A piece on Hasek from a kid lucky enough to watch him

[Dutchess]

http://twopadstack.net/dominik-hasek-comes-home/

Hasek's jersey retirement brought back a ton of memories. I wanted to reflect on what it was like to be a kid in Buffalo during his time of dominance and not only what it meant to me personally, but to Buffalo in general. Hope you guys enjoy.

Click to read more...

 

[haseoke39]

Nice write up. I broadly feel the same as you, just a little thing is that you've whitewashed his role in leaving town a bit. that said, nice to read someone who otherwise feels like I do about him.

 

[KennyFnPowers*]

watching Hasek play (as a kid)... was like that scene in Semi-Pro (w/ Will Ferrell) where they do the alley-oop for the first time ever, and nobody quite knows what to think... the whole place gets quiet for a second... Only over and over again. That's what he brought to the game. HE was a generational, game-changer player. HE changed the game forever.

 

[Old Navy Goat]

watching Hasek play (as a kid)... was like that scene in Semi-Pro (w/ Will Ferrell) where they do the alley-oop for the first time ever, and nobody quite knows what to think... the whole place gets quiet for a second... Only over and over again. That's what he brought to the game. HE was a generational, game-changer player. HE changed the game forever.

He was generational and one of / if not the greatest goalie of all time, but he didn't change the game. You can easily argue that Roy / Brodeur changed the game due to the change in goalie positioning / play style influenced in moving from the stand-up to the butterfly. There isn't any goalie out there going all contortionist consistently as he had a truly unique style that can't be replicated.

 

[KennyFnPowers*]

He was generational and one of / if not the greatest goalie of all time, but he didn't change the game. You can easily argue that Roy / Brodeur changed the game due to the change in goalie positioning / play style influenced in moving from the stand-up to the butterfly. There isn't any goalie out there going all contortionist consistently as he had a truly unique style that can't be replicated.

you're nuts. there's a long list of things goalies do now because he did it first... just the amount of additional physical conditioning alone is something he showed was a necessity in being able to do some of the acrobatic contortions he did to make saves.

- freezing the puck with the blocker
- cartwheel, back of the catcher glove stops
- slapping the puck out of mid air to clear the zone with the goalie stick blade
- charging skaters on breakaways w/ double stacked pads

the list goes on and on my friend - he changed the way goalies play the game.

 

[hizzoner]

I recall a game where he was in the net for Chicago and Buffalo won something like 6-0. I was not overly impressed--the lesson--a snapshot is not an album........

 

[Dutchess]

I recall a game where he was in the net for Chicago and Buffalo won something like 6-0. I was not overly impressed--the lesson--a snapshot is not an album........

I wonder what clicked for him when he finally got his shot in Buffalo, because obviously to that point (he was 27 when he got dealt to Buffalo) he hadn't done a whole lot to impress anyone.

 

[KennyFnPowers*]

I wonder what clicked for him when he finally got his shot in Buffalo, because obviously to that point (he was 27 when he got dealt to Buffalo) he hadn't done a whole lot to impress anyone.

sold his soul to the devil ; )