On Goaltending by Jacques Plante, is a good read in my opinion. It was re-released in 1997.

The book contains many bits of information that one would take for  granted today, but which most certainly would have been of great value and insight many years ago when initially published. The book contains chapters on equipment sizing and maintenance, off-ice strength and conditioning and flexibility exercises. Plante discusses many different technical considerations such as the stance, the importance of balance, and glove positioning. He also discusses numerous tactical situations such a 2-on-1s , 3-on-2s, screens, breakaways and the great importance of angular play. The illustrations are fun to look at and not ambiguous in any way. Plante also, not having been a butterfly goaltender, discusses this popular technique with future Hall of Fame goaltender Tony Esposito. This shows great insight on Plante’s part about something with which he is not greatly familiar ( Plante was a stand-up goalie who relied on angular play). It proves he always wanted to improve his own knowledge of goaltending and make young goalies aware that there is something new (at the time) to which to pay attention.

One of the interesting bits of information to which I made reference would be taping one’s fingers (for stingers) but leaving the joints open and using a baseball to soften in the trapper glove. Any one of us old enough would read this and laugh. We all had a ball or several pucks we left in the meshing of our glove to work it in. We would put tape or an extra skate lace round it to shape the pocket. I also enjoyed reading about using ice markings to learn angular play. This is what we ,in modern terms, refer to as “Ice Topography”.

I appreciated the repeated comment on Plante’s part about the difference a “fraction of a second” can make between making a save and letting in a goal. This showed that even in a era when, by today’s standard, the speed of the game was slower, the game was still fast and required a goaltender to get in position as fast as possible. It tells us that a goalie has to be efficient in all things undertaken which I choose to define as ‘Economy of Movement’. I define this as not wasting time with unnecessary and/or inefficient movements. This gets back to the most fundamental skill required for goaltender success which is good skating ability. Plante basically states that you need to skate well to get set as soon as possible and if set early, you should have more control when executing save techniques. If you look at Hockey Canada’s developmental pyramid for goaltenders, it is built on the same philosophical principles.

The most enjoyable chapter for me was the final chapter on choosing a goaltender. Plante asks numerous important questions which any head coach, past present or future, should ask themselves and others when selecting a goaltender. I have seen my evaluation forms from different associations to select goalies including one from Hockey Canada. Some are quite detailed . However, what I like about Plante’s is the fact that you must investigate the goaltender’s personality and character as a citizen which will tell you a lot about what you might be getting in the long run.

What did I not like? I would say it is only the seemingly random nature with which his thought flow and the manner with which he presents his thoughts on paper. There is no logical progression and they jump from one idea to the next. There are also several grammatical and spelling errors. Nevertheless, there is a tremendous amount of information which helped a generation of budding goaltenders.

In conclusion, Jacques Plante was both an excellent goaltender and an intelligent individual. Most importantly, he was an individual. He thought his own way and did what he wanted to do. if you do not have this book then add it to your goaltending library. It is not a modern compendium of goaltending technique. On Goaltending by Jacques Plante is a historical document in goaltending instruction and proof of how progressive and professional Plante was in his approach to goaltending. He was a man well ahead of his time with respect to both innovation and preparation.

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Hockey Hall of Fame – Book of Goalies
Edited by Steve Cameron Hard Cover, 210 pages

Get the book now at Barnes and Noble

Yet another book has now been added to my goaltender-specific library and this one should not disappoint those who choose to purchase it. The chapter sequence is as follows:

INTRODUCTION
PIONEERING PUCKSTOPPERS
HARDWARD HEROES
ORIGINAL SIX STARS
GEARING UP
EXPANSION AND THE MODERN ERA GREATS
GAME CHANGERS
CRAZY LIKE A FOX

The section on PIONEERING GOALTENDERS is very enjoyable although statistical information on these gentleman is sparse. This is likely but a reflection of the historical era in which they played and the degree to which data was kept or is retrievable. What I enjoyed most was getting to know about these men more as human beings and not merely as Hall of Fame Goaltenders. Getting to know their nicknames, for whom they played both prior to and subsequent to 1917 (when the N.H.L. was founded) was interesting to me. The obvious point should however be made that this book deals almost exclusively with the 32 men who have been elected to the HHOF.

HARDWARE HEROES discusses details related to both the George Vezina and Williams Jennings’ trophies. It recounts the historical background behind the Vezina trophy’s creation subsequent to the death of the “Chicoutimi Cucumber” and the thought process behind changing the criteria for recipient selection. A complete list of winners is present. The story of William Jennings, a man not involved in hockey until his thirties, and the trophy that bears his name is also an important story with which to become familiar.

The ORIGINAL SIX ERA arguably deals with the most famous men of the game and all those of the pre-mask era. These men played under pressure in the single goalie system with poor equipment, and an uncertain employment situation. They did not have goaltending coaches and played against curved sticks and ever-rising shots at greater velocity. This section did not provide me a lot of information about these men with which I was not already familiar; however, for those who are not particularly well-versed with their lives and careers the information is excellent yet brief. For a detailed account of their journeys one should seek out those biographies or autobiographies available. Another excellent source of information about them is at www.goaliearchive.com or www.legendsofhockey.net . This section provides complete data including both regular season and post-season statistics including wins, losses, shutouts and GAA.

