Right catch goaltenders

[Hoser]

Today I learned...that Grant Fuhr wore #1 early in his career.

#31 was Eddie Mio! Pretty sure Fuhr only wore #1 for his first season.

 

[Hoser]

Doug, you've got to caption your photos, man!

Grant Fuhr, Tom Barrasso, Roger Crozier, Tony Esposito, Glen Hanlon?, Greg Millen?, Mike Palmateer?, (other Leafs goalie...?), Jose Theodore, Gilles Villemure?, (Panthers goalie...?), Roman Turek?, Rick DiPietro.

 

[Doctor No]

#31 was Eddie Mio! Pretty sure Fuhr only wore #1 for his first season.

You're right about Mio, although Fuhr wasn't there until Mio left for the Rangers. Fuhr wore #1 at least in 1981-82 and at the start of 1982-83, but was wearing #31 by the end of the year (I haven't tracked down exactly when he switched).

 

[Doctor No]

Doug, you've got to caption your photos, man!

Grant Fuhr, Tom Barrasso, Roger Crozier, Tony Esposito, Glen Hanlon?, Greg Millen?, Mike Palmateer?, (other Leafs goalie...?), Jose Theodore, Gilles Villemure?, (Panthers goalie...?), Roman Turek?, Rick DiPietro.

Where's the fun in that?

Great work - all correct, and Don Simmons and Tomas Vokoun are the other two.

 

[Doctor No]

You're right about Mio, although Fuhr wasn't there until Mio left for the Rangers. Fuhr wore #1 at least in 1981-82 and at the start of 1982-83, but was wearing #31 by the end of the year (I haven't tracked down exactly when he switched).

Here he is (against the Rangers - not the Flyers - I'm an idiot) on November 14, 1982:



And a few weeks later - December 7 - against the Blues:



There's about ten Oilers games in that span - if you like snipe hunts, I'd love to narrow down the exact day where he switched from #1 to #31, and back to the fitted mask.

 

[Hoser]

I forgot Vokoun ever played in Florida... (and I never would have got Don Simmons)

 

[DJ Man]

Were all or most of these goalies left-handers in other respects, or is it just skewed slightly that way?

I know that I played goal with the stick in my right hand, probably because I was right-handed. Still, the decision was enforced by the fact that I used my first baseman's glove from baseball season, and that went on the left hand necessarily.

However, I could see an argument for catching with the dominant hand ... except that any right-handed kid brought up playing baseball would instinctively catch with the left hand when a choice was available. I'm assuming that Canadian kids played baseball as did their U.S. counterparts.

I wonder if you'd find more catches-right goalies (proportionately) in non-baseball cultures.

 

[Sanf]

Well Markus Mattsson ofcourse. It´s even more rare in Europe. In Finland there have been only one right catching goalie (Sinuhe Wallinheimo) in last 20-25 years who has made a career in league. I really struggle to name more than 10 right catching goalies who have ever played in Finnish league.

 

[DJ Man]

How would one explain that? Maybe right-handed gloves aren't available for young players.

 

[Sanf]

How would one explain that? Maybe right-handed gloves aren't available for young players.

Atleast in Finland I believe that this is the case. More rare and I believe that even more expensive atleast when I was a kid in 80´s . I know atleast few who were forced to play on "wrong" side. Other who played quite longer than me told that he really never got use to play stick in "wrong hand".

 

[Doctor No]

Markus is a great choice!

 

[crobro]

Don Edwards?

 

[Doctor No]

Don Edwards?

Don Edwards caught left. I'm not sure who you're thinking of, since Bob Sauve also caught left.

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

but seriously Theodore was the full right goalie i watched the most....

 

[Hoser]

Were all or most of these goalies left-handers in other respects, or is it just skewed slightly that way?

I know that I played goal with the stick in my right hand, probably because I was right-handed. Still, the decision was enforced by the fact that I used my first baseman's glove from baseball season, and that went on the left hand necessarily.

However, I could see an argument for catching with the dominant hand ... except that any right-handed kid brought up playing baseball would instinctively catch with the left hand when a choice was available. I'm assuming that Canadian kids played baseball as did their U.S. counterparts.

I wonder if you'd find more catches-right goalies (proportionately) in non-baseball cultures.

There was a thread a few years back titled "Why Do Most Canadians Shoot Lefty?" which actually held that Americans tend to shoot right-handed precisely because they grow up playing baseball, and you hold a bat with your non-dominant hand at the bottom.

