Blackwood’s in the position of having good stats and doing well on the eye test. He seems to have the tools to eventually become a good starter, hopefully he continues on this trend.
Being a bit more agressive with his stick on breakaways is certainly something he could look to add, just to add an extra dimension. I wouldn’t expect it to come out every time though.
Two things really impress me about his game, besides the obvious size and athleticism.
First, it’s his stick position. This is one of the most basic things, but I often see goalies’ sticks either slide forward or lift off the ice when they change positions (especially when they butterfly and tuck elbows to prevent 7 hole gaps as so many do now). This is the kind of little thing that makes a massive difference to the number of 5 hole goals conceded.
Second, his technical work when he tracks the puck. Watch him move when the puck goes from low to high, or even when we’re breaking out. He doesn’t bob up out of position and transitions smoothly and efficiently from one stance to another.
The fact that Blackwood pays attention to little details like this suggest to me that he’s going to be able to maintain those great numbers he had. It’ll be interesting now that teams will have video on him and will be able to try and find any weaknesses.
