Player Discussion Anders Nilsson

[NucksRock]

I have to wonder, if part of our goalie problem is Cloutier? I am not trying to deflect from their personal responsibilty for their inconsistency, nor taking any blame away from the poor defensive play in front of them but

1 Nilsson had a good year in Buffalo the year prior posting a 0.923 save % in 26 Games. He is 6'6'' and with those numbers was worth the risk given he looked to have turned a corner.

2. He comes here, has a nice start, then seems to start playing small in the net, players beating him high consistently when he's 6'6'' - makes no sense.

3. Markstrom, while his path has been slow, seemed to be similar, finally ready to take over as a number 1, won at other levels, and dominated (world Juniors, AHL etc), pushed Miller enough to seem to be ready. Then comes in and we similar inconsistency, not quiet in his movement (erratic), alot of high shots beating yet another tall goalie.

Granted the team is a mess/in transition and its likely a combination of factors - but anyways, I cant see Nillson having much value right now. He'll have to come in and show last year was an abberation, then you trade him. Probably a smarter move as it gives Demko a little more time to stew, and you up his trade value, assuming he can come in better this year.

 

[Zippgunn]

I'll say this again: if you jettison Nilsson and put Demko in his place and give him the quality of starts that Nilsson got this past season Demko will be destroyed by the All star break...

 

[mossey3535]

Can you elaborate on this?

Woodley said on 1040 that Nilly plays TEAM practice the exact way he plays in games.

Unfortunately that is not a way to be successful in practice.

You pander to the team's needs in practice. Any drills involving the whole team are pretty much useless to a goalie in terms of skill development. For example, on an odd-man rush drill you are seeing an odd man rush, over and over again. With NHL players. It is easy to get carved up just in general.

Different goalies have different ways of reacting to this. Hasek famously never gave up a goal in practice. I do a thing where I don't even try to react to shots in the first five minutes because I want to get my tracking down before anything. Others will do their whole routine, almost like it's golf. Do your pre-shot routine, get your angle and depth, read the play, make the stop....or get scored on. Then you do your whole in-game post goal or post save routine. This usually takes a minute.

In this time, the players are still running the drills. If you choose to follow this route, you end up just ignoring some rushes. Some guys get up real quick after a goal. Some guys take their time. This is going to look lazy in practice. You look like you don't care, and some guys are not getting your "attention" because you just ignore their entire turn at the drill. But it is arguably the best way to ingrain your system. Do the same thing every time, no matter what. Prep for the shot the same, get the same flow, make the same save selections, do the same ritual after the play. I'm assuming this is what Nilsson does.

Every goalie knows, especially the backups, that the head coach does not watch the goalies only practice, which is where you get real work done because the goalie coach is there and it's just not the shooting gallery that the team practice is. Ironically, that is exactly the practice the head coach needs to be watching (if he knows what to watch for) if he wants to see if his goalie is sharp.

But anyhow, what you do in team practice is try to stop as much as you can. This is my natural inclination and most guys who are competitive will be pulled into that. BUT. It's super hard to do that. So you cheat. A lot. Although the drills are designed to help the players and not you, the nature of the drills that don't end up with a 1-on-1 leads to (especially with a very high tempo practice) the players actually having less options than they would in a real game. You start to understand what shots will come out of what drills, and you learn to read which of your players suck so you can rest on that play and which players you have to really pay attention to and not cheat with. All this anticipation is not how goaltending works. It can quickly lead to guessing, and a false sense of security because you know your own team pretty well. Yes, you look good to the head coach, but you are being pulled out of your system. The discipline you need in a real game is actually being eroded a little.

So Nilly's method actually makes a lot more sense than the traditional hockey approach. He's getting correct reps in all the time. But it looks bad. It looks lazy. And nobody watches the goalies-only practice to see he puts in even more reps in that time.

 

[F A N]

Woodley said on 1040 that Nilly plays TEAM practice the exact way he plays in games.
,,,
So Nilly's method actually makes a lot more sense than the traditional hockey approach. He's getting correct reps in all the time. But it looks bad. It looks lazy. And nobody watches the goalies-only practice to see he puts in even more reps in that time.

Thanks for the post. But I am more inclined to give Green the benefit of the doubt. This isn't his first rodeo so to speak. I have a hard time thinking he judges goalies based on his perception of how a goalie performs in practice. And it's not like Nilly played well in games, but Green inexplicably doesn't trust him.

 

[mossey3535]

Thanks for the post. But I am more inclined to give Green the benefit of the doubt. This isn't his first rodeo so to speak. I have a hard time thinking he judges goalies based on his perception of how a goalie performs in practice. And it's not like Nilly played well in games, but Green inexplicably doesn't trust him.

The guy was absolutely on fire to start the season.

Head coaches base their decision on practice. What else is there for them to watch? Again, most don't watch the goalie practice, and even fewer know what to look for if they did.

This is pretty much the defacto state of hockey for basically forever. Remember, goalie coaches as a consistent thing in the NHL are still only about 15 years old.

 

[F A N]

The guy was absolutely on fire to start the season.

And he played a whole lot more at the start of the season.

Head coaches base their decision on practice. What else is there for them to watch?

Actual games against other NHL teams?

Again, most don't watch the goalie practice, and even fewer know what to look for if they did.

Which is why head coaches decide on which goalies to start based on a combination of gut, past game performances, and goaltending coach suggestions rather than basing everything on what they see in practice? We're not talking about a 27 year old AHL callup that Green has never seen and wondering if he is NHL calibre here.

 

[VanJack]

Both Markstrom and Nilsson have a penchant for letting in ugly, backbreaking goals early in games. But they're not helped by one of the worst bluelines in the entire NHL. It's a 'chicken and egg' thing, which one is the bigger problem? Nilsson might just be one of those goalies who feels more comfortable on the bigger Euro ice.

 

[PuckMunchkin]

Goalie stats- 2017-18 regular season - 2017 - even-strength - Puckbase

Considering the team that is iced in front of him, Markströms even strenght save% is actually very respectable. (20th in the league, top 50 goalies by minutes played)

Nilsson on the other hand 42nd.

 

[DustyMartellaughs]

"It can quickly lead to guessing, and a false sense of security because you know your own team pretty well. Yes, you look good to the head coach, but you are being pulled out of your system. The discipline you need in a real game is actually being eroded a little. "

This. I know a lot of guys who over the summer excel at drop in facing the same guys all the time, then get murdered in league play come October. Cheating, be it in class, in a relationship, or on the ice, seldom ends well.
The NHL for the most part is entirely backward. Coaches evaluate goalies in the worst possible setting.

 

[mossey3535]

"It can quickly lead to guessing, and a false sense of security because you know your own team pretty well. Yes, you look good to the head coach, but you are being pulled out of your system. The discipline you need in a real game is actually being eroded a little. "

This. I know a lot of guys who over the summer excel at drop in facing the same guys all the time, then get murdered in league play come October. Cheating, be it in class, in a relationship, or on the ice, seldom ends well.
The NHL for the most part is entirely backward. Coaches evaluate goalies in the worst possible setting.

No, it can't be because FAN has told me so. NHL head coaches are completely rational, especially when it comes to goalies!

Like literally anyone who knows ANY minor hockey goalie parents understands how ridiculous it is. Even besides the politics, the coaching staff is usually clueless about the goaltending side.

It doesn't improve as you go up the ranks. The sheer lack of coaching of guys like Santorelli, which he has told stories of on 1040, is astounding. And that's a side of the game the coaches are actually well versed in.