'Noodles' on goaltending

[meefer]

James McClennan visits with Ian Tulloch on the Leafs Geeks podcast and offers some very interesting takes on the position, that for me, is a wonder. How the heck goaltenders do what they do is special, Noodles breaks it down in a way that I appreciated. Perhaps some of you will enjoy it as much as I did.

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[Leafblooded]

Thanks Noodles... hey since when did you start referring to yourself as James?

 

[meefer]

My mistake, Jamie it is . And no, I ain't him

 

[qqaz]

I always liked McLennan's take on goalies. He was an NHL backup, so he has 1st hand experience. And I usually find I agree with his opinion on the goalies in Leaf Land.

Can't listen to the Megaphone link right now, but I'll give it a listen some time. Thanks for posting, @meefer.

 

[acrobaticgoalie]

As a goalie, I agree with everything he said.

Price would be the goalie I would select to build around if I could.

I never thought Sparks would make it as an NHL goalie.

Neuvirth was the goalie i was hoping we would go after as a cheap reclamation project. I agree that i think he will win the job out of camp.

When i watch goalies for the draft, I look at their edgework, how they manage their crease movement and being able to read where the play is going.

This interview is pretty accurate. A lot of people don't like Noodles but when it comes to goaltending he is a good analyst.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

As a goalie, I agree with everything he said.

Price would be the goalie I would select to build around if I could.

I never thought Sparks would make it as an NHL goalie.

Neuvirth was the goalie i was hoping we would go after as a cheap reclamation project. I agree that i think he will win the job out of camp.

When i watch goalies for the draft, I look at their edgework, how they manage their crease movement and being able to read where the play is going.

This interview is pretty accurate. A lot of people don't like Noodles but when it comes to goaltending he is a good analyst.

My theory on goaltending has never changed. Do what it takes to stop da puck. Don't really care if you are a Hasek style, a Price style or a Hextall type just stop da puck when it counts to win games. If ur style is a winner then bingo perfect. Good on Dubie for getting us a backup. We got as low as we could last year with Sparks and Hutch. Watching Hutch completely screw up our Marlie playoff run last year made me ill absolute garbage house league performance when we needed him in game 5 at home.

 

[Bluelines]

As one of ball coach's said when teaching us how to hit the ball... "See the ball, hit the ball", he was a simple guy.

What are all the sayings around goal-tending?

• See the puck, stop the puck.
• Make yourself big.
• Watch your angles.
• Let the puck hit you.
• Get square to the shooter.
• Show the shooter where you want them to shoot and then take it away.
• Play deep in the net, don't play deep in the net
• Play the the top of the blue paint.
• Can't teach size (that's for pretty much every position)
• Hand/Eye
• Take away the bottom of the net.

I'm sure there are more.

 

[acrobaticgoalie]

My theory on goaltending has never changed. Do what it takes to stop da puck. Don't really care if you are a Hasek style, a Price style or a Hextall type just stop da puck when it counts to win games. If ur style is a winner then bingo perfect. Good on Dubie for getting us a backup. We got as low as we could last year with Sparks and Hutch. Watching Hutch completely screw up our Marlie playoff run last year made me ill absolute garbage house league performance when we needed him in game 5 at home.

One thing that you don't want to do is change a goalie's style. If it works for them and keeps the puck out, then don't change it. Hasek for example. You would never teach that kind of goaltending but what I think worked for him was that he was incredibly unpredictable. Players would see an open net and think they had an easy goal, then he would do something no one has ever seen before and shock everyone. I'm not sure how well he would do with that style nowadays. The game is much faster now and he played during the clutch and grab era which could have helped him with erratic style. Cujo even mentioned in his book that he had to change his style and play calmer in the net as the game got faster.

In Sparks' case, I think he relied too much on his size and is too aggressive on the first shot/pass. He didn't have the technique to make up for his aggressive movement and poor rebound control. That's why when Noodles mentioned about when scouting goalies you want to look at their raw tools first. If they have good technique right from the start, you have a food foundation to work with. Then it's just a matter of refining those tools and teaching them how to slow things down and read the play. If you know where the puck is going to go, you can be set and control where you want the puck to go or deaden the play.

 

[Peasy]

Enjoyed the podcast, really wish he was more like this on Overdrive.

 

[KingJoffrey]

Enjoyed the podcast, really wish he was more like this on Overdrive.

He tries too hard to be "voice of reason". O'dog and Hayes sometimes go over board with their hype, but so does Noodles when he tries to talk things down. But only Noodles take heat for his takes, because Leafs fans don't want to hear negative thing about their team. Matthews is top 3 player in the world. Nylander is top 5 winger and Marner is the best.

 

[thewave]

As a goalie, I agree with everything he said.

Price would be the goalie I would select to build around if I could.

I never thought Sparks would make it as an NHL goalie.

Neuvirth was the goalie i was hoping we would go after as a cheap reclamation project. I agree that i think he will win the job out of camp.

When i watch goalies for the draft, I look at their edgework, how they manage their crease movement and being able to read where the play is going.

This interview is pretty accurate. A lot of people don't like Noodles but when it comes to goaltending he is a good analyst.

Agreed and agreed for similar reasons. Sparks was just terrible and Neu should probably get the spot.

 

[WTFMAN99]

As a goalie, I agree with everything he said.

Price would be the goalie I would select to build around if I could.

I never thought Sparks would make it as an NHL goalie.

Neuvirth was the goalie i was hoping we would go after as a cheap reclamation project. I agree that i think he will win the job out of camp.

When i watch goalies for the draft, I look at their edgework, how they manage their crease movement and being able to read where the play is going.

This interview is pretty accurate. A lot of people don't like Noodles but when it comes to goaltending he is a good analyst.

Actually enjoy Noodles quite a bit on the radio. Ditto with Ferraro, 2 guys who really transitioned into media well.

 

[garce]

Agreed and agreed for similar reasons. Sparks was just terrible and Neu should probably get the spot.

The thing the best goalies since Hasek have is, and Price embodies it, calm upright rebound control. The sliding around that Sparks employs isn’t viable. He’s not a NHL goalie right now and is unlikely to be one.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

The thing the best goalies since Hasek have is, and Price embodies it, calm upright rebound control. The sliding around that Sparks employs isn’t viable. He’s not a NHL goalie right now and is unlikely to be one.

You never seen Hasek play lol. Hasek was a junkyard dog, wild and in predictable. Stopped everything with everything hahaaa.

He was a maniac oh man.

 

[Mr Hockey]

I didn't like noodles at first but I like him now

 

[inthe6ix]

he uses the word rinsed too often, but i like his perspective given his background in the league

usually is a calming influence when o dog goes off the rails

 

[The Kessel Run]

Thanks for posting