pictman
Registered User
I think he was the first goalie to use the fibreglass/cage combo too
I think you might be right.
I think he was the first goalie to use the fibreglass/cage combo too
I think he was the first goalie to use the fibreglass/cage combo too
There were two kinds of goalies back then... the intellectuals - Dryden and Esposito... and the clinically insane - Cheevers and SmithI went down the goalie mask/helmet rabbit hole, Esposito made the cage on his hybrid mask with wire and pliers and also added the back plate and extended the forehead for more protection. The modern goalie helmet can be traced back to his tweaks. Awesome stuff
Esposito revisits stories behind mask
Tony Esposito
I'm a bit too young to remember Cheevers and Dryden play, but I remember the tail end of Esposito playing. Billy Smith using his stick as a hatchet on opposing players, I remember very well lol. Ron Hextall , I was really in awe of. He was the first goalie I remember being able to handle the puck well and also hack and slash like Smith when needed.There were two kinds of goalies back then... the intellectuals - Dryden and Esposito... and the clinically insane - Cheevers and Smith
The old time goalies used angles and technique just as much as today's goalies. Techniques were quite different, because of equipment and player size. But they knew what they were doing.
But the size of the goalies and the size of the equipment has changed the game tremendously. I still marvel that they ever score.
The level of professionalism is much higher now too. It used to be that if you saw players spitting while on the bench, it was tobacco juice . Players did actually smoke on the bench too. They stayed fit and worked out by playing hockey. 'Gym? What for? I play or practice hockey almost every day! I'm in great shape'.
After watching All Laine's CBJ games the biggest surprise for me is that he is often used to enter the zone on PP! Apparently they used to dump and chase before Laine. And believe or not, he usually is getting the job done. I just find this a bit surprising.
Trying to think if there are any Haseks in the league right now... I'd say MarkstromOh no doubt they did at the time. Still the best and most technical of that era. But compared to what they teach today it's not even close to the same level.
The size of the goalies, the way they approach every shot, shot type, shot angle. Equipment helps too but if your still some board kicking your legs out at a puck even with modern pads you're going to miss a lot of low shots.
Hall, Espo, Tretiak and Crozier were the early developers of butterfly but then Roy came along and perfected it to the point where it's basically the standard of goaltending now. Along with the pads he basically started the profly technique and it's continued evolution is ongoing. As most goalie I know say, the butterfly isn't a style it's an arsenal of specific saves for every situation. How good you are at it, depends on how quickly you can react to your changing environment. Of course now we are seeing 6'4+ giants who can occupy large areas of the net but are also incredibly athletic for their size.
Dryden, to me, was the best big game, money goalie I have ever seen. His record is remarkable.There were two kinds of goalies back then... the intellectuals - Dryden and Esposito... and the clinically insane - Cheevers and Smith
The equipment is about twice the size now too...
I think back in those days what you had Mike Palmateer and Tony Esposito as butterfly goalies? Roy really changed the way the game is played... that and goalies were fair game for a stick to the head if they were down low in the early 1980s - ask Billy Smith
Trying to think if there are any Haseks in the league right now... I'd say Markstrom
Oh no doubt they did at the time. Still the best and most technical of that era. But compared to what they teach today it's not even close to the same level.
The size of the goalies, the way they approach every shot, shot type, shot angle. Equipment helps too but if your still some board kicking your legs out at a puck even with modern pads you're going to miss a lot of low shots.
Hall, Espo, Tretiak and Crozier were the early developers of butterfly but then Roy came along and perfected it to the point where it's basically the standard of goaltending now. Along with the pads he basically started the profly technique and it's continued evolution is ongoing. As most goalie I know say, the butterfly isn't a style it's an arsenal of specific saves for every situation. How good you are at it, depends on how quickly you can react to your changing environment. Of course now we are seeing 6'4+ giants who can occupy large areas of the net but are also incredibly athletic for their size.
I really mean the gut-instinct guys versus the Robots... Helle is a great goalie who is basically calculating all the shots all the time and playing odds like a poker player - Markstrom seems to be more of a natural instinct get into the flow of the game type, this to me is still the Hasek style... but maybe they just call it the athletic butterfly now haNo one is really like Hasek. Mainly because that kind of style is basically forced out of kids. Everyone is pretty much a cookie cutter version. Markstrom still employs a load of profly techniques. He has a bit more flop to his game but nowhere near what Hasek was doing.
I really mean the gut-instinct guys versus the Robots... Helle is a great goalie who is basically calculating all the shots all the time and playing odds like a poker player - Markstrom seems to be more of a natural instinct get into the flow of the game type, this to me is still the Hasek style... but maybe they just call it the athletic butterfly now ha
Tim Thomas was the last real pure Hasek goalie around
My son says guys like Markstrom and Bob are the closest you can find now
Garth Snow's 2 x 4 says hiThe shoulder pads that goalies used would have left 80% of the net open back then too...
there's no need to be a Hasek nowadays.Trying to think if there are any Haseks in the league right now... I'd say Markstrom
ShhhhIs the Toronto Vancouver game not blacked out for anyone else. It says blackout in my tv listing but the game is on.