Goalies: I respect you ALOT more.

[PerpetualTankYear]

I was playing in a lame-o 3v3 league last night, (not to brag, but I was by far the best player out there, and It really wasn't even fun) And there were 3 goalies, for 4 teams. So, I asked the person running it if I could try the gear on and go for it.

Hardest thing ever. Even playing against kids that can't shoot hard, or elevate the puck to save their life.

So goalies, I respect you more than ever. And I will never say a NHL goalie sucks ever again.

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[Thepandamancan]

haha...I can't wait for the day my friend realizes this. He's never played but thinks he'd be better than me (I'm just starting off and am several games into my career) and anyone else cause he played catcher from little league through high school.

 

[ponder]

When I was roughly 7-9ish there was no set goalie for the team, the rink owned the goalie equipment and we'd just rotate. I played a decent amount of goal back then, and yeah, got lit up pretty much every time.

 

[adaminnj]

I was playing in a lame-o 3v3 league last night, (not to brag, but I was by far the best player out there, and It really wasn't even fun) And there were 3 goalies, for 4 teams. So, I asked the person running it if I could try the gear on and go for it.

Hardest thing ever. Even playing against kids that can't shoot hard, or elevate the puck to save their life.

So goalies, I respect you more than ever. And I will never say a NHL goalie sucks ever again.

hahaha!!!!

We had tryouts for my 9 year old (Goalie) over the last 2 weeks and one of the fathers was ranting on and on about his sons play in net and I told him to chill or I would strap his a$$ in my pads and start firing shots at him. he laughed and got the picture.

I'm going to play net again in a beginners league this sumer and started to play shinny with a bunch of friends that could totally smoke me any time they wanted to but don't knowing that I'm just out there as a curtsy when no real goalies show up.

I bought the pads just so I knew what my son was dealing with. Man after the summer season last year I said never again but you time heals all wounds eh.

 

[Whiplash27]

Of course playing goal isn't easy, but at the same time, if it was the first time you've ever grabbed a hockey stick and started playing forward, it'd be extremely hard as well. The fact is that hockey is not an easy sport to play all around. You can't just decide to play any position one day and be even decent at it.

Someone can pick up a basketball and throw it into the net and get beginners luck and sink some shots. Some can have someone throw them a football and catch it. Someone who has pretty decent hand-eye coordination can hit a pitch (not a major league pitch, but you know what I mean). It's not easy to just pick up a hockey stick and figure out how to shoot a puck more than 5 miles per hour. I've seen people try and it's pretty funny to watch. Just like it's not easy to strap on pads for the first time and stop a small puck that's flying at you at high speeds.

Same goes for soccer goalie (which is probably even harder because the net is huge).

 

[member 30781]

Couldn't agree with you more. We were playing a pretty serious game. Had about 16 skaters and 1 goalie. There was extra goalie equipment but no one wanted to play. So we had a shootout and whoever lost had to suit up. Needless to say, because I suck, I lost and was forced into it. It was a pretty sight. I give goalies all the credit in the world.

 

[mrhockey193195]

I miss playing goal. The only thing I've ever done in my life where I was just zoned in 100% of the time and had all the confidence in the world.

 

[pass the bisk]

I would never say any NHL player sucks...they are so dirty in comparison to average players that its stupid

 

[Frankie Spankie]

I would never say any NHL player sucks...they are so dirty in comparison to average players that its stupid

This so much.

I played hockey against a former NHL draftee (granted it was 9th round) and he never even played in the AHL, only played a couple of games in the ECHL and that's the furthest he ever got. Him drunk off his ass was still millions of times better than anybody else on our team. Also played against a guy who made a decent career in the IHL but was just a goon and he was also skating circles around everybody on the ice.

But to stay on topic, I always wanted to try it just once, I know I even suck at goalie for street hockey but I just really wanted to see what it would be like on ice.

 

[pelts35.com]

This so much.

I played hockey against a former NHL draftee (granted it was 9th round) and he never even played in the AHL, only played a couple of games in the ECHL and that's the furthest he ever got. Him drunk off his ass was still millions of times better than anybody else on our team. Also played against a guy who made a decent career in the IHL but was just a goon and he was also skating circles around everybody on the ice.

But to stay on topic, I always wanted to try it just once, I know I even suck at goalie for street hockey but I just really wanted to see what it would be like on ice.

+2

On Wednesday and Friday mornings I play with a group of Russians. A couple of them played at some low professional level and it's downright scary how good they are. Since it's just pickup, they will often take it easy on me on breakaways, but their skating and stickhandling is just sick.

And, to the OP and others, thanks for the props to goaltenders.

 

[Mansfield]

Same. I played goal once back in house league (regular goalie was on vacation) and I got lit up for 14 goals. I did poke check a guy on a breakaway though

But yeah, very difficult position to play.

 

[Kayen]

Goal is hard. Moving around, even the fundamentals are hard to master.

