Certainly this is commonly thought now but I don't know that the right parameters for accessing goalies are all there. Its a very complicated position, confounded by multiple styles existing. Even within goalies and goalie coaching circles its a confusing craft and not without some advice that starts to resemble superstition. Indeed its a position that selects for superstition because some shots you just won't save without some luck. So that goalies are told such things as don't open your body up, keep arm tightly against side, seal post etc, to the degree that they become rigid cardboard cutouts (Dubnyk here) and stop making reaction stops and glove stops for fear of opening up their form.
No position in the sports world is subject to more happenchance than goaltending. 2-3 deflections and puck goes in? better to just forget about it, but it gets in heads. Make 6 stops in a row on pucks you know you didn't see, you expect luck is going to run out..The goalie position basically creates superstition, creates subjective mindsets, and strategems that arguably counter each other. I think goalies getting hot is a result of finding the right form that works for them for awhile and combined with confidence that the puck is hitting them. Its classic "In the zone" thinking. What it also does is being hot stops their being too much processing. Goalies that are hot make innate stops. They track puck well, it becomes a basketball, and they see everything. They routinely make stops that at other times would feel like difficult stops. They become fearless, for awhile. It stops as soon as it starts.
This is why in goalie analysis I don't look at just the stats. I like to look at form. how the goalie plays, their technique. Not what is working in it but what can work in it. Do they seal post well, can they handle puck well. What does glove hand reaction look like, what does mechanical mobility across crease look like. When moving across how well do they seal 5 hole and then seal near post?
I think coaching should be about a certain type of mechanics like above. But all too often I feel that goalie coaching can also counter what the goalie was good at in the first place. If I'm in the business of speaking with goalies I would have them get back to their baseline when struggling. Even get them to keep diaries and video of when they are doing well. To look at what has changed.
Goaltending looks like voodoo because I think there is still lots to substantiate in the position and lots that is confusion or even superstitious to those even involved. Sorry for writing a book here.
I meant to reply last night, but got caught writing my own novel and didn't have time to complete.
But I completely reject the notion that goaltending is voodoo, or that the people in it don't understand it. I think these days most successful goalies are VERY self aware and quite detail oriented in their craft.
Goaltending is not unlike any other position. You can differentiate yourself as elite based on a combination of:
1) Physical attributes
2) Technique
3) Mental game
1) As you move up the ladder, this is naturally going to become less an less of a factor. There are people with more fast twitch than slow twitch... but by the time you are getting close to the NHL, you are probably already nearing the upper limit of "good reflexes". It may appear some guys are faster than others, but mostly the differences are due to 2 & 3. This may have been more important back in the day, when good technique couldn't always compensate for reflexes because the equipment was a) too small and b) not protective enough to rely so heavily on using your BODY (rather than legs/gloves) as the saving device. Those days are long gone.
2) Technique is entirely teachable. I reject in your post that there are multiple styles... at least not like there once was, when a standup goalie (Ranford) was entirely different than butterfly (Roy) and then later the Hybrid (Cujo). A typical goalie in their late 30's+ would have learned many of those techniques depending on who coached them (or what book they read). These days, not so much... the profly butterfly has all but replaced standup and hybrid. The taller guys tend to "block" more (Dubby), and the smaller guys tend to adapt by challenging shooters and closing angles using their skating (Price, Quick). All that said... most of the actual techniques are the same... though the mechanics may vary a bit (just like one golf swing to the next).
3) Mental game... this is the big differentiator. As you say, so much is out of your control... but a good goalie knows what is in control is your state of mind. Positive state of mind means you WILL lunge across the net on the 2 on 1 and stop that tap in EVEN THOUGH your teammate made the same stupid mistake for the 5th time tonight... or EVEN THOUGH you yourself made a mistake in the first period. The frustrating thing as a goalie is dealing with mistakes... yours and your teammates.... and dealing with the impact of those mistakes and the realization that many of your teammates just won't
get it. This is why goalies THRIVE on teams with good TEAM PLAY and WITHER on teams full of boneheads. It comes down to confidence and focus which is a major differentiator for ALL elite players regardless of position, but for goalies I would argue it is almost THE differentiator.
I feel I need to give a few examples:
Breakaway 1: Prima Donna X coughed up the puck doing something stupid. The chances I make that save are about 40-60. I'll be grumbling to myself and finding it hard to focus on being positive.
Breakaway 2: My defenseman gets stripped at the blue line... bad bounce and he's chasing back hard. The chances I make that save are 80-20 1) because of my state of mind and 2) because the player is being chased and thus his mental game will suffer.
Point Goal 1: It's deflected. I don't see it at all. You guys don't blame me a bit. I blame myself though because I wasn't following the play well enough, I looked around the screening body to the right (where there was no lane to see the puck) not the left (where there was a lane). I should have paid attention better. This is the equivalent of you forwards chipping the puck past the D on the cycle, rather than wrapping it the other way... when you are paying full attention you'll make the right decision, but when you aren't, will you really be aware enough to blame yourself? A goalie must.
Point Goal 2: It's deflected. And though screened, I make the right call to track it to the deflecting player... I see it, but the deflection goes 5-hole. Before I can close. You guys might blame me... but I won't. Closing the 5 hole when you are moving is a physical error that I can't do anything about. The closer I get, the more of the puck I will get... the more it will "trickle in" and the more devastating it will be to the fragile guys on my team. That's frustrating... I always give my teammates the benefit of physical errors (any good teammate would).
Open shot in slot 1: guy has time. I'll stop it 75% of the time.
Open shot in slot 2: guy knows he has no time. I'll stop it 85% of the time and he'll miss 10% of the time, so 95% for me.
So IMO it all comes down to the mental game with goalies, just as it does with the elite of elite players.
