machpo
Registered User
- Apr 18, 2007
- 722
- 115
The ceremony and clips of Hasek over the previous couple of days got me thinking about this. First, I should say I don't watch a ton of hockey outside of the Sabres' games - so maybe there is a Hasek-like goalie somewhere in the pros that I haven't run across.
This was a goalie who flat-out dominated for almost a decade in the NHL - we've all seen the awards and superlatives, so I won't repeat them here. My thought process goes along the lines of:
Body: Hasek was certainly super-flexbile and limber, imo more than most. I have to think with modern conditioning and training there are plenty of goalies who can potentially move as well as Hasek.
Mind: By all accounts, Hasek saw the game better than almost any goalie. Really sharp tactician, chess junkie, student of the game. It's impossible to measure, but I think it's not crazy to say that his mental game/hockey vision was extremely rare (Gretzky/Crosby 'generational' rare)
So why no little Haseks?
- Was his superior mental game the difference that allowed him to execute those moves successfully, but makes it a bad bet for the rest of the mortal goaltending world?
- Is it possible to even coach his 'style'?
Would love to hear other people's thoughts on this.
cheers.
This was a goalie who flat-out dominated for almost a decade in the NHL - we've all seen the awards and superlatives, so I won't repeat them here. My thought process goes along the lines of:
Body: Hasek was certainly super-flexbile and limber, imo more than most. I have to think with modern conditioning and training there are plenty of goalies who can potentially move as well as Hasek.
Mind: By all accounts, Hasek saw the game better than almost any goalie. Really sharp tactician, chess junkie, student of the game. It's impossible to measure, but I think it's not crazy to say that his mental game/hockey vision was extremely rare (Gretzky/Crosby 'generational' rare)
So why no little Haseks?
- Was his superior mental game the difference that allowed him to execute those moves successfully, but makes it a bad bet for the rest of the mortal goaltending world?
- Is it possible to even coach his 'style'?
Would love to hear other people's thoughts on this.
cheers.