 

[Badger36]

Amen to that. When I was a kid I used to think that it would be cool to be a goalie and then I started playing and realized that there isnt enough money in the world to make me be a goalie.
You get almost none of the glory and all of the blame for a loss. Also, when you make a mistake it get a spotlight shone on it, whereas if you are playing any other position you can make a mistake and its not always a big deal.
Goalies have my respect.

 

[mhkehoe]

As a kid, all I ever wanted to do was play goalie when playing street hockey. My dad was never big on goalie though, he didn't feel like it gave enough exercise. I played goalie in a few roller hockey leagues, and even got to play goalie for a peewee practice (very different from roller). Once I got into ice, I became pretty exclusive to playing out.

I have thought about suiting up using a friend's equipment a few times (for pickup), but have yet to do it since it has been at least 8 years since I last played goalie and I am a little worried about flexibility at this point.

Goalie just seems to attract a certain personality. Probably the same people who play tanks in MMORPGs. People who pick goalie tends to want to be wanted, are easy going (you have to be), and want the pressure of being the guy to save the day.

For me, it never mattered how many went past me, I always wanted another shot to make a save I shouldn't be able to make. Man, now I want to play goalie, maybe I will do that tonight...

 

[biturbo19]

it's tough enough that after spending most of my competetive hockey career as a goalie...after a few of years off, i scared myself away from trying to make a comeback there. every little thing as a goaltender is under such a microscope. playing goal, you really realize the impact of the phrase 'game of inches'. figured it would just be easier to just pick up again as a skater. i'm sure i made the right choice...but i often still get that urge to go out and buy myself a new set of goalie equipment and see what happens.

 

[FinnGoalie]

Goal is hard. Moving around, even the fundamentals are hard to master.

Yes, but the real difference comes from the mental toughness.This is the tricky part in goaltending.

You get to realize the physical/technical toughness of the position (like the OP) once you've actually tried it properly. The soundness of your technique plays a big role; how you adjust your optimal moves with your reflexes, how you are able to block the fast shots (4x faster than in a beer league, mind you), if you don't see the puck how to cover the most of the net and be ready to get the rebound, how to deflect laser fast shots to corners/safe areas, how to get up or be ready to play if you're down in a weird position...etc.

But then, in a beer league you can let in 8 goals and 1 or 2 of them softies, no biggie. In a competitive sport, not so much. In the NHL, never. Every inch counts. Then you have all the expectations of your coaches, team mates, relatives, fans, etc. Everyone relies on you.

Bryzgalov said it best after the last Det game:
“Goalies have 2 ways to be. To be a hero, to be a goat. I am goat,” Bryzgalov said.

This was the most common thing to separate the best from the left when we were entering the 14-15yo as a juniors. Its getting serious. So if the goaltending itself feels hard, that's actually the easy part when the mental game can crush you every night no matter how good your physical/technical feats are.

just my 2 cents, this just came out since the board is always filled with the goalie rants

 

[TheMistyStranger]

I played in goal quite a bit in roller hockey as a kid and a bit in college. As a kid, the team I was on was absolutely brutal. One of our players didn't have blades, another had never skated before and hugged the wall. Both played defense. I think the fewest goals I ever let up for that team was 9. I think the fewest odd-man rushes I ever faced in a game was 9. It was ugly.

When I played in college, though, I was a lot looser. As a kid, everything seemed like such a big deal and you beat yourself up over every misplayed shot. The older I got the less I cared and it was more about having fun and trying different things out. I had no style whatsoever. I made saves with whatever I could get in the way fastest, including my calf muscle, the inside of my wrist, and my neck. Pickup and house leagues, but still pretty crazy stuff. I never practiced at all, just game situations, but after doing it a handful of times I could feel my body start to naturally position itself to maximize net coverage.

Still, the first league game I played in net for, I let in a 5-hole goal simply because my skate blade had too much of a cut in the ice and I couldn't drop.

Bryzgalov said it best after the last Det game:
“Goalies have 2 ways to be. To be a hero, to be a goat. I am goat,†Bryzgalov said.

heh. goatlender. heh.

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

I blame my start as a goaltender for my often suicidal shot blocking. It's definitely a lot of fun and does make you a little quirky and insane IMO.

 

[Moses Doughty]

So goalies, I respect you more than ever. And I will never say a NHL goalie sucks ever again.

Labarbera and Cloutier still suck

Been playing goalie for almost a decade(8 years travel). TBH its funny when players think goalies suck

 

[goalie29]

A couple of years ago I tore the MCL in one of my knees playing for my higher level team, so I was out for the season. They replaced me, but my women's beginner house league team was stuck. So they used my gear and took turns in net.

It was awesome, seeing everyone's reaction. Some people found they didn't mind it, but most of them said it was the hardest thing they'd ever done. I got a lot more respect after that, and boy were they glad to have me back the next season!