The GEARING UP section initially takes the reader on a visual tour through the evolution of goaltending equipment. This section may horrify the young and bring back memories for older goalies like myself. I enjoyed the splendid photos of Johnny Bower and Bill Durnan’s chest armor which was made of nothing but felt. This is something with which the youth of today cannot relate. It makes me laugh since I wore soft felt arm pads and a catcher’s belly protector when I was a kid. The change in size and material from leather to light-weight synthetics has been of great benefit to goaltender performance and more importantly safety.

The chapter on EXPANSION AND THE MODERN ERA GREATS is identical in format to that the of ORIGINAL SIX STARS although the short-lived presence of the World Hockey Association and some of the talent temporarily drawn away is referenced for goaltenders such as Gerry Cheevers and Bernie Parent.

There is also a brief section on trail-blazing as far a technique and improvements to the position are concerned. It includes the origin of European goalies trying to make it in the NHL and that of a few trailblazing women who have advanced the respect for women’s ability to play goal, and hockey in general, through their collective efforts and accomplishments. This chapter on GAME CHANGERS includes information that has already been discussed throughout the book. Therefore, some readers may consider this a criticism of the overall product. Nevertheless, I sincerely believe the editor was trying to connect individual moments and personalities in goaltending into an overall timeline. Therefore, I do not judge them harshly.

The final chapter is written by former NHL goaltender Brian Hayward. It is an introspective / reflective look at goaltending and some of the characteristics that make goaltenders what they are. Once again, it recounts some information discussed throughout the book.

This book is not dissimilar to A Breed Apart, An Illustrated History of Goaltending written by Douglas Hunter and published in 1995. A lot of the information is the same and many photographs are identical. Hunter’s book however is different in that he presents information on certain goalies that have not been, and may never be, elected to the HHOF. Both books are worth reading and I cannot say whether one is better than the other.

One thing that always makes history more visceral is photographs. The photographs in this book are wonderful and the glossy pages add to the professional nature of the final product. You may especially enjoy the black and white photos of the PIONEERING ERA since they reveal the humble beginnings of this position we all love and of the brotherhood to which we all belong!

Get the book now at Barnes and Noble

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The Hockey Goalie’s Complete Guide

An Indespensible Development Plan by Francois Allaire
Firefly Books, 2009

soft cover, 175 pages – available on Amazon.com (not an affiliate link)

Firefly Books recently sent me a copy of Francois Allaire’s latest book, The Hockey Goalie’s Complete Guide: An Indispensable Development Plan to review for inGoal Magazine readers. They have also offered to give copies to two lucky readers – more on that below.

My first reaction on getting the book was one of excitement. Here is an up to date guide by the most famous goalie coach in the world. The man who popularized the butterfly with protege Patrick Roy put together a “complete guide” and it arrived in a very professionally designed package. The book is well laid out, with great visuals, on high quality stock with a title that seems to suggest it has everything you would ever want to see in a book on goaltending.

Unfortunately, the book did not at all live up to first impressions. Yet, I would still recommend it for your goaltending library. How’s that? Simply put, I think that Allaire has delivered a useful manual and the publisher has brought it out at a very affordable price (less than $14.00 on Amazon) but it is packaged it for the wrong audience.

The title of the book suggests all things for everyone – a “complete guide” – and then implies it will take a goalie through their whole career – “Indespensible Development Plan.” Very early in the first chapter the author then lays out the three distinct phases in a goalie’s development – Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. Throw in a few periodization charts and the book was looking like something an advanced coach, or someone who has studied sport science, could really sink their teeth into.

When you are set up like that, the rest of the book can only seem incomplete at best, and a real disappointment at worst. The problem is that this book is quite clearly a beginners guide to goaltending, or a guide for coaches of beginners. Allaire goes no further than teaching a beginners skill set. This book is not a complete guide.

So, what makes it good? Well, as a beginners guide, if the title were more appropriate and the first chapter clearly laid it out expectations then I believe anyone who bought the book would walk away impressed. That it can be purchased for under $15, there isn’t much to lose by picking it up and having a look.

Basic positions are clearly described, basic skills are given with a significant number of drills to help a goalie, or  their coach, to work on those skills. There is also an extensive section on dry-land training.

One piece that I believe sets this book a part is the work on on-ice and off-ice evaluations. These fit perfectly with the concept of development plans. Simply introducing them and putting them in context is fantastic. Allaire could have gone much further though. The testing sections could provide some standards – what would a begginer, intermediate, advanced or pro achieve? He could also relate training suggestions to these evaluations – if you score X then you should be doing these drills or this many repetitions.

I was also very impressed by the chapters on coaching a young goalie – guidance that coaches (and parents) don’t get enough of. How to progress teaching a skill, how to communicate, how often to correct and more.

The good material in this book leaves you wanting more and the resource Allaire has compiled is a useful tool in anyone’s kit. It’s just too bad it is laid out to be something so different. You really can’t judge this book by its cover.

How to get your free copy

Firefly has offered to give one copy to each of two inGoal readers. To be eligible all you have to do is follow me on Twitter (@dhutchis – so I’ll be able to DM you if you win) and then send a Tweet about this review or any other inGoal story. Be sure to include @dhutchis with your tweet so I’ll see it. I’ll randomly select two winners and DM them – you have until 11:59 PM PST on Wednesday March 3. Only one tweet per reader is eligible.

Contest is now closed! congratulations to @SeePuckCity and @NickyRobinson our randomly chosen twitter winners! We’ll get the publishers to send out your copies ASAP.

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