Make sure that while executing the butterfly save your body is fully upright and that you are not slouching or sitting back on your heels. 3. Always watch the puck all the way into your body so that you maintain good visual attachment to the puck at all times. Top of Page Q. Do you have a few pointers to help me get focused before I go on the ice? My coach says I need to be better mentally prepared before I go out on the ice. Do you have any suggestions that can help me? David Armstrong (age 9) A. Being mentally calm and pumped up for your game is one of the most important skills for any athlete. Having a plan aimed at helping you eliminate any unwanted external or internal distractions, such as worries, self-doubt or fear, is key towards giving yourself the opportunity to play at the best of your ability. A combination of personal space and light warm-up exercises can a have a tremendous effect on your mental state. When you combine light physical activity within your personal space, you, without really knowing it, begin to put aside your distractions and worries. During your exercises you will notice that you physically start to loosen up. The increased blood flow causes a feeling of warmth throughout the body. At this time you can relax the mind and the body, creating an overall sense of control. In the final stage of your pre-game preparation, you can conclude with visualization. See yourself making controlled movements, saves or responding to the opposition. Review in your mind your strengths and some keys to playing a solid game. The outcome will be a natural feeling of control, readiness, and responsiveness built within your mind. What triggers your emotional reaction to a game is the way you perceive the game. What you say to yourself about yourself in relation to your ability to perform in the game may make you feel intimidated by the opposition. A simple change in your perception about the meaning of a particular game, or belief about your capacity to deal with it positively, can change your current emotional state. Nothing changes except the way you perceive yourself or interpret the game, and that change can give you inner strength, confidence and can free your mind from anxiety, fear, or self-depreciation (“putting yourself down”). This strategy is one of the best ways to allow yourself to perform closer to your maximum capacity at all times. It allows you to put aside relatively unimportant thoughts and disturbances that are distracting you. It is important to practice this strategy not only before games, but also before practices. Personal Space: An area where you can do your exercises with the proper space and atmosphere Warm up exercises: Light jog Brisk walk Jumping jacks Very light plyometrics Stretching Breathing exercises Visualization: Create still frames or short movies of yourself in your mind completing movements, saves, or a series of situations responding to the opposition’s attacks. These images can also recharge you mentally during a game and help you to remain in a positive emotional state. You are now focused on your strengths, abilities, and emotional control and are ready to play your best. Top of Page