Different of course when you're talking goalies because you need to catch with one hand, and perhaps some ties to baseball are there, but mostly I'd chalk it up to kids (especially Canadians, apparently) simply learn to hold a hockey stick with their dominant hand at the top, hence if they play goal they tend to learn to catch left anyway. Baseball wouldn't be much of a factor in Canada.

For myself I am very, very right-hand dominant, and I caught with my right. I played with 'normal' gear on occasion too, and was markedly worse. I was always crap at baseball too, because I can't catch with my left very well and can't throw with my left at all. (I might as well have been one-armed.) I shoot right, bat right, golf right, write with my right.

 

[Killion]

Markus is a great choice!

View attachment 140251

Interesting Trapper. Any idea what make?

 

[Sanf]

Interesting Trapper. Any idea what make?

All of his equipment seems to be Koho at that point. Beside mask.

Don Edwards?

Maybe you mean his uncle Roy.

 

[Sanf]

There was a thread a few years back titled "Why Do Most Canadians Shoot Lefty?" which actually held that Americans tend to shoot right-handed precisely because they grow up playing baseball, and you hold a bat with your non-dominant hand at the bottom.

Different of course when you're talking goalies because you need to catch with one hand, and perhaps some ties to baseball are there, but mostly I'd chalk it up to kids (especially Canadians, apparently) simply learn to hold a hockey stick with their dominant hand at the top, hence if they play goal they tend to learn to catch left anyway. Baseball wouldn't be much of a factor in Canada.

For myself I am very, very right-hand dominant, and I caught with my right. I played with 'normal' gear on occasion too, and was markedly worse. I was always crap at baseball too, because I can't catch with my left very well and can't throw with my left at all. (I might as well have been one-armed.) I shoot right, bat right, golf right, write with my right.

When I think of it more maybe the Finnish Pesäpallo (sort of version of Baseball) might have something to do it in here. It was popular school sport when I was a kid (and I guess still is) and probably even more popular in older days. I do remember many old goalies thank their pesäpallo backround for their glove hand ability.

Its been years since I have last played it, but catching with left was never a problem. Neither in pesäpallo or hockey. I guess it came more from the spine. More of reaction than function. Throwing the ball with left.. pitiful

 

[Hoser]

Its been years since I have last played it, but catching with left was never a problem. Neither in pesäpallo or hockey. I guess it came more from the spine. More of reaction than function. Throwing the ball with left.. pitiful

I found my timing was always off when catching with my left hand. I would usually have my hand in the right spot, but wouldn't/couldn't close my glove at the right time and would either bobble the puck, drop it entirely or have it hit the edge of the (closed) glove.

'Pitiful' would be too flattering a term to describe throwing with my left...

 

[Tweed]

There are no statistics to account for THIS...

 

[Tarantula]

All of his equipment seems to be Koho at that point. Beside mask.

Blocker is a Cooper, can't make out the trapper.

 

[blogofmike]

Here he is (against the Rangers - not the Flyers - I'm an idiot) on November 14, 1982:



And a few weeks later - December 7 - against the Blues:



There's about ten Oilers games in that span - if you like snipe hunts, I'd love to narrow down the exact day where he switched from #1 to #31, and back to the fitted mask.

Looks like the first boxscore with Fuhr as #31 is vs Calgary:
Calgary Flames - Edmonton Oilers - December 4th, 1982

So December 4 is the first game he actually played in with #31. Three Moog games went by after his last game with #1 on Nov 24 though.
Washington Capitals - Edmonton Oilers - November 24th, 1982

Boxscores say nothing of mask types, however...

 

[SealsFan]

Gary Kurt!

 

[Killion]

Blocker is a Cooper, can't make out the trapper.

Yeah, Cooper Blocker for sure, Koho Pads, but theres something very unusual about that Catcher that appears to be totally custom made, using excellent materials & put together by a real master of the craft. Its unlike anything Ive ever seen. The yellow patch there that covers the top of his hand & knuckles is the app color Koho used, cant make out the writing but it could be that was a one off custom glove... maybe a prototype of what they were developing that he got directly from the factory & made specifically for him.

 

[Tarantula]

It is neat to see all these pictures from different era's as they provide at times a stark contrast to then and now, between equipment, rinks and even the prevailing fashion of the fans at the time. In real time it is so much more gradual. Never understood fashion, why the rush to look like everyone else today when you will be embarrassed ten years from now about how silly you look in those pictures.