Hockey Goaltending: Old School vs. New School

There was a time when the goalie was the out of shape kid who couldn’t skate. You put him in the net and hoped he’d get hit with the puck. Those days are long behind us. Now, the goalie is most often the most athletic and best skater on the team. He is the most focused, fearless, and often intellectualizes the game beyond that of his teammates.

Gone are the days of the old coach yelling “stay up and stay out”. Big slow goalies used to block much of the net. Now, big strong goalies wear big equipment that they move quickly to block the net. Goalies are now taught a method of “stacking”. They are taught that through the use of the butterfly technique, they can effectively cover the bottom of the net, relying on quickness of the gloves to cover the upper portions.

This technique was made popular by taller goalies like Patrick Roy. In this style, a taller goalie doesn’t lose so much coverage by standing above the net. In fact, when standing out on the angle, the area a shooter must hit is equivalent at most to a three foot high by two foot wide box. If I goalie is in this box, the shooter can only shoot through him, or change where the box is by moving or passing the puck.

Goalies are now taught to go down on any shots that are on the ice. They put the paddle down so as to deny any possibility of a shot going in on them at ice level. They all but dare the shooter to try to beat them up high.

There is no best way to play the position. Times change, styles change, and you can only see the traditional stand-up goalie late at night in the old-man leagues at your local arena. But if you were a goalie who learned in that tradition, take the time to learn the new style so you can support your son or daughter. Some of the new tricks even make sense.