Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark is having an All-Star season thanks to plenty of behind-the-scenes work - The Boston Globe
When the Bruins were scouting Ullmark, they liked his size, hands, and athleticism, but goalie coach Bob Essensa felt he could be more comfortable by being more active in the crease.
Linus Ullmark’s first All-Star Weekend will be unique, as these events go.
The festivities will be held on the beach in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in three weeks. The NHL’s creative team, headed by executive Steve Mayer, is planning skills competition events that involve alligators, dunk tanks, and golf.
“I mean, we just played a Winter Classic,” Ullmark said during the Bruins’ recent trip to Los Angeles. “That was the biggest thing in my life so far when it comes to hockey. You’ve gone through that sort of thing — I think this will be a lot of fun. Totally different setting, obviously. Looking forward to seeing what they have in store.”
Ullmark’s first-half numbers — a 3-0 loss to Seattle on Thursday dropped his league-best record to 22-2-1 with a 1.88 goals-against average and .938 save percentage — have him at the front of the line for his first Vezina Trophy. The Bruins were on a 64-win, 136-point pace at midseason, on track to smash the league records in both categories (62 wins, 132 points). Ullmark, 29, is tracking for career bests in every notable category.
For enemy shooters, the Swedish stopper has been as intimidating as an open-mouth gator. His two-year development has been rewarding for Bruins goalie coach Bob Essensa.
Ullmark was a product of accomplished coaches: Maciej Szwoch and Magnus Helin at the Swedish powerhouse Modo, where he also studied under Ian Clark for a year. Clark, now with the Canucks, has a reputation as one of the NHL’s premier goalie gurus.
Ullmark laughed when asked about Essensa’s impact on his game. A grinning Essensa was walking toward the door, behind a flock of reporters and cameras.
Ullmark: “You want to answer this one?”
Essensa: “Huge impact.”
Ullmark: “Huge impact. Huge impact.”
Essensa, best known for his days with the original Winnipeg Jets, has been the Bruins’ goalie coach since 2003. His pupils have won three Vezina Trophies (Tim Thomas in 2009 and 2011, Tuukka Rask in 2014). Like those headstrong netminders, Ullmark is unafraid to push back against his coach. In Ullmark’s words, he doesn’t want to work with a “yay-sayer.”
“I want someone I can bounce ideas off and have a conversation with,” he said. “I also want him to be honest with me, saying, ‘This is not good enough and this is not good enough.’ Because if I don’t get to hear that, I can’t improve. I don’t want someone to pat me on the back, saying, ‘You couldn’t save that.’ No, as a goaltender, you want to be able to make all the saves.”
Ullmark credits his stellar season to comfort. After a season of adjustment, the former Buffalonian is at home in Brookline, where he and wife Moa, and their children Harry (4) and Lily (2), live with their Corgis, Barry and Bob. In arenas on the road, Ullmark is regularly spotted making FaceTime calls back home.
“A calm goalie is usually better than a stressed-out one,” he said. “You want to have that impact on your teammates and on the game itself, that whatever your opponents throw at you, you’re just going to stand there and be calm about it and show the poise. That’s what I want to show my teammates every night, every practice as well, to be someone to be relied upon.”
When the Bruins were scouting Ullmark during his time with the Sabres (2015-21), Essensa liked the netminder’s size (6 feet 4 inches, 215 pounds), hands, and athleticism. But the coach felt Ullmark could be more comfortable in the crease — by being more active.
Ullmark, like many of his era, was a push-stop goalie. In tracking the puck, he moved to the spot that gave him the best chance to make a save, and remained there until he needed to move somewhere else.
“It was only half a dozen years ago where everything was push-stop, push-stop,” Essensa said. “I can’t tell you how many years of summer goalie camps that’s exactly what we preached. Push, stop, set.”
Particularly for netminders with Ullmark’s size, creating motion from stagnancy is hard on groins, hamstrings, and hips. Unlike with Thomas, whose hyperactive game he needed to quiet, Essensa’s main project with Ullmark has been making him more active.
Kevin Woodley of NHL.com and InGoal magazine described it as the goalie constantly flowing into the next move, when most coaches want their netminders set to receive the shot. Ullmark might use a reverse C-cut with his lead skate to initiate a cross-ice push, Woodley said, rather than being stiff, having to rotate his body and push off to the next shot.
“He creates a little momentum so there’s never any reach,” said NESN analyst Andrew Raycroft, a former Essensa student (Calder Trophy, 2004). “You don’t want to generate power from a standstill. The first save’s easy for him. He’s so big. The second save is where it helps. Tuukka got really good at it at the end. It’s what prolonged his career.”
Other goalies who try to use backflow can get caught moving too much, or not be square to the shooter. They can drift too far. But Ullmark has figured out how to anticipate the next move and stay in controlled motion.
“Somebody tries something new and it doesn’t work right away, like, ‘Ah, that’s not for me,’ ” Essensa said. “So it took some trial and error for him to see some of the benefits. But eventually, and I think just for longevity’s sake, because he hasn’t played over 40 games in a season. When you bring a guy in you want him to play more than that, obviously.
“It’s not just because we built backflow into his game. It’s a bunch of other things. He’s become a really good pro on and off the ice.”
“You want to show your personality, show your flair, but you don’t want to be a goofball, you know, be a clown out there. It’s entertainment, but at the same time it’s a business and you want to look professional doing it.”
