Curved shooter sticks - should goalies go on strike? (March 16, 1968)

[Doctor No]

Interesting article in the Minneapolis Star, where they interviewed goaltenders to ask their feelings about the proliferation of extreme curved shooters' sticks.

Click to read more...

 

[Killion]

Ha! Thats fun. Some amusing responses from the goalies asked about the curved blades.... Les Binkley my favorite with "I'd like to see them banned".... And while the Slapshot had been around for some time the technique employed, the actual mechanics of taking the shot altered when using a Banana Blade or major curve, requiring more backswing & windup, more time & space & thus much more force, weight & flex. The shooter with a lower center of gravity with the puck arc'ing upwards, curving in flight.

You had to try & read its flight path based on where the shooter was shooting from, had to play it Stand-Up & move towards him as he was winding up cutting down the angle & giving him nothing... and, in that split second that he makes contact with the puck & in the nano seconds that it first takes off, project the pucks trajectory & flight if facing a guy who can fire them in excess of 95 or 100MPH... the puck vanishing in flight then as suddenly as a heart attack right there on ya. Catching a mere glimpse of it & less than 1/1000th of a second to respond, to deal with it. This the main reason you needed to keep your shooting lanes wide open during the heights of the craze of curved blades & Slapshots in the 60's & into the 70's. You had to be able to see where that shot left the blade, Stand-Up & going out to say hello, guy shooting wide or right at you.

Facing Banana Blades though, that was sheer insanity as it took some serious speed, skill & talent, strength & timing to actually be able to telegraph shots, pick corners, 5 hole or whatever. So many shots youd face with guys using a Banana Blade wild. Head high, 15' wide. Over the glass and then ricocheting off a ceiling beam... concussing the organ player and an usher before the puck finally came to rest in the open mouthed frozen in terror maw of someones 79 year old Aunt up in Section Y38.... destroying her brand new upper and lower denture plate's... breaking her nose, black eyes..... And you laugh uh? Look Man. Ive seen it. And worse. Banana Blades. Weapons of Mass Destruction....

And now the Brats, they have Composites eh?. I wouldnt want to be stopping shots fired from Composites in old school Keneskys, Cooper GP59's, GM12's & yesteryears flimsy arm pads, upper chest/collar region padding.... no mask or even one of the face flush jobbies. No Siree Bob..... Players today dont in so many cases even look up before they shoot, just let er'rip & with Composites, fast release, almost everyone gets Warp Speed, heavy shots. Feels like being hit with a round from a Bren or anti-tank gun I'm sure. Bastids.

 

[Doctor No]

My favorite comments were from Dryden and Parent - and haven't we always wanted to shoot the puck hard back at an errant shooter?

 

[Killion]

My favorite comments were from Dryden and Parent - and haven't we always wanted to shoot the puck hard back at an errant shooter?

Nah. I actually found it amusing when a guy couldnt hit the side of a barn door..... lots of giggles.... Only time I'd get ticked is if a guy wound up on me in the slot and out of frustration deliberately shot head high however.... that I considered one of my many tasks, roles. To get into the oppositions heads, totally frustrated, stoned; get them seriously upset, that they ABSOLUTELY STUNK & that was that. So if their deliberately shooting at your head; Mission Accomplished..... Did have a Backup couple of years, saw it in the opposition end a couple of times when a Goalie would charge a shooter who let one go head high & he felt it was quite deliberate. My Backup, he'd do that in practices as well.... Highly amusing... but then, Ive always been a pretty sick puppy when it comes to stuff like that.... and yes, was heavily penalized when I played.... stickwork, language.

 

[Theokritos]

Interesting article in the Minneapolis Star, where they interviewed goaltenders to ask their feelings about the proliferation of extreme curved shooters' sticks.

Great read!

 

[blogofmike]

14-foot pads? Ed Giacomin was 30 years ahead of his time.

 

[blogofmike]

It also seems like the better goalies are in the list that don't care for a ban.

 

[Killion]

It also seems like the better goalies are in the list that don't care for a ban.

Well, this was written in 68 & the Banana Blade & smaller curves had been around for awhile by then. You had Expansion in 67 so guys like Binkley etc finally got the call up & with them a lot of their colleagues from the AHL etc where you wouldve been facing even wilder shots than you wouldve in the NHL. By "wild" I mean both accidental & deliberate; Head Hunters. If your a maskless goalie who learned the craft in the 40's & 50's, into the early 60's, not accustomed to... some serious adjustments required. When the curved stick & Slapshot took off, everyone trying to emulate Hull, Makita & so on, from elite amateur into Junior & Minot Pro... My God. The stuff, shots you'd see. "Wild" doesnt even begin to explain it. At the NHL level, the guys generally had control. Were stronger, faster, more innate talents in learning how to shoot a Slapper with accuracy. Minor Pro's, Juniors etc, a lot of the goalies practically "Shell-Shocked" before they ever played in the NHL.

 

[Doctor No]

It also seems like the better goalies are in the list that don't care for a ban.

I think there's a fair mix of quality on both sides of the ledger - and they all know (a few say it) that even in a 12-team league, there's plenty of goalies to take their place if a strike were to occur.

Maniago's comment is interesting - how high was the end protection in Chicago at the time? "...the fans in the stands. In Chicago more people are hurt because of them."

 

[blogofmike]

I think there's a fair mix of quality on both sides of the ledger - and they all know (a few say it) that even in a 12-team league, there's plenty of goalies to take their place if a strike were to occur.

Maniago's comment is interesting - how high was the end protection in Chicago at the time? "...the fans in the stands. In Chicago more people are hurt because of them."

Maybe 10 feet high in the back? None at the bench though. Chicago shooting looks on point too.