Sudarshan “Sudsie” Maharaj has served as the goaltending coach of the New York Islanders for six seasons
Over the course of my last six seasons as the Goaltending Consultant/Goaltending Scout with the Islanders, I have spent a great deal of time analyzing the various changes and trends that have marked the evolution of modern day goaltending. However, as with all things that evolve, I have been repeatedly drawn back to the older forms of save execution and invariably to the former goaltenders themselves in my quest to improve my understanding of the position. In fact, I have had the unique opportunity to meet and chat with many former players about their histories and remembrances from their playing days. Although I’ve only had a chance to chat with a small number of former goalies, I have pestered many retired players about the goaltenders that they played both with and against. This has yielded a wealth of funny and interesting tales. It was for this reason that I decided to write this monthly- when the schedule allows- article about some of the goalies of yester year. And so, the concept for “A Crease in Time” was born.
Each month I will interview some past goalies about some of the net minders that influenced them. I’ll briefly touch on some of their goaltending philosophies and idiosyncrasies and retell a few of their stories. But it will be the goalies themselves that will steer the direction of the articles. So I hope you’ll tune in, log on and double click along with these great athletes that blazed the way for the super stars that tending the pipes in today’s NHL.
With this in mind, I recently had the great fortune of having dinner with Gerry McNamara- former goaltender, scout and General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. And so we’ll begin by sharing some of that discussion. So check back shortly for the first edition of “A Crease in Time”…….
Sudarshan “Sudsie” Maharaj has served as the goaltending coach of the New York Islanders for six seasons. Throughout his tenure with the Islanders, he was actively involved in the scouting of goaltending prospects worldwide and has been heavily involved in the development of the goaltenders throughout their system.
Sudarshan was also the co-director/instructor of Hockey Canada’s inaugural National Goaltending Development Camp in Calgary in 2006 and 2007. He has also been a member of Hockey Canada’s Goaltending Curriculum Writing Team.
He recently served as a Lead Instructor for the Ontario Hockey League’s Goaltending Development Camp. Sudarshan also served as a part time goaltending scout for both the New York Rangers and Phoenix Coyotes of the National Hockey League.
He also formerly ran Goaltending Scouting Services, which was an organization that evaluated draft eligible goaltenders for National Hockey League clubs.
