Archive for Interviews

Once again Mike McKenna of the AHL’s Albany Devils took some time to chat with us today in a Q&A session. What was supposed to be a video session was derailed by gremlins somewhere in the internet. Instead I have overlaid a few stills of Mike in action and you can listen to the audio of today’s talk. Photos are thanks to our photo editor Scott Slingsby.

We chatted with the general theme of preparation – from off season conditioning to pre-game rituals we covered a lot of territory. Thanks again to Mike, with only a few weeks till he heads to the Devil’s camp it was very generous of him to share his experience with inGoal readers.

(RSS Readers click through for video)

In our session today, Mike gives a shout out for his personal coach Chris Economou who can be followed on Twitter @Chriscon or you can visit his web site http://www.goalieguru.com/. We’ll have a Q&A session coming up soon with Chris, so fire me any questions you have for him in the comments below.

Mike McKenna of the AHL’s Albany Devils (and inGoal Magazine!) sat down with me today via Skype to answer your questions. We had a list of questions a mile long so if we didn’t get to yours , or if you didn’t manage to send one in, don’t worry. Mike will be back for another Q&A in a week or so. It was our first attempt with a Skype interview, so please be patient and we’ll refine the technique soon.

We talked about goalie gear, some of Mike’s playing experiences, pre and post game routines, hip issues with the butterfly and more.

Here’s the link to the story Mike mentions in the John Werber question.

Do you have a question for Mike? Follow him on Twitter @MikeMcKenna56 or leave one in the comments and we’ll add it to next week’s list.

Rob Madore- University of Vermont Catamounts

I was recently given the opportunity to interview  goalie Rob Madore for InGoal Magazine. Rob plays for the Vermont Catamounts of the Hockey East conference. Rob helped lead the Catamounts to the Frozen Four in 2009, and the NCAA Tournament in 2010.

While being very excited about the chance, I first wanted to reach out to all of the InGoal readers, and see what questions you want to see answered!

I thought this would be a nice compliment to our Ask a Pro Goalie – Send Your Questions for Mike Mckenna article, so you can ask goaltenders at different levels your questions. The college and professional life are very different, and now we have the opportunity to ask and find out just how different they are!

Please leave your questions in the comment field below, Or send me an EMAIL with your questions.

We need to get these to Rob so he can get writing so send your questions today!!

I have been wanting to meet Tony Priolo of Sportmask for some time now. Of course, I was intrigued to learn more about the man who developed the MAGE, about his custom molding and all the pro clientele he works with. The big reason though, that I wanted to meet Tony, was his customer service. I had been reading on the Goalie Store boards one day and saw an amazing story pop up. Tony had let someone take some old defective masks from his shop. He did it on the promise that they never be used and never be sold. Long story short, the guy did sell them. When a buyer contacted Tony because his mask was defective, what did Tony say? He apologized. He said he did not sell it to the guy and in a world where most people would have stopped there (it’s not my problem!) Tony offered – even insisted, because the guy actually wasn’t asking for a new one – to replace the mask. That is standing by your product and providing remarkable service.

Not long ago, I had the opportunity to drop in on Tony at his Sportmask shop in Oakville, Ontario to see the inner-workings of the construction of some of the best masks in the business. Tony and client Tim Thomas created the MAGE that Thomas has worn for years and he counts other pros like Jonathan Quick, Cam Ward and Chris Mason amongst his many satisfied customers.

Tim Thomas wears the Sportmask MAGE. Photo by Scott Slingsby.

Please check out the entire photo tour after the break!

» Continue reading “Meet Hockey’s Grandmaster Mask Maker – SportMask Tour with Tony Priolo”

Cap Raeder, Assistant Coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, may not have invented the position of goaltender coach, but he didn’t miss by much.

After a successful career in the net at the University of New Hampshire, in 1973 Raeder was drafted by both Montreal in the NHL and the Hartford Whalers in the WHA, at that time the upstart league competing with the NHL for players. Raeder signed with Hartford and, after a brief stint in the minors, was called to the big team at the end of 1976 and started all the conference final games. He started the next year in the minors but returned to Hartford and ended up playing in the last 26 games that season while posting the third best goals-against average in the league.

But after two seasons during which he played some of his best hockey ever, his career started to slip.

“After that ’77 season, I never got it back again,” Raeder lamented. “I saw some pretty good goalies coming up and realized that I wasn’t going to be able to make a career of playing.”

Raeder returned to the University of New Hampshire in 1980 to finish up his degree and help coach the school hockey team. He served as the head coach of Clarkson University before joining the staff of the L.A. Kings in 1988.

Now in his 22^nd year of working with netminders in the NHL, Raeder, the Dean of goaltending coaches, reflected on the position that he has influenced so strongly and the changes that he has seen.

Mike Smith is one of Cap's Pupils in Tampa

InGoal: When did the position “Goaltending Coach” come into being?

CR: It really started in the 80’s, the early 80’s. Warren Strelow was one of the first ones. As far as I’m concerned he still was one of the best. I worked with him for 10 years in San Jose. He was the 1980 Olympic Goalie Coach, the Miracle on Ice. Now, it’s a specialized position. I think you’re seeing a lot better goaltenders coming through. They are much more knowledgeable.

InGoal: You have to attribute that to having a one-on-one coach working with them, right?

» Continue reading “Cap Raeder, Goaltending Coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning”