Episode 48 Noora Räty and Frederik Andersen

Intro

Editor note, Episode 48. We will be publishing podcast Episode 49 over the holidays. So look for us next week between Christmas and New Year's or thereabouts as InGoal Radio Podcast does not stop. It continues to roll on. I'm Daren Millard in Denver.

Joining us from the Lower Mainland at Rogers Arena is Kevin Woodley and David Hutchison on Vancouver Island. The question today, as we get into things, before we start pumping our own tires about the great content that's coming your way as a listener, who's going to be interrupted first? Is it going to be Woody in the media room? Is it going to be me in my hotel, or is it gonna be Hutch by his family? My guess is on the family.

I think I'm pretty safe here.

Yeah. I think there's nobody home, is there?

No. Everybody's upstairs wrapping Christmas presents, but they know there's work going on down here, so it's all good.

Oh, no. No. They're gonna need tape or scissors or something, a bow, something like that. Am the

last person who could ever help with anything like that.

Not unless they're looking for hockey tape. There you go.

So, Woody, are are you going to be doing the the golf commentary? He he's got a nine iron. Because because you're in a media work room?

Most people have cleared out, but, yeah, I'm definitely keeping the mic levels hot and my voice down a little bit, so not as so as not to interrupt the remaining media members who are in this locker room. Although, will say that, know, the guys do radio hits in here in a full room and it's always kind of entertaining. You're sitting there writing, there's like 20 people working and all of sudden like huge, big, huge radio voice, like they're doing a hit back with their station just booming through the whole room, So, I'm gonna be a little quieter than that guys, but not quite golf commentary level.

And you know what that means, Hutch? That means his he's dialed his levels up a bit, and there's gonna come a point where he's gonna get all excited and he's gonna speak at his normal

blow him out.

Yeah. And and mister editor, dad dad, a sound engineer is gonna have to go to work. So Not much. That's our that's our layout today. Just a little bit of background for you on this podcast.

We have a lot to get to. Nora Raty, arguably the best female goaltender of all time. I mean, she just has and there is a case to be made for that. Freddie Andersen goes inside the car and gets driven around Vancouver with Kevin Woodley. This is one of the more unique, car interviews that Woody has done.

So two great European goalies and we go back out to, questions for Cam at, the Hockey Shop Source for Sports, thehockeyshop.com. That's all coming up, but we wanna get to some very topical and happenings around the goaltending world and Tucker Tynan sounds like it's going to be good news story and a full recovery from the Ontario Hockey League goaltender and the story that, burst onto the scene via social media, and we were all following with great interest after having, severe laceration to his leg.

Yeah. Wasn't that a terrifying scene that, sort of threw us all back to Clint Malarchuk and and the interview we had with him and his incident in Buffalo many years ago? Terrifying to see the blood loss. My understanding is he was cut through all four quad muscles and right down to the bone. But really exciting to hear that he's gonna be making a full recovery.

I think this is gonna impact a lot of us. I mean, we're we're used to having, cut resistant fabrics on, say, our Achilles or something like that. And and I know what do y'all have something to add to that because they don't always work. But quite literally the next day, I was sent a link to a product, from a company named Daredevil Hockey in in Canada that actually has protection on the knee where Tucker was was cut and right up into the femoral artery as well. And guess what?

Like, I had to buy it. You've seen this, you're a goalie parent, you've got almost no choice now. So it's changing for all of us. But what are you you're not certain about these products all the time, are you?

Well, no. I mean, and it's not a it's not a critique of the product that it's

just No. Not that specific one.

At the end of the day, guys are running around with razor blades on their feet and sometimes it goes through. Richard Bachman was wearing quote unquote cut proof socks when his Achilles when he got stepped on with the Utica Comets last year, probably around this time last year and completely severed his Achilles tendon. So it's you know, you definitely want to add those layers, but you're you're still a little vulnerable vulnerable out there. Easy for you to say, Kevin. And I like, you just I guess stuff happens, but that was I'm with you.

I I couldn't watch it, frankly, for the first night. I could not watch it. Actually, had a member of the media here locally going to the locker room. It was a Canucks win that night. And after Jacob Markstrom had finished talking to the media about his performance, actually, think was the night he shut out Carolina, like career high 43 save shut out.

And as the the scrum was dispersing, somebody asked him, hey, did you see what happened in the Ontario Hockey League tonight? And then began describing it to him. And he was just like like, he literally walked away as fast as he could. Like, why are you telling me that? Like, as a goalie, I, like, I just don't wanna I couldn't watch it myself, and he just didn't wanna hear it.

Like, this is the reality of sort of being at that end of flying skate blades, but you just hope that that as much as we protect ourselves, as much as we can, hope that it it that's just a once in a never thing that happens and it sounds like he's

gonna be okay. Okay. So two observations here. One is I don't think there's anything that's cut proof. A cut resistant?

Yes. But cut proof, be really careful if somebody's advertising cut proof. Just there's terminology and then there's execution of it and with the way that skate blades are so sharp now, it's it's gonna be really hard to be have a guarantee that you're not going to suffer any type of injury. And and number two is this this location of the of the laceration. I when I first heard it, thought it was, like, scramble stepping on the back of the leg or or an Achilles or or something like that, but it it was in a really unique part.

So it also shows that that in a scramble, in a in a game situation, you're exposed in places that you really don't anticipate being exposed.

Well, I think think we all know as goaltenders that if there's a seam somewhere, something's gonna find it. And usually, that's a puck. And, and this is, let's not forget, this is a 17 year old boy, every parent's worst nightmare really. You're you're exposed to skate blades as well. And I sort of brings up something that came up for me this week as we were looking to the lacrosse goal that we'll get to a little bit later.

But, you know, I'm not worried about things like that nearly as much as I am. But the increased prevalence of crease crashing, I mean, guys are not afraid to take the puck to the net and things like this are gonna happen again if if we're not doing something to protect our goaltenders. But the reality is the hockey is allowing a player if as long as he's got the puck on his stick, anything's fair game. And I'd love to see some changes there.

Yeah. And it's I mean, the one that you always cringe, I think actually I used to think about my equipment first about skates cutting pads because you know they can go right through layers of pads and it's not an easy or cheap repair, but when guys come in feet first sliding with speed, that's nightmare fuel for goaltenders. And obviously we saw the worst case scenario and reasons why, but as you said, Hutch, it's not not just that they're there's they're not being dissuaded from going in there. It's that they're being encouraged. I mean, here in Vancouver, we've got Thatcher Demko out again, second concussion in as many years.

Last year, it was friendly fire shot off the mask from a teammate in practice. This year, it was a teammate in Louie Erickson running them in the crease in practice. We saw it with last year. You know, Boston coach, Bruce Cassidy yelling, get to the net, get to the net. This is what we the kind of habits we need to create and and two could gets run.

So, you know, when it when it even happens in practice, because they're being encouraged to do it, you know, there's not much you can do to defend yourself from it in a game. And at the very least, you hope we don't have many more of these sort of skate first slides in because that's obviously the worst case scenario, but pretty dangerous and scary to watch.

It that equipment analogy is is a good one because when you look down and we've all had our gear cut or most of us have, when you look down and you see the leather pad and what a skate blade does to your equipment or the nylon and how clean of a cut it is, I mean, that there's no contest to your skin. Well, hey There's just a just a little heads up.

I I don't know about you. Like, I don't who Hutch Hutch Hutch is probably the only one in this room that can talk about actually cutting through a leather pad, but Right. But yeah. No. You're you're you're absolutely right, Daren, and it's, it's scary.

And and we we're we're seeing it, like I said, a little too often, and hopefully, we don't see any more of those.

Gear

The Hockey Shop Source for Sports, thehockeyshop.com. You are going to hear from Carey Price in just a little bit as well as Freddie Andersen and Nora Raty, but, a big name resurfaced in the hockey world, and it was Tim Thomas. It was the USA Hockey Hall of Fame inductions in Washington. Tim Thomas present to accept the honor and spoke about his journey.

I couldn't keep up with watching a game for at least a few years after I stopped playing in Florida, my last year. At the beginning of December, there was a concussion that changed my life. Definitely. I, I lost the ability to, essentially I woke up the next morning after it, and I couldn't decide what I wanted to eat, where I wanted to go. I couldn't plan a schedule.

I survived following the team's schedule the rest of the year and just, you know, made it through that season. But one year after I stopped playing, I got a a what's called a Saroscan, which is a scan where they measure the blood flow of your brain very accurately using radioactive isotopes. And two thirds of my brain was getting less than 5% blood flow, and the other third was averaging about 50%. So if you can put those numbers and really think through what that means to where I was, that's where I was. On the ice, I was able to be like 97%, maybe 95% of what I was before.

But like off the ice, I just like I said, I I still can't choose. I wake up every I'm so much better, but I wake up every day and basically and I have to like reorder everything in my mind for the first couple hours of the day. And then make a list and try to make some choices to get some stuff done. I couldn't communicate with anybody for a few years. I didn't I didn't call my dad.

I didn't talk to anybody. And so there was a time period, yeah, where I started to, where I hated the game, so to speak. I didn't get fired. I mean, I didn't like sit there and I hate it. Like my rebound effect was like, this wasn't worth it.

That's where I was then. Where I am today is past that and I ended up learning so many lessons out of the experience. It brought me tighter with my family. It taught me a value for life and a value for my brain that I may have never had before. And I have appreciation for everything that I never had before.

So I don't regret anything. Does an event like this make you think about all those things that you do appreciate about? Yeah. Being welcomed back into the arms of the hockey family, so to speak. It's been great.

It's reminded me of all the great people that I I crossed paths with all throughout my career. So I don't know. It's been very impactful. I think that was the original question. I didn't want to talk about this.

I didn't want to talk. I I didn't want to tell the world this stuff.

Woody, what did you what did you make of the revelations from Tim Thomas?

Hard to watch, to be honest with you. Much like the the incident with the skate cut and Tucker was hard to watch, I found this a little hard to watch, and, you know, felt a little guilty, to be honest. I'd I'd hit Tim up with a couple of emails over the past little while just reaching out, seeing how it was going, seeing if he wanted to be a guest, knowing what he had been through. I had heard that he had struggled a little bit with post concussion, but had no clue that it was to this degree. And this is a guy who we've said before in the podcast was very good to us at InGoal Magazine during his playing career and and always gracious with his time and a guy who real true student of the position who liked to talk about goaltending and talk about the position and the evolution of it.

And so it was hard to see him, what he'd gone through and obviously there were some tears shed as he said it and it was hard to watch and you hope that he is the fact he was at this means he is starting to at least feel better enough to sort of get back out and start to engage with people not because we want him as a podcast guest but because you hope the best for him from a quality of life perspective.

Yeah, that was real encouraging. When you hear how much he's been through, just the fact that he was present at his induction is a massive step.

Massive step and and you know, especially at this time of year when families are gathering, you look at him there and you think about what he's been going through recently and how hard it must be on all of them. But it it it looks like he's reached out for help. It looks like he's got a good support network behind him now and and I think all we can say is that that we all wish him and his family all the best and hope hope for a speedy recovery and a return to the game.

Yeah. Return to the game involved in the game. He'd be great because of, but his his unique perspective from everything from from the bars on his cage and why he used that to his unique style, and he was always so creative in in his gear. Carey Price, as we go back out to 17 and join Kevin Woodley. Kevin, what does Carey Price have?

Yeah. You know, we had a chance to catch up with Carey, and we'll run just a really short interview much like the Freddie Anderson thing. Although Carey wasn't in the car, so even shorter at the rink. Got a few questions in with him, but for Paul Campbell from InGoal Magazine, he's also done some writing for SportsNet and The Athletic, but one of our one of our fine writers at InGoal Magazine, he's gonna love this because I believe it was Paul that coined the phrase butter stack this year with all the sort of sliding pad stacks, you know, like butterfly into pad stacks. He coined the butter stack phrase, and Carey brought it up amidst our discussions.

There's definitely benefits to throwing in a butter stack in every once in a while. That's awesome. I that that's great. And and to be doing it unprompted was was outstanding. And please let me have a second here to admit that I've heard the phrase butter stack, and I had no real idea what it meant until just as you introed the piece and explained that it's from the butterfly into the patch.

I thought it was some kind of like buttermilk pancakes because they were stacked. I had no idea. I my mind was twirling all over the place

on this thing. Well, you know what? You're gonna love this then because Paul sent me a bunch of video clips of butter stacks this year and they are definitely on the rise. We've seen a whole bunch of them. And I had Darren Pang break down the effectiveness and the use of the butter stack in those clips and we'll bring that to you soon, but we're just gonna mix the the Darren's audio with some of the video and we'll get that up on the website over the next couple of weeks.

So there will be no more questions about the phrase butter stack once you see that video. And all credit to Paul Campbell who in, like, invented the vernacular of the butter stack, and now the best goalie in the world Carey prices using it. I think that's pretty darn cool. Of course, we also got to give Paul credit, the guy who came up with the Bunny Laroc trophy for the best backup in the league. Like this guy's a creative genius and we're blessed to have him as part of

the He's an innovator.

He is. But that's not

his best work. That's not his best work. The best real inventive style of his was reserved for, well, Woody. Right?

I think it was. Yeah. Paul is a bit of a genius and you should follow him on Twitter as obviously Carey Price must. Way to go, Paul, is his handle on Twitter. And when I saw the butterstack quote, I sent a little picture of Woody onto Paul.

Woody attempting a two pad stack, and Paul coined the term the two sad stack in Kevin's honor.

What can I hey, what can I say? I'm way too long. Way

to go, Paul.

I don't even know how to do a two pad stack. I literally don't because I'm far too updated and modern a goaltender for it. It's like my two

Paul should have been a headline writer at a newspaper. Imagine if he had the New York post, Unleashed, he would be, would be outstanding. Not that, not that you guys necessarily keep the reins on him. He's he's really good, and he does a lot of great stuff, especially on the Instagram side of things. Really, really creative.

But but the butter stack, yeah, now now I get it. Now I understand it. I just thought it was you goalies, that are that are so deeply invested in this thing, speaking on a different level, and I I I felt sheepish because I didn't I was too shy to ask, what the hell? Why do you have to use the word butter? But that that's awesome.

Have you have you used it, Woody? Is it is it that much of a

asset? Again, Hutch has photographic evidence of my inability to execute a proper stack. So if I use anything that resembles a butter stack, it usually means I've just sort of falling down in a manner that looks like that.

It's pure desperation, right? Oh, absolutely. That's where it comes or controlled desperation probably a better way to put it.

The best ones have the windmill at the top of it too. Yes.

Oh, without a doubt. Without a doubt. But there is an element. Let's not get too deep into this right here because we've got more coming up on it later. But there is an element of remaining unpredictable for shooters and not throwing the same thing every time.

Guys are growing up watching goaltenders butterfly and just head for the top of the net, so let's throw something a little different their way. And and Carey did elaborate on that with Woody, and we'll have a bit of that, I think, next week probably, won't we?

Yeah. And for every, for every, statement, there's a response. So we have the butter stack, and that's countered with the lacrosse goal, which is becoming a a a bit of a regular thing now that Andre Svechnikov has done it on a couple of occasions. Oh, and by the way, Hutch was just interrupted. Hey.

You can't hear it, but, his family member did walk in and That offer Jessica him a who has

also appeared in the pages of InGoal Magazine. Good luck trying to find that one.

So what do we think of Andrei Svechnikov? Is this a legitimate thing or, and and have we moved off the one off of the lacrosse goals?

I love it. I have no problem with people being creative. I think it's just gonna let the cream rise to the top, and, and we need more time and space in the game for shooters to be creative. The only little piece that is being debated that I worry about is is without question the the shot to the head from the stick that will happen, although it was avoided in this drill in this particular goal. So that does worry me because I think if you were to read the rules, you know, directly, it's okay to hit the goalie in the head there because it's the follow through on a shot and that can't be okay.

We we're we're probably gonna have to adapt the rules a little bit. But but let's let's create more opportunity for creativity like this. And then and then guys are gonna start reacting to it, Kevin.

Well, I had to write well, I shouldn't say had to. I was asked to write this for my weekly column for nhl.com. So I reached out to a number of goalie coaches. And and for the most part, like, don't I think anybody's complaining, but that is one element of it. I did have one coach under conditions of anonymity.

They're not actually supposed to talk to the media, and there are several like that around the league, just team rules. But they thought it should be illegal because like that first one against Dave Riddich that Svechnikov stick really, you can hear it just smack off the side of his head. And the counter argument was, okay, well, sometimes guys on wraparound attempts, they like to go with the old, you know, sort of swinging po check around the post. So if one of the counters as a goalie now is to to maybe swing your stick to try and knock it off at, like, crossbar height and you hit a guy, with that lumber, it's gonna be a slashing or a high sticking call probably nine times out of 10. So if it's fine for them, is it fine for us?

But I think for the most part, guys are with you, Hutch. They're fine with it. It was interesting to sort of hear them talk about defending it. We had some quotes thanks to one of the nhl.com staff, writers who talked to Cam Talbot for me and got some quotes from him. Like, you see it on the you saw it on social media right away, like, oh, the second lacrosse goal.

This is gonna be the end of RVH. You can't defend that top space when you're on your knees and talking to goalie coaches around the league like goalies. No, absolutely not. Like, this would kind of be goes back to that conversation we had with Luongo way back in the first episode of this podcast. Hey, by the way, we're coming up on a one year anniversary here.

But last January, where we talked about that hashtag RVH fail and how people like to focus on when RVH fails. And he said, yeah, but they don't focus on the 10 to 15 saves that it allows me to make easily that I might not have made before because of it, and that's gonna hold true here. Like, the quote unquote stay on your feet crowd can probably just sit right down on this one. You're not gonna see goalies try and stay on their feet just to defend the lacrosse goal. If it's at the expense of 10 other goals on scoring chances, they would normally defend in RVH, like, that's just the reality.

And if you watch how Hellebuyck defended it and really watched the video, he nailed most of the keys. And and that's what He was

aware of of Svechnikov being back there, like, who it was.

He hasn't talked about it yet, and I wasn't gonna text him the day after that happened. They had an off date to ask, but you can see absolutely as he comes off the short side post, he's got what you call short side or same side eyes. He keeps his head swiveled. As he moves to his right, he's still looking over his left shoulder, which allows him to see that start. I'm pretty sure he saw it because as he comes back across to the other side, he's got that blocker up and raise.

Like, he's trying to defend for that high shot. And much like sometimes you just gotta tip your hat when a guy puts it by your ear from the slot, Svechnikov found a way to get it in. I you can't swing your stick.

That tells me, though?

What's that? You know what

that tells me? That that there was a conversation, before that game about Svechnikov and and that that move.

Yeah. Possible. And and that's the extent of it. I know there was that conversation because I talked to Jordan Sigalet for the story, and obviously, Ridditch was the first one to get beat by it. They've had that conversation.

There will be an awareness when Svechnikov is out there that this could be coming, and there are other players that try to. Anthony Duclare actually faked it on Ridditch on November 30. And as soon as he saw Ridditch lift up into that short side post, he then spun back the other way and tried to wrap it around the ice on his glove side and Ridditch was able to push across and stop it. So, yeah, we have seen other examples, but I think at the end of the day, there'll be an awareness, but there's not a big change in how you're gonna play it. Shorter goalies are gonna maybe need to get that head leaned up into the post to take that little gap away.

Taller goalies like say Jacob Markstrom, as long as they have that backside edge engaged in RVH, they're more than capable of using that to push up into the post and get the shoulder right to the seal. The whole key is gonna be same side eyes as it starts so you can recognize what the attempt is gonna be and then quick side to side movement as you basically change switch your head from one side to the other and make sure you get that short side seal. Trying to swing your stick at it, to me, all that does is compromise your that just compromises your seal on that side. As a matter of fact, if you really were to break down Hellebuyck, and like I said, all the coaches felt he played it well, reaching with the blocker sort of up and around outside the post, which is what it looked like he was doing, sort of getting that blocker up quick versus just sealing the post might have been the difference between hitting him and finding a hole versus, you know, pushing up into that seal and making it safe.

The head might be the only way to defend it using your mask. It it truly might be. If you're small,

and then

then we then we come back to that safety issue that, again, I hope they'll address because if we we go to Woody's favorite cat eye cage and that thin blade is coming around, it's not gonna be long before they start going through guys' masks.

Did you hear, Woody's beautiful, phrase and statement in there? Did you catch it, Hutch? Uh-oh. Uh-oh. To those no.

No. This is this is this is good. I'm giving you big time props here. For those that, say stay on your feet, you could sit sit right down. Oh, yeah, that's right.

Yeah.

The quote unquote stay on your feet crowd can probably just sit right down on this one. You're not gonna see goalies try and stay on their feet just to defend the lacrosse goal.

That that was wonderful.

Yeah. It was well done.

Stay in your feet.

If you wanna stay in your feet,

sit right down. You didn't even know you did that, did you?

I did because I actually I used that because it's in my story. I'm actually just looking I just got my story back from my editors as we're talking right now, and I'm kinda curious to see whether it survived the edits.

That was that was I like that that that line. It's InGoal Radio, the podcast, Millard along with David Hutchison and Kevin Woodley scattered around North America covering the National Hockey League and leagues all around. Presented by Source for Sports, the hockey shop, thehockeyshop.com. And the premium, InGoal premium is off and running. How are we doing?

Woody, you seem to be our spokesperson on this. So, so take us through and on yes. Yes. You are. Oh, and okay.

Now you guys are both looking at me funny. And everybody in the cars is like, what what's going on? Please. Hutch. Please.

Hutch does all the hard work.

Yeah. It's funny. You always say that I'm the guy with the funny faces on the camera here, but now that Woody's out of his element and hiding in the media room here, we're getting all sorts of crazy looks and I'm really enjoying it. We've we've got a technical article that should be up later this evening with Eli Wilson and Carey Price again. And Eli's got some pretty strong feelings about how we handle shots to the short side.

We've got a nice example of a recent goal in the NHL where things have gone wrong, and then we've got some demonstrations from Carey on how to handle that appropriately. Eli's been with us since day one here at InGoal, guys, and and I just wanna take a quick second to encourage our listeners to visit Eli Wilson goaltending.com because he's got some upcoming camps at Christmas and at New Year in Edmonton and Calgary. And I can tell you from being there that, people travel quite literally from all over North America to go to these camps. So have a quick look before, before they fill up. Second one that we've got recently is from, our good friend, Pete Fry, the goalie mindset guy, and he's got a new article on the three mental zone system.

It's a it's a really interesting look at things. And and in fact, I've got a son who's just started to play in a league where he's doing three twenty minute periods with two floods for the first time. And actually portioning out your focus for an entire game is a real challenge as you move up. And and Pete's got some good strategies in there that some of his, junior and pro goaltenders use. So have a quick look there, and and then let's just mention that Pete himself is running some seminars over the holidays in Ottawa, Kingston, and Vernon.

And, if you were to visit goaliemindsetpower.com, you'd learn a little bit more about that. But lots of great stuff at, at premium. We've got some video with Malcolm Suban walking us through his stick setup, which is a little bit more intricate than I think I've seen anywhere else before.

You're right about that. Yeah.

Yeah. You've probably seen that one up up close, Daren. So lots of new things happening there. New content virtually every day, including content from this podcast. If you're tired of listening to the three of us drone on and you're a premium member, you can just get straight to the good stuff and listen to those those feature interviews.

Ingoalmag.com. You find, InGoal, premium and, it's some outstanding content that's going to be coming to you, every week. And sooner or later, you're just gonna feel like you're missing out and you're gonna sign up for it. InGoal Radio, the podcast, also like to acknowledge the great and continued support of Source for Sports Surrey, the hockey shop, thehockeyshop.com and the evolution of our conversations with Cam. Leave it, Well, should you set this one up?

I think you should, Woody.

Well, the segment was so popular that we had to go back to it. Yeah. Yeah, that's basically as much of a setup as it needs. Cam at this point needs no introduction and his first attempt at taking listener questions was just so popular they flooded the inbox. What is it Hutch?

The email address?

That would be podcast@InGoalMag.com.

They flooded it with questions for Cam, so we went back out and got some more answers. I think this one's gonna we said it was maybe gonna be a once a month segment, in the short term at least it's gonna be far more than that.

He goes back to back, which is unusual in this day of goalie analytics. The man that needs no introduction doesn't get one.

Welcome back to our on the fly revised equipment segment with Cam Matwiv from The Hockey Shop Goal Department. I say revised because not everyone was down with our childish humor of the Ask Cam or Cam segment. And we do have young ears listening to this podcast. And so rather than act like we're younger than that, we thought we had a good suggestion from, one of our listeners, Alan Nosworthy from Thunder Bay. I guess, part of the Thunder Bay Goal Tending Mafia with Carter Hutton and Matt Murray and Mackenzie Blackwood.

He he's part of that crew, and he just quite simply suggested and I'm a big fan of alliteration myself as a journalist, so I think we should take this suggestion to heart. And this is now just quite simply questions for Cam. We no longer have to worry about any, you know, anybody searching searching into their Google Ask Cam and ending up with something they didn't expect. So, Cam, catching up with you over the phone from The Hockey Shop. You can find them at thehockeyshop.com or in person at Source for Sports, The Hockey Shop in Surrey.

We got some questions this week, buddy. Alan just sent in a real the really good suggestion with the name Alan Nosworthy, but we got one all the way from Sweden. This is one of our readers and listeners, Kelly Palmquist, who asked, as a parent of a young goalie, I often wondered why the big manufacturers produce a cheaper entry level helmet. Early on, I understood the importance of the helmet, but on more than one occasion, when I was in the shops looking for a new helmet, staff would try to, it felt like guilt me into buying a better or more expensive helmet with the argument you don't wanna take any chances on your child's head. So the question becomes at what point, at what level is this a realistic risk in terms of where the goalie's playing, what age he is, and is there is there a point where that becomes a bigger consideration when someone walks into your store and is trying to balance that between the cheaper, probably less protective helmet and something that's gonna be more expensive, but comes with more protection.

For sure. Now this question, like, there's no 100% golden answer for when is the proper time to switch. Like, I have a age range for example, like I would say like, you're you're when you're walking to Peewee, ideally by mid to end of that season, you have a fiberglass helmet. It's used the recommendation. But different factors in terms of head size, overall head shape, what's available on the wall and things like that, they'll all come into factor of play.

I mean, to answer the original question, why are there lower quality helmets made is because there's hockey all over that has different level of quality for example. So, you know, that plastic mask is technically certified for ice hockey and it is an impact reducing plastic that is designed to be hit by a puck for sure. Obviously, there is a point where that level is exceeded for sure. But I mean, ball hockey, roller hockey to a lesser extent even, and that super super entry level, hey, we're just trying out ice hockey for the first time, you know, that's usually where that helmet kinda lies in terms of for a price point. Let's get somebody on the ice and get them going kind of idea.

You know, once that mid range level Peewee kinda starts to hit that, you really start to see those kids start to really lift the puck up high and start kinda going for that crossbar and that's when I usually see a lot of kids get hit in the face. That's when I kind of do my recommendation is to, you know, start moving into that fiberglass helmet. But again, like I said before, it's a lot based on size and availability too as well, for sure.

Is it not a little irresponsible to put a low that lower price one on the market? People that have no choice but to buy the cheapest and it might seem unfair to them to have to feel like they're putting their kid at risk. But as you said, at certain levels, you're safe in it. Right? Like like, there are levels of play where those cheaper masks can still be safe.

Mean, I'll give you an example. I have an NHL goaltending coach whose son is younger in that nine or 10 range. And he's playing in the junior version of of a mask that is, you know, again, that that that plastic type of mask. And this is a guy who's seen everything and just just feels confident knowing the shots at that level. His kid's still safe in that mask despite having access to whatever he wants.

So there is a market and there is a place where those masks still work.

Correct. And and you know what? And there there should never be, like, you know, I'll I'll vouch for my sales staff. Like, there isn't necessarily pressure to go up to a better helmet, for example. It's like, you know, my job is to make sure that the consumer that comes in knows all available options available to them.

Whether it be that something's better than the other, we'll explain of what the benefits are of the higher price point, for example, but that's up to the consumer to decide whether or not that helmet is perfectly adequate for them or not. Like we have tons of beer league guys coming here and they, you know, they this is another ladder to go with the the plastic helmet. They believe it's more than enough for them and, you know, it's not my place to argue with them what they should go with at that point.

I guess it depends if they're seeing, like, if it was like, say, you, Cam Matwiv, we're shooting on them, they'd probably still be safe in that plastic helmet.

It depends on your version of safe.

Okay. So last one there, you mentioned fit. Well and then we'll move on from this one, but it's such a good question from Kelly. I wanna I wanna explore it all the way. There are times when even if you wanted, say you've got a little a little goalie, he or she, the head's so small that it's fitting in that junior mask.

And that next stage up where you move into maybe a higher quality protection might be too big for him or her. As long as you're comfortable with the shots they're facing, like, is a poor fitting, more protective mask worse perhaps than a proper fitting, less protective one, especially at, say, that seven, eight, nine, ten age?

A 100% like that, like there's definitely no line, know, wanna stress a 100%, like the mask has to fit to protect and there's absolutely zero benefit to go up to something that's in theory better and more expensive, if it doesn't fit the goaltender's head. It just won't protect properly. I mean, a mask shouldn't We've covered it before actually in a couple of the gear segments, it should be nice and snug all the way around the top of your head and onto your cheeks as well. And if you're having that looseness in there and having that extra play, like, that's where those injuries are gonna happen and definitely be exasperated by that effect for sure.

Okay. We got another one here. It is John in Minneapolis. And he wants he's got some questions about gloves. And for his daughter moving in, trying to find that transition between having a smaller hand and when to move into a full size glove and out of an intermediate glove, it sounds like the level of play is gotten high enough that you want that sorta that that bigger full size glove, but being able to close it.

So what do you tell parents that come in, they want the senior size glove, they wanna get them out of the intermediate. Is there a time, an age where you recommend that? Are there options for them if they're strong enough to hold a senior size glove and close a senior size glove, but the hand maybe is still isn't big enough to really, really grip it? What kind of options would you advise for them to explore if somebody came into the store with those types of questions?

There's definitely quite a few actually in terms of so the first starting point again, like, when is it time to move up to a new glove? A lot's based on hand size, you know, level of play, like you had mentioned before, but also dexterity, ease of ability. Like, I still have a lot of kids that come in. It's like, I can't break in my junior glove. I've had it for two years.

Well, your hand is still not properly sitting in the glove because it's actually just not big enough, for example. Like, I get a lot of questions like that. So, moving up in gloves, like a lot of times, it's gotta be carefully played and a lot based on, you know, your closure angle feel, what you're most comfortable with. That said, in terms of for some of the quick options to rattle off, say, in an intermediate level, if the hand size is still not quite up to a senior size, but you're still, you know, you need something that's a better quality glove than just a stock one off the wall. There's quite a few intermediate pro options that exist.

A, that can be custom ordered or B, that sometimes can be ordered in stock. Usually, all white is gonna be the most common color for something like that, But that can give you that next level of protection but still keeping you in intermediate overall perimeter and hand side. Flip side of that is, is that also a couple of the pro category gloves are available to order with intermediate Palms. Us in particular, we do stock Brian's gloves, both the genetic four and optic two in intermediate Palms stock off the wall.

Oh, so you don't have to custom order?

No, that's correct. For those two companies in particular or for Brian's in particular, for those two gloves. Again, just an iteration is still a full senior size, but the hand stalls are sewn together tighter. I believe it's by a quarter inch off the top of my head, would have to double check my math on that. And then the backhand strap is also made longer, so you can tighten down on top of the backhand.

But with both those cases, it's a BOA construction. So the BOA is still the same, but it can be tightened up pretty good.

Yeah. And their BOA system with that sort of click and dial lock it in system is to me is, you know, that's one of the better ones we've seen in terms of really locking your hand in. So you combine that with an intermediate palm. It's funny because we got this question. Johnny Minneapolis was wondering, you know, for his kid, but we see a lot of this even as adults.

You can get adults with smaller hands, cough, Hutch, who sometimes require intermediate palm. So it's good to know. I I thought it would always be a custom order. You know, you can always custom order a full senior sized glove with an intermediate palm. Good for you guys for stocking some of those off the rack Brian so people can come in and don't have to go through the wait list or order, you know, order and then wait for a couple months to get it from a manufacturer.

That's awesome.

For sure. And then to be honest, there is a few more options even when it comes to that. Like Warrior is a good example of one that's quite easy to do stock with either a senior or pro glove. As they do have those Valkyra replacement palms available, you can in theory just order an intermediate palm and Valkyra it into your senior glove and you're set. Another quick easy option, one thing that we've actually featured as one of our InGoal 20 products was our linen skin gloves as well.

This would be one more so I would say is covering for Michelin intermediate size can't quite bump up yet, but the gloves kinda seen a little bit aware in terms of protection wise or you're looking for a little bit extra grip inside of it. There's another product we recommend that has been flying off our shelves since we did feature it and we've had nothing but good review set. So, definitely another another option for those guys out there as well.

Awesome, Cam. Listen, this is actually we're we're a full twelve minutes in here. We've only answered two questions. I got a list of six or seven. This is proving a popular segment.

I'm gonna take one more because it's a fun one, and then we'll defer a few more for for the next couple of weeks. We thought this would be maybe a once a month thing, but based on the listener feedback, we might have to go a little more often. So this one, and again, I expect there's a tongue planted in cheek here says, and this is this is from Marion, Ontario. So we're getting either a lot of female goalies or goalie moms, but either way, she is saying congratulations, Cam, on getting married recently. Two questions that come from this.

One, do you wear one cup or two dot dot dot or three question mark? And I'm thinking it might be related. If you decide to have kids, will he or she be a goalie? It's getting a little personal here on the questions for camp segment. Maybe even more personal than when we call camp.

First of all, thank thank you, Mary. Much appreciated. Second, I wear three. So I use a a tight player compression pants. It's actually EC three d in particular, just because I need that extra compression for my hips and groin to just help keep things moving properly.

And that also has a cup built into it, and then I wear a currently wear a CCM double cup over top of that as well. So three three cups. Will my kid be a goalie? Well, the good news is with three depends.

Three cups, you're definitely you're not worried about any incident where you might not be able to have kids. You've got yourself covered on that regard.

Yeah. That that that that box is checked. I think we'll leave the other one unchecked for now, and we'll see what happens.

Okay. Well, to go back to that first box in three cups, because I think there are probably some people, maybe some people that are new to the position might be surprised to hear you say three. Very common in the NHL. And when we say that, we mean, like Cam described, to wear sort of a traditional athletic cup in the compression pants, like, sort of uptight against your body. And then what we call a goalie jock, which is actually typically two cups on top of that.

So most guys, when they get to the NHL, I've had a couple of really, like, squirmy stories from guys that didn't have that level of protection when they first got there and within a practice or two realized how painful it was to not have it, and they went to three cups. Most guys kinda wear that in the NHL. When you're talking to kids and talking to parents, is there an age where you suggest that, Cam? Again, we a lot of this probably depends, again, on level of play, but at what point are you wanting to make sure that, you've got that that that more that traditional athletic cup underneath a double size goalie jug?

You know what? I don't really necessarily have an age range. You know, puberty might be a good answer.

It is getting personal on And, this

hey, well, there you go. You gotta go you gotta know these things for for some of the parts here. So, like, what I usually recommend and say, like, the whole basis of that player cup too, yeah, you are in protection, But that first layer is keeping everything together and then you're putting for your protection up and over top. So there's a bit of a different way to kind of think about it in that sense. So you know why?

When I say the words puberty, it's not actually all far off. If you use everyone can read between the lines and put the pieces together on that one, they don't know where I'm going with it.

Okay. So I'm gonna close on this one. You guys don't sell this, but I'm gonna give them a shameless plug. If you're if you got a team, if you're really getting it, a lot of shots in in in bad spots, and you're you're you're worried about, you know, maybe adding that extra layer. Could I recommend from a company called NHL, s h e l l zed?

They have a they actually have a bulletproof cup inner cup. It is actually military grade. You can take a 45 slug off it. Not that I I I haven't been able to find any InGoal testers willing to do that for us. Not that I own a firearm or would even know where to start with that, but nobody seems to wanna take the 45 while wearing the cup.

But I've been assured they have military contracts that can actually take it. It's a little bit heavier than most cups, but it's gotta it's like you said, it does hold everything together, and it's if you're looking for that first layer to be the most protective it can be, I'm actually surprised we haven't seen more adoption at the NHL level. And for all those other layers, make sure you talk to Cam. They got tons of options on goalie jocks. We'll save that for another segment one of these days soon.

Check them out at the hockeyshop.com. Visit them in person at Source for Sports in Surrey, the hockey shop Source for Sports, just on the outskirts of Vancouver in beautiful Surrey, British Columbia. Make sure you tell Cam that you heard him on the podcast. Congratulations to him belatedly on marriage too and all those good things. We we have it.

There it is, Cam. The first questions for Cam episode. We are done with Cam. It is questions for Cam. Very serious.

And we'll join you again in the next couple of weeks with, like, the next six questions because people love it.

I I can't wait to hear my new jingle.

I'm working on it. I'm working on it. Nobody wants to hear me sing again, buddy, but we're working on it. Alright, Cam. Thanks, buddy.

Thanks, Kevin.

Questions for Cam. That and and that is that is just shows the great willingness by us to listen to you, the listener. And, Hutch, thank you for for guiding us along that transition from from our dilemma into corresponding with our listeners and then and then using it in in the podcast. Well done, my friend.

And the new name is gonna make life a lot easier on me because I won't have to get the beeper out on Kevin every time he uses the old name for the show. Love love Cam stuff. And yes, Kevin, I do have tiny hands. So, when I ordered my Premier 2 gear, I custom ordered it with intermediate palms as as Cam talked about and works great. And then, and then our son, Maddie, who's moved up to a fairly high level of hockey himself but was still quite small, We ordered him the the custom intermediate palms, not not the pro gloves, but the intermediate gloves with with the pro palm.

And, and he was happy to step in front of junior a shots with those things. So it is a it is a solution for the younger kids.

Well, see, you could there's always a solution if you look hard enough. And and even even if people are are bugging you and chirping you and mocking you, making fun of you I can take it. Borderline borderline bullying you.

No. It's just friends having fun. Woody.

It's all good. Woody. He gets a bit Anderson's coming up. Denmark's own. Freddie Anderson.

This is a this is a really fun interview with with Kevin Woodley. And this happens in the course of his car, and it's it's unique because the the car ride does play a role in this in this discussion about goaltending. The Toronto Maple Leaf Netminder with Kevin Woodley in just a little bit. But first up, our our feature interview, Source for Sports, Surrey, the hockey shop, thehockeyshop.com, the home of Cam, presenting the feature interview of Nora Raty. And just to I can't say her name the way she does, which was fascinating the way you guys start the interview, Woody.

It was just beautiful. But just set up Nora Raty and and your discussion.

Oh, just a chance to catch up with her while she was home in Finland. She had just come from Russia. I don't know that everyone's aware she'll get into it, that she actually is still playing in the Russian Women's League after spending some time when when they had a team in the KWHL. You know, just basically, like you said, one of the best women's goaltenders in the history of the game. I'd put her on a short list with Shannon Sabados and a chance to talk about goaltending.

Frankly, far overdue for us to to get a get a woman's goaltender on here and hopefully the first of many. She was great. I've had a chance to watch her work on the ice. And and same with Shannon, like, they're just they're just such excellent goaltenders. I don't think of them as, you know, like, I I just don't think of that men's or women's goaltenders.

They're just incredible goaltenders. The technical excellence excellence, the precision, the skating. There are so many elements of Nora's game that I envy and that I think a lot of people on on either side of that equation should emulate. So it was nice to talk goaltending with their end. And and, you know, she has a role on the board, you know, with the the with the PWHA.

Did I get that right?

Well done. PWHA? Is that what it is?

I thought there was an extra vowel in there. And so she and so and so we talked about that a little bit too, just where the women's game is, where it's headed, her experiences in Russia or sorry, playing in China and why the standards that they set in terms of treating the players, you know, equipment, not having to buy your own trainers, facilities are what she's hoping, the rest of the women's game can achieve at the pro level.

A couple of things that jump out, that you should be listening for. One is her record in college at Minnesota, and the numbers are staggering. And number two, when you can talk about that you debuted for the national team and it was like half year life ago, and it's not just a turn of phrase but it's legitimately half your life ago. She debuted in the national team when she was 15, is another feather in her cap and just signifies how long she's been at the top level of her sport. This is Nora Raty or as she would like to say it, with Kevin Woodley.

Here it is.

Feature Interview - Noora Ru00e4ty

Okay. So right off the hop, Nora, we need the proper like, because I've I butchered a few last week. I'm probably in deep trouble in Finland for mispronunciations last week. Michael Gartig's goalie coach, if he's listening, I'm so sorry. I butchered that.

Tell our listeners the proper way to pronounce the name of one of the greatest goaltenders in the women's game right now. How do you say it?

So you really need to roll roll your r's, so it's Noarat. So two r's there that kind of get the North American people.

So deep r roles for the Canadians in the audience that you just think of that roll up the rim to win Tim Horton's commercials and just roll the r's. That's the

about rolling the r's in Finland.

Alright. Okay. Rolling the r's in saunas and perhaps the odd drink in the evenings is what I've been told.

And good goal setting in hockey.

That's true. We that should actually probably be at the top of the list.

So let's start there.

I was gonna ask you to catch us up with what you're doing now, but let let's let's start let's start with there. Like, know about finish goaltending. We've known it for so long. It's been a theme in the NHL ever since I remember covering Miikka Kiprusoff. And, from there on out, it just seemed like this boom of goalies coming over to the NHL, and we sort of know about the national coaching programs over there.

What about you? How'd you get started in goaltending in Finland? What what what drew you to the game and what was your experience like going up in in terms of coaching and access to coaching?

I feel like I had a pretty common start. My brother played. He's three years older than me and my dad coached my brother's team. Me and my mom were always at the rink rink watching him play. And I had a lot of energy growing up.

So I was told my mom that I want to play too. And when I was four or five, I started in a hockey school and saw a set of goalie gear and just fell in love with the position. So I think it was the gear gear that really made me want to play goalie. And the fact that I never had to sit on the bench. I mean, if you're a backup goalie, sit on the bench, but I just didn't want to leave the ice.

So I figured if I'm a goalie, I can always be on the ice. And, growing up, I was really fortunate. I kind of always had a goalie coach and I got some specialized training and, kinda had always someone to like help me with the techniques and skating and goalie specific training. And also one thing I really did a lot was actually we did a lot of skating in my youth teams and I was always in the line with skaters doing all these players skating with goalie gear. And I think that really helped me growing up too.

I was gonna say you you checked all the boxes there. We the most common answers for why I became a goaltender are I fell in love with the gear. I didn't wanna leave the ice and my big brother. Now did your big brother make you go in the net? Because that was one of the other common themes.

Goalies start because their brother says, hey, if you wanna hang out, you gotta be the goalie.

Not really. I mean, he we always say he's the brain in the family, I'm the athlete. He he didn't play very long. And outside of hockey, he didn't really wanna play like street hockey or play with his friends. He was more of a nerdy guy and liked to study.

He is a a homework. And I was type of girl that always played street hockey outside with my friends. And but I guess it was my friends that pushed me in the net too. They needed some someone to shoot at, and I liked it. So so I was always playing outside street hockey and fun hockey.

And and whenever I could have my goalie gear on outside, I I had it.

You've, you talked about the skating drills with the players, goalie coaching over there. What was your first experience? Like, when did you have your first goalie coaching? Now you've worked with goalie coaches all over the world. What would you say when people ask you, what separates the finish model or the finish goaltending and you coach now yourself?

What's your answer to that?

I think I was really young when I had my first goalie coach. I was like eight, nine year old years old. And I mean, back then I was at the age when we still worked on like skate saves and stack the pads and poke checks. And then I remember one day my coach came to practice and he was like, no, there's no more skate saves now. Like, he gave up this thing called butterfly.

So then I started working on butterfly save. So I'm kind of even if I'm 30 now, so I've lived kind of both styles, like old school and the new new school style. But growing up in Finland, I was the a lot of people know we were big on hands, active hands. In tight, we put it we wanna be really aggressive with our hands. Typically, Fins are really good skaters.

We prefer shuffles over t pushes, like, you know, like a little tiny shuffles instead of long t pushes always have your tall square to the puck. We don't wanna open up too much. If you compare us to, like, a North American style, I would say we're a lot more aggressive. We like to attack shooter. And I mean, that's pretty much it.

I would say a lot more aggressive, a lot more athletic too. We are not boxers.

Absolutely. Now so growing up, like when you check your quote unquote hockey DB or elite prospects page, sort of first blip where we we track you is 04/05, with with with the national program. But what was what were your what was your playing experiences like up until that point?

Trying to remember. It's like half of my life ago, fifteen years ago. Well, I always played up with played with boys growing up. We don't have girls teams in my, my hometown and women's hockey wasn't very popular back then. So my only option was pretty much play with boys.

And it's called c boys. I would say maybe you would be bantams in US. So I was playing banned in the and I got an invite to my first senior women's national team camp. There I am as a 14. I think I was 14 at my first camp and the oldest player at the camp is 40.

So I was like a a little kid with these players that could be my mom's. So it was a little intimidating and I was it was nervous and. But at the same time, when you get on the ice, you just have fun and they're your teammates and you just wanna prove prove them that you belong to be there.

So that was for I was trying to do the math, Nora. Like, 04/05. I'm like, man, she was young back then, to get your first National team exposure. What and then playing for the blues, is that your first sort of taste of women's league hockey in in 05/2006?

Yeah. I think I was 15 or 16 when I joined a woman's senior team in my hometown in Espoo Blues, but I still kept playing with boys. So I was kind of practicing with with boys and then just going to play games with with the women's team. So but yeah, that was probably the first year I actually touched the ice with with females.

And and then obviously played over there and you cut then you come over to to North America to play NCAA. But by that time, you've you've already had experiences with with the national team and on bigger stages. Like, what walk me through the evolution of your game as you transition to the national team and got onto those bigger stages and playing against the best of the world. How how did your game have to evolve? What changed?

What coaching influences started to become a part of of your play?

I would say when I was younger, I was a super athletic, super competitive. I absolutely hated losing. So I always wanted to win. I don't know where I got it from because my parents are not like competitive, but I had a lot of temper growing up. So I was a super athletic.

Obviously, like, we had no RVH, no, like, all these fancy techniques, no video back then. So you just kinda trust your footwork and how good of an athlete you are. And even I think I was 16 when I played my first Olympic games and watching some of the clips from there. And I just think back was like, oh, well, I feel like all over the place with my game and like diving saves and just like super athletic saves. Then my dream was always to play college hockey.

And I was fortunate enough to get a full scholarship to go play for University of Minnesota Gofers. And that's kind of when my game started changing the most is I was coached by Justin Johnson and Andrew Kent and actually coached with both of them now at MEGA Goal Tending during the summertime, and they really started to work with my game where it kind of slowed the things down. They kind of made me realize that less is more. I don't always have to work so much to make saves. And if I'm score the puck and I get set and just wait for it, I'm going to be in a good shape.

So that's I think those four years evolved my game the most. And obviously the RVH came into play while I was in college and. They just taught me so many little things. And one thing I got really good at during my four years in college is playing the puck. I didn't really work on a whole lot playing the puck when I was younger.

And really, when I moved to US, like, I realized the the value you can have for your team when you can really play the puck well.

You mentioned the 2006 Olympics, 16 years old at a Winter Olympics. You shut out Switzerland for nothing in one game. You played Canada. You played The US earlier in the tournament. Like, what's like, I'm trying to imagine that experience as a 16 year old to be on that stage in that spotlight.

Yeah, I was super overwhelming. When I think back, I'm going to be more of a tourist and actually a goalie because I was so overwhelmed and amazed that where I am. I mean, I was on the biggest stage in the world and I didn't really expect to get starts. Like, I came in as a backup and I was fortunate enough to actually start against Switzerland and play really good and got a shot out. Then I think they put me in in the semi finals.

Our starter might have got pulled and I went in, or maybe it was against Canada anyways. And then I remember the coach telling me after the semis that I'm going to start the bronze medal game against US. So, I mean, it was definitely exciting, but I just remember my leg shaking before the game started. And I can't even remember how the game went. I even might have got pulled in that game, but definitely highlight of my career at that point.

I can't I mean, I just I I'm I'm having trouble as you can tell, just sort of contemplating being in the Olympics at the age of 16. Now by the time you get back in 2010, you got a little more experience under your belt. And this time you you come away with a bronze medal for Finland in what? Vancouver 2010. Walk me through what that experience was like.

You're still, you know, 19, maybe I think probably 19 at that point on that stage at the Olympics, maybe turn 20?

Yeah. I think I was 20 because I was a 20 year old freshman. So when I entered college,

So first year university.

Yeah, was freshman for the Gofers. And that was kind of interesting year too, because I was freshman at college. So it's always an exciting year and moving to a new country and a new culture and a new language and everything and trying to study and play hockey and then just leaving middle of the year to play in my second Olympics. I would say, I mean, second time a lot easier and I was a lot more mature. I actually knew how to take care of my body.

I was in a better physical shape. I actually started realizing like the value of mental training and mental preparation for for big games. And I was just a lot smarter, a lot more mature. I mean, when I was 60 and I didn't even know how to do my own laundry or cook food. So now I was out of my mom's apartment and living on my own.

It's like, I think the maturity really helped me help me in the Olympics too. And just just knowing how to prepare, prepare for for these games.

Oh, it's good to know that that's going to come because I got a 15 year old daughter right now and she doesn't do her own laundry either. So it's good to know it's coming.

I just remember in Vancouver, we played Canada in semis. I think we got smoked like by nothing or something, but, we played at the Canucks Rink. The place was popping. Just like the full house screaming all Canada there.

So I covered I covered that. Yeah. For the Associated Press. And you're right. The Yeah.

The atmosphere, especially when Canada played and it was and again, that's why I can't I can't imagine dealing with the nerves of being a 20 year old on that stage. It was like nothing I've ever experienced from a sporting, standpoint, and I've covered a few cup finals. The energy in the city was even more than that. So so being sort of in the spotlight of that couldn't have been easy. Can you you know, you talked about learning the value of mental techniques.

Are there any that you can share that you do share with your young goaltenders that you think, you know, can help other goalies who are listening to this in terms of how you handle a big moment? How you prepare for a big stage like that?

Yeah, I mean, me, when it's I used to get super nervous before games. I don't know if a lot of people can see, but like I get like shaky legs and my heart rate goes up. So I've learned the value of breathing. This is really like, alright, one, two, three, four and hold your breath. Deep breaths out, deep breaths in.

And that's really helped me with just like. Getting my heart rate settle a little bit before games. And I'm also big on visualizing your your save. Before every game about before I leave for the rink, kind of visualize the different situations that can happen in the game and. Kind of once you do your free scout for the teams, you gotta know how they try to attack you so you can visualize the situation that.

They might try doing so once you you kind of see it in your brain, it's so much easier to actually do it on the ice and. Actually during the game, you just have to remember short memory. What's past is past. You can't change. So even if you land in a back wall just.

Sounds cliche, but focus on the next save and I feel like a lot of young goalies kinda get stuck with past and you just have to realize that it's past so you can't change it. So you have to move on.

I'd say, I think it's one of the easiest things to say and hardest things to do. I think goaltending and golf are the two sports where it's most common. You know, that next shot mentality. Everyone wants it, but not everyone can achieve it.

Yeah. It's hard. I mean, you know that what's happened has happened and you just can't change it. So just how you switch that mentality, how you just focus on the future, not the past.

Okay. So going back to the NCAA career, that final season in Minnesota, they were all they were all incredible. Nine forty eight save percentage, nine forty one, nine forty two, final year, nine fifty six. 38 wins in 38 games you didn't lose, and you had 17 shutouts. What what's that year like for you?

What's the what were the were there I mean, you're obviously were building and had good seasons throughout, but what like, where was your game at then? Is that as good as your game's been? It's obviously, it's continued to evolve since 2012, 2013. But like when you go through a year like that, how do you how do you keep that role going?

Yeah. I mean, that's my senior in college. So you just want to leave on a good note. But that year was absolutely unreal. I mean, a lot of coaches talk about team chemistry.

And when it comes to team chemistry, I never experienced anything like that. And I mean, when you put a lot of, 20, 23 year old girls in the same locker room, like, it's hard to avoid drama, but we had zero drama that year. We were really like 23 sisters that year. It was like unreal how how well we worked together all year. And I mean, it's pretty unreal to go undefeated the whole year and not lose the game.

And I think we didn't just lose the game because our team chemistry not obviously, we had a lot of skill on that team too. I think we had six or eight players to go up and play in the Olympics later from that team. But I created that that year totally for our kind of team dynamic and really good coaching. And, obviously, as a goalie, you you you have days that you're, like, you can feel you have a really bad day coming or sometimes you just have a bad game. But somehow those 38 games I played, I just can't remember having one bad game that year.

And that's just does not happen very often. I think that's the only season I can say that every game I played, I played played at up to my level.

Well, you finished talk about finishing strong in college. You finished with back to back national championships. Like you said, the undefeated season in 2013, 2012, 2013. And the last 40 with the you had the championship the year before. The last 49 games you played in the NCAA, you won them all.

That's that's what I'd call a high note. So you talked about having bad days in there and knowing when it's coming. How do you what what advice would you give to other goaltenders in terms of manage that? How do you on a day where maybe you'd you know, you're you're not feeling your best, how do you sort of get the best performance out of out of, you know, whatever state you're at? Whether if you're feeling 80%, how do you make sure you get the full 80%?

Yeah. I feel like if you ever have, like, any doubt in yourself that you don't feel good on a game day, it's just getting back to your routine, keeping things really simple. I feel like when goalies are a little insecure about their game, they just try to do too much. So he can kinda tell in the warm ups when I look at goalies, I can tell, like, if a goalie I know or a coach, if they're trying to do too much, and that's usually when you don't play your best. So if you ever kinda doubt yourself, I would say keep it really simple.

Yeah. I feel like if you ever have, like, any doubt in yourself that you don't feel good on a game day, it's just getting back to your routine, keeping things really simple. I feel like when goalies are a little insecure about their game, they just try to do too much. So he can kinda tell in the warm ups when I look at goalies, I can tell, like, if a goalie I know or a coach, if they're trying to do too much, and that's usually when you don't play your best. So if you ever kinda doubt yourself, I would say keep it really simple.

Relax a little bit. Have some fun in the in the warm ups. A lot of goalies when they're not sure about how the game is gonna be. They get really, really tense, and you can just see their tense and not relax. So if I ever don't feel at my best, I just try to joke around and have some fun and just really relax, relax my body and hoping that I get a couple easy shots at the start and then just build that confidence from there.

Okay. So you finished a college career, and then you went back home to play in the men's league. Now I'm not even gonna try and pronounce the name of the team. You're gonna have to help me that one with that one. Second second woman to play in the men's league, I think Haley Wickentheiser was the other one.

What was what was behind that decision? Was it about the opportunity also about at the time? I mean, things have changed, and we're gonna talk obviously about what's going on right now in the women's game, but there wasn't a lot of opportunity on the women's side. What, what made you choose that path?

Yeah. So I got done with college, got my degree actually in journalism, mass communications, and was thinking about actually, like, starting to be a writer or a reporter in hockey or something like that. But then it was actually Olympic year again. So it was '13, 14 season. The Olympics were in Russia.

After I got done with college, I actually got offered to play in the Russian Woman's League, the Pro League out there. And then August comes around and I'm ready to pack my bags and move to Russia and go play in that league. And then the team owner calls me that they came up with rules that no import goalies are are allowed in Russian leagues, so I can't go anymore. So there I was. The Olympic season was starting, and I really needed the team in summer to train and play.

But then I actually decided that since it's the Olympic year, I'm just gonna stay in Minnesota and train with my goalie coach coach there and then just go do team Finland camps. So I actually didn't go play with men right after the college. Kind of took a year off playing in the Olympics. And after the Olympics, I signed with the men's pro team in the second tier league. And I think at that point, I just needed a new challenge in my career.

There wasn't really an opportunity to play pro hockey on the woman's side. So I just told myself, why not? Let's let's see if I can keep up with the guys and play pro hockey there, because it was always my dream to play professionally. And I was lucky enough to get an offer close to my hometown and jumped on the board, and it turned out to be a a three year three year trip with the with men's teams in Finland.

Okay. Now I obviously screwed up the timing that for some reason I had the Olympics after the men's team. You know, of course, that takes us to the twenty fourteen games. And that was when, you know, you you were in the spotlight then because once the games ended, you you sort of well, did you announce your retirement or you talked about retirement? We thought we might lose you from the game before you decided to go sign with those men's teams.

What was that process like, and was that mindset like? How hard was that to to think that that might be it at that point? And kind of remarkable to look back now because that's five years ago.

Yeah. I mean, once I got out of college, the the reality kind of hit me and I realized like, yeah, there really isn't many places to go play after college for females. So I was kind of a little lost and didn't know what to do and good thing the Olympics were coming up. So I had something to train for and kinda something to like set goals at and and actually like kept going and stay motivated. And then when the Olympics were done, I was like, well, what now?

Like, I don't really have a place to go play And I can't really make living out of hockey. So if I want to keep playing and I have to get a full time job and then trying to train like a full time athlete on the side. So after the Olympics were done, I kind of wanted to make a statement that I don't want to do both. Like, I just want to play full time or I'm gonna work full time. So think I've wrote that little Twitter post or Facebook post.

I can't remember. And this men's team in Finland side and they offered me a contract. So I think it all turned out turned out pretty good. And looking back now, I'm I'm happy that I kept playing and got that offer because it kind of kept my career going. Because if I never wrote that letter, who knows if I actually hang up my skates in 2014, could be doing totally something else right now.

Oh, that would be a loss for all of us. You ended up so after the three years of the finished with the men's team, last year, Kunlin with the CWHL and this kind of we can transition this into it's a good spot to talk about what's going on now. But first, that experience playing on a Chinese team in the CWHL professional women's league, and truly being run like a professional team, Kunlin, specifically. What was that experience like? What was it like being in China?

Like, that's that's like just from a cultural standpoint, I imagine that that was probably a bit of a even having been to all the Olympics and all over the world, was that still a bit of a culture shock? What was that experience like for you?

Yeah. I mean, China's not your typical hockey country and I see them getting the twenty two Olympics. They're putting a lot of resources and a lot of money into into their hockey programs because they wanna succeed in hockey and they told they wanna win a medal there with with team China. And I've been fortunate enough to do Kumu rest surfer for the past three seasons. I'm currently doing my third season right now, two years in the CWHL that folded after two years.

And now we are currently playing in in the Russian woman's woman's league in in their KHL. And that has been truly dream dream come true. Like three years ago, I couldn't have ever dream of what we can get from that team. Making a liveable sustainable salary can actually save money for my salary and provide for myself and my fiance and my family back home and playing true professional hockey full time. I mean, we get so much gear, so much different apparel and clothing and the facilities and resources and supporting staff we have is truly special and something that I've never seen in women's hockey.

So I really lucked out there a few years ago that they called me and asked me if I wanna wanna complain China. So absolutely no complaints. The only little complaint I can have is our long road trips because our flights used to be like fifteen hours for for road games. So that's like the only little tiny complaint I have.

Yeah. Being on the other side of the world can't be easy as well when when a lot of your life is still, like you said, you're we're talking to you from Finland now and and back home in Minnesota as well. But it sounds like the way you're treated there makes it makes it worthwhile. Is that part of what what's going on now? Part of what you're trying to establish for everyone else in the women's game?

Is that kind of the goal of what's going on right now with the PHWPA? Maybe just maybe I'll just leave it open ended. You walk me through how the situation how you kind of see things right now.

Yeah. There's a lot of uncertainty in Woman's Hockey right now. And those who followed the CWHL followed it as of last May and the best league in women's hockey went down and kinda left players wondering what's gonna happen next. And we were actually at the world's in Espoo in my hometown when we heard that the league's gonna fall. Then a lot of us players got together in Espoo and we were thinking and asking questions that what's next.

And we formed a new players association called Professional Woman's Hockey Player Association. A lot of letters along long association, but we kind of formed this association in a mission to create a sustainable professional woman's league for our sport where players get treated like true professionals and where we get the resources that we we feel like we deserve. And hopefully someday, we will have a chance to make a livable, sustainable salary out of playing hockey. And we felt like that when CWH so folded that we need to we need to ask for more. We can't be satisfied with with what we we have been getting so far.

When you say more mean, does it mean more like how, for example, Kunlun does things as opposed is it would give you an opportunity to to play the game for a living versus playing the game and then having to go make a living on the side and and and the game being almost something that you have to do on top of work as well as work. Like run it like a true professional league. Is that kind of the goal?

Yeah. I mean, I can give some examples from CWHL, the Canadian league that we were part of last season. The most of the teams would practice twice a week at 9PM and not have set locker rooms, get zero pieces of equipment. And they were practice, let's say, from nine to 11PM. And then the next day, the players would wake up at 7AM or 07:30 to go go work from eight to four.

And then they would get $0 from playing there. I think there was a little stipend for some of the teams in the league, but really, you don't make any money out of playing. You just do it for the law of the sport. So but still somehow the the league was called a professional women's hockey league. So but I don't know if it's really professional if that's not your main source of income.

I know people have different opinions on what, like, how do you define a professional hockey player? But in my opinion, if you're living, you're making a living and that's your main job, then you can call yourself a professional hockey player. Yes. Everyone can train like a professional hockey player, but if you don't make money out of it and a full time salary out of it, I think you're semi pro pro or amateur. So kind of what our association wants is that we would have resources and kind of infrastructure that would give us a chance to show how good our product could be.

And I feel like if we're provided with good resources and a chance to put the truly the best product out there that would kind of get the fans going and fill the stance and get the ticket sales going. And once you have the fans interest, you'll get the the sponsors interest in. And when you have the sponsors, the media will get interest in. And that's how can you you you built that league?

What does the solution look like, Nora? What what what do you see the answer being in terms of a league that that would would satisfy, you know, the needs of everyone and really create that professional environment? Where's the answer?

Our associations be really vocal about it, that we want to get NHL involved. It's no secret they've been around for a long time and they have things figured out and they have the resources and they have the infrastructure. And we're not asking for millions. All we're asking for is NHL's and team owner's help to creating to creating a league. So we kinda need their help for the resources and their sales department, marketing department, and just to help how to run a true professional hockey league.

And we've seen a lot of success on on the soccer side and then the women's basketball. So if we can kinda follow their model and get the NHL involved, then I think women's hockey will will grow grow even more, and we can create a league that that, we can call a true professional hockey league.

How how tough is this to be, faced with this, to be on the board to be a part of this? I I'm you know, there's there's obviously other people, players still playing in the NHL that might have different opinions on this, and I'm guessing you hear about that. I mean, you're coming off, you know, you were the you were the best goalie, voted the best goalie at the two thousand and nineteen IHF Women's World Championship. You're still playing at an elite level. How hard is it to sorta have to deal with this and go through this?

And and why do you choose to be a part of it? Like, you know, at the board level to sort of take this on the chin and, and, and, you know, be that first one through the door, so to speak. Why is that important to you at a time when, you know, you probably could have just decided to wind things down?

Yeah. I honestly, things are pretty good for me and I'm really thankful for the opportunity to play professional hockey in China. I didn't necessarily need to be part of the league, but I always wanna see the big picture. I'm not doing it for myself. I mean, I'm 30 years old and I know I'm at the end of my career and there's not many years left.

But if I can be on the board and make sure I could build a better future for the youth hockey players where they can dream playing professional hockey and actually dream of making money, money, let's say play in the women's NHL, then I'm all in. I'm all about it. Just providing better chances and better opportunities for the youth and for the future.

That sounds like a pretty that sounds like a pretty good goal to me now. Hey, listen, let's the coaching side of things just to transition a little bit. What do you love about that? What do you love about working with younger kids? And and do you does does coaching young goalies help you stay up to date, current, fresh?

I remember Mitch Korn. I always used to ask him after the long season he has coaching in the NHL, he still goes out on the road, road tripping it to his camps in the summer from one spot to the other, grinds that out in the summer. And I've always wondered why. And he always said, the young goalies are what keep me fresh, keep me new, allow me to sort of learn new things. Do you do you take that kind of joy in the coaching side of things?

Yeah. I mean, I think coaching is great balance. I started coaching right after college. My goalie coach Andrew Kent asked me to come and coach. They were also a mega goaltending in 2013 and I kind of fell in love for love right away.

And I actually never thought I could be a good coach, but then I started coaching and got good feedback and just kept doing it. I was like, got a lot better in the past seven years. But I mean, just giving back to the kids. I feel like I always had good coaches growing up that helped me. And if I can be a help for a youth hockey player and help them to achieve their dreams.

And I'm all about it and I want to help them. And I'm all about giving back to the sport. And I found out that coaching is the best date, best way to do it for me.

So I gotta ask because you you came from a background. You talked about it early in your career, maybe a little more active, a little less structured, but also a great skater. You learned all those things, probably learned to play instinctually, as you said, looking back at the film from from your first Olympics. We see a lot of coaching at a young age. This is a popular question on this podcast with coaches, with young goalies, with old goalie coaches.

Where's that balance between, you know, too much technique at a young age and letting them just go out there and play and have fun? Because obviously that was part of upbringing and then adding that technique later. Like, know, when you're out there with really young kids, where's where's the focus and how do you find that balance between, you know, seeing technical aspects they can improve on, but not wanting to maybe make them too technical at too young an age. Where's that line for you?

Yeah. I mean, I coach anyone between ages all the way up to college and actually coach a goalie that's part of the hockey Canada system right now. So I've, I've seen all ages, but with the youngest ones, I I hate kind of seeing how some of the coaches try to make them look like robots. So I'm all about keeping it athletic, fun, loose, and Trying to kind of create an environment while they're always working on their skating, you know, they might not notice it, but I like to keep my goal is moving all about because I know tracking is a big thing in today's coaching world, but my opinion is that if you're not a good skater, you'll never have time to track. I mean, you have to get there first and get set before you can actually track the puck.

So for me, it's all about skating and getting your edges going before you start working on anything else. So because if you're not a good skater, nothing else will will work. So, but just younger ones, keep it fun. Once they're like 12 and older, you'll start introducing more like technical aspects like RVH, post play, and kind of kick it up a little bit a notch and introduce more details.

So if you're working with a goalie in the Hockey Canada system, do you have to save some of the you have to you have to keep a few secrets back? Like, you can't have her being too good, can you? Like, is that is that a betrayal of the of the of of the Finnish roots or what?

No. I mean, not all about sharing. So if someone asks me if I can help them, if I coach them, I'm all about it. I want to help everyone. So it's not like I can help someone that I could actually play against at the world's this year. Gonna save a few tricks.

You're save a few tricks for yourself there.

Yeah. I mean, I have some secret tricks that I just keep to myself, but, I'm pretty open and the more I can share share the other goalies, the better. So,

on that note, I'll leave it at this last one. I did want to ask you, the job, and this has been super long. I apologize for keeping you. Millard is gonna be laughing his ass off because I do I do this I do this every podcast. But China, part of the role is working with them, like, helping them improve, helping the young goalies improve and get them to, as you said, the twenty twenty two Olympics, when they host. What's that process been like? What's it like in terms of language barrier? Does the language of goaltending always shine through?

But if there if there is a real language barrier, how do you navigate that? And what's that role like in terms of, you know, playing on that team, but also sort of helping out with some coaching duties over there and helping out with youth programs?

Yeah. I mean, it's been a perfect setup for me because I was young there to stop pucks and help the team get some wins. But I also have two Chinese goalies that I'm mentoring and trying to help as much as they can as they're training for the twenty two Olympics. So sometimes I laugh because they almost follow me twenty four seven. Like, they almost watch me sleep.

Or actually, they don't that was a joke. But, like, honestly, like, they follow me, like, whatever I do, they follow me and try to do the same. And I'm honored to mentor them. I just hope they succeed in in the Olympics. And it's been interesting to set up because the other goalie speaks really good English and then the other goalie, the her English is not so good.

So I kinda the other one's a little easier to coach than the other one. But I think we have a pretty good universal body language in goaltending. So I think it's good for me that I actually have my full gear on. All I need to do is go in the net and show them, and then they can try to try to do it after me. So having my full goalie gear on definitely helps in coaching coaching those two two other goalies.

Well, I was gonna say, if they're gonna follow somebody around and and pick a goaltender to emulate, pretty good goaltender to emulate, Nora. Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us a lot more time than I I said I would hold you, but, we really enjoyed the conversation. I know our listeners are going to enjoy it as well. Look forward to catching up in the near future.

Yeah. Perfect. Thank you.

She's just cool. And and then she was, like, you kept her so long, much longer than than you anticipated, and she was just beautiful and and just absolutely willing to to hang out and talk goaltending, Woody.

I hope these I hope all these goaltenders in the world don't hear about Woody time because he didn't he didn't keep her longer than we would have expected, did he? No. Hey. That that interview, guys, we probably should have put it up next week. Do you know why?

Why? What was her record in university? Four forty nine consecutive wins. 49 consecutive wins in the NCAA, and next week is episode 49. We we missed one there, but, yeah, I think you're right, Daren.

What a record.

It undefeated in her senior year. It's it just blows me away and and the along with the same percentage and and and and goes against average. But that that overall record is is just just outstanding. And I loved her appreciation for what they're doing for her team right now, and and we wish her the best of luck. And she's she's making she's making a living at it right now.

And well done, Woody. Way to way to go. You're you're getting to be the the the global leader in tracking down athletes around the world in in your last couple of weeks.

Well, I'm trying to make this a multinational podcast, and on that note, we will have Thomas Magnuson, the former director of the Swedish, goaltending or the Swedish national goaltending program, on the podcast here in the next couple weeks, interviewing him this week, and, we'll queue it up either for episode 49 or 50.

Can you guys roll your r's like Nora could?

I don't Under pressure. No. And I I think it's sort of a Tim Hortons thing, right? Like, but I don't actually like and this makes me not Canadian, but I can't stand Tim Hortons coffee. Oh, I just had

a sponsorship lined up.

Roll up the roll up the rim to win.

Well done. Well done. Well, our world tour continues both physically and and metaphorically with Denmark's own Frederick Anderson as he jumps in the car. Presentation of Source for Sports, The Hockey Shop, thehockeyshop.com. It's Freddie Anderson with Kevin Woodley roaming the streets in Downtown Vancouver, and we're not making this up because ladies and gentlemen, listen for Woody's GPS chiming in wanting to get into the interview.

It's fun. Boys.

Feature Interview 2 - Frederik Andersen

We are now this is, like, another episode, just like Carter Hutton, of Not Comedians in Cars, we are Goalies in Cars. We are Freddie Andersen. We're a quick trip to meet the boys at the hotel for a little Christmas shopping.

Yep. Gotta get it gotta get it in when we can here.

Freddie's a little nervous, I think. Looking around, seeing if I'm gonna pay attention to where I'm driving or

Yeah. So far so talking.

So far, we haven't run over anyone. So I don't even know where to start. I usually start with this is gonna be a quicker trip than usual, but I usually start, like, every time I see you, we talk about what's going on in your game now, what you're working on, so many different things over the years. I wanna know where it started. That's my favorite question with every guy.

Where'd the passion for goaltending start for you?

Started by being born into it. My dad was a goalie in Denmark. Kissed brothers, his sister, she was a goalie. Her husband also goalie. Yeah.

So big hockey family, everyone pretty much has played or or or does play at some point in, in my family and played some hockey. My dad being the goalie, he, he always brought me in the locker room. I would sit I would sit on his pads while he was getting undressed just when he was shooting with the teammates and just kind of growing up in the locker room. Obviously I started skating, the second I could walk basically, would take me out, push me around in the ice. And then I think I was around nine or 10 when he finally let me switch, he wanted me to play the positions other than goalie just to understand the game a little bit and learn how to skate better instead of just standing in that too early.

And I thought that's something that's been, yeah, definitely benefiting me a little bit.

What what point did it go from something you just wanted to do to something you thought, hey, I could do this for a long time?

I don't know. That's a that's a really good question because I I've never really been a guy who had a a plan b or or anything where better get better get a a degree or or something like that. I just always been having a passion for hockey and wanting to play hockey and never really seen any other outcome or any other option to be doing something else.

That's a good

thing about But I never, yeah, never really knew like I was passed on my first two drafts. I wasn't drafted, finally got drafted the third time and yeah, because I had a couple of good games in the national, on the national team and just kind of developed from there. I thought, yeah, again, late bloomer just kinda kinda stuck with it and was able to, yeah, to break through and and make the make the jump through, yeah, through the system in Anaheim and and the rest is probably more, public knowledge to people that that have followed, the NHL.

Before then, though, you went to Sweden. Talk about that decision. What was it what like, what was that experience like to leave Denmark and go to Sweden? What was the thought process behind it? And, clearly, it worked.

Yeah. Again, that was just late teenage years. I think I was just just about to turn 20. Again, it's it was a step up in my career. I I had a good good couple years in Denmark, playing well in the in the Danish pro league.

And that's a pretty natural step for a lot of the Athenian players to go to Sweden or or elsewhere in Europe. And and I lucked out having had getting a really good goal coach in in Sweden, Micky Andreasen. He really helped help out my game and, and again, had a really good season in Sweden and it's On to the destination street.

Battling through the GPS is, interesting, but we're trying. But yeah, then having a really good year, think was was part of the reason I decided to go back in the draft and and then go, yeah, see what, see what would happen. Because at the time I was about to sign with, Carolina, Cam Ward was, was signed for, for a very long time and didn't really seem like the chances of being a number one goalie was very high there. And that, that was, that was the, the biggest decision, that I've made to we had to go back in the draft and and I knew my my agents had looked at depth charts and on the whole league and and had found at least half the league had better options and better chances to, yeah, for me to make it and get a good shot at, being the number one.

So Anaheim Was not one of them actually. That wasn't one of them?

No, they weren't one of them. It was just kinda yeah, crazy to think of. They had Jonas Hiller at the time, very, very good goalie and very, yeah, very solidified as the number one there. They had just signed Victor Fast that I had battled with in Sweden amongst the top goalies there in in the Swedish Elite League. And then they had, yeah, Gibby and and Junior still, I think, coming up.

Obviously, a very, good very good prospects. So they're very, very surprised that they they had picked me there.

So this is kind of embarrassing because this is my hometown. I shouldn't need the nav, but I just Yeah. I wasn't a 100% sure, and I didn't wanna take you, like, on a wandering tour like a bad taxi driver just to prolong this conversation.

No. I'm having a having a good time here. So

So we gotta talk over the nav, but that's okay. Let's just go to now. How do you manage the pressure of being the goaltender of the Toronto Maple Leafs? You seem to handle it so well. Even by Vancouver standards, we have a pretty big media group.

You guys come into town and it's like three times bigger. What's what's the hardest part of being in that focus in that spotlight and how do how

do you manage it? I think I just enjoy doing, doing what I do. Think at the end of the day, it's about it's about perspective and just trying to to realize where you're at and not take anything for granted. It's really, really a cliche, but it's really true that you just enjoy what you do every day and and that's what I've been doing since I, yeah, since I was little and really, yeah, really love doing it. Again, you dream of it as a kid and you know, you don't know what if it's possible yet, but but here we are.

So

Talk to me a little bit about the relationship with Steve. I know he doesn't get to it's because he doesn't get to do a lot of media now. Just just roles and a lot of teams have them where I don't get to talk to the goalie coaches and not a lot of publicly, but you guys seem to have formed a really good working relationship, which didn't surprise me because I remember when this first happens, I I think I might have even sent you a note about just I know you both guys love to work and love to sort of find new things. So walk me through how you built that relationship.

Yeah. He's been he's been great since, yeah, since day one. He he didn't come and push anything on me that that, that I didn't really feel comfortable with. He's always looking at new ideas or he's always trying to find stuff that's going to make me feel more comfortable in that and not just trying to play whatever he thinks is best. He's very open to bringing me along in the process and trying to figure out what's best and I think that's something that a lot of goalie coaches can learn from and having that, yeah, cooperation with the goalie and not just, I don't know, be a dictator about what your beliefs are and your thoughts on how to play goals, I think.

It's more of a two way relationship.

Exactly. It's something you gotta Reach your destination in 400 meters.

Oh, gotta wrap it up here soon. But yeah, he's been great. I think he also, he works harder than any coach I've ever seen with video and he's spending a lot of time helping me out and I can ask him any question. He'll spend his off day looking through video to find an answer. And he's not gonna, if I if I ask him something, he's not gonna just fire an answer.

He's gonna go back and and and do research and and look into what, yeah, what the real, facts are.

Last one, walk me through like that back and forth on a day to day basis. What's that like? What's your day with him? Like, you guys go over video? Like, is it a is it a conversation?

How much do you spend on last game? How much do spend pre spout? Like, what does a typical day for you look like with with Steve Breer getting ready for a game or coming off again?

Yeah. It's usually today, we went on the ice a little bit before. Usually some some puck touches and working on, on improving that, getting some time bringing the player to to help us out with some shots and, yeah, work on some things. We we try to hit a lot of different things throughout. Yeah, I don't know, throughout every week, try to hit a bunch of different type of plays and just feel comfortable.

Know you talk about it going out there.

Yeah, he doesn't really tell me exactly everything and I like it that way too sometimes, just he, but he's always got a purpose of what drill he's making and, working on that. And usually I like to see the clips on, on my previous game, either on the plane to the next game or, or in the morning the next day just to just to flush it or pick something up if there's something. If not, yeah, move on.

Perfect, Freddie. The downside is like, it's not like Seinfeld in a car where there's a coffee after. So that means you get to get going. That's actually in a positive. Guess you don't have to spend any more time with me.

You've had enough. The the other upside actually is it's not James Corden, so I don't make you sing.

That's perfect. I think we lose a lot of, listeners if we had to do that. So But

thank you

for doing this. Appreciate Yeah. No problem. Good touch on the on the car too. You you can use it as tax tax reduction right now, with the with the new purchase.

I literally work in my car. This is taking it to the next side.

Nice office, so I appreciate, appreciate having me.

Hope you enjoyed that conversation. Love love the car rides, and, I I have to admit a little bit of jealousy and a whole lot of just acknowledgment and being impressed by you because you've you've been able to convince some world class NHL superstars to jump into that sled of yours and drive around Vancouver.

Yeah. Listen. I think we should also like, it's a shorter interview. Right? There are probably some people out there going, man, I want half an hour of Freddie Anderson, not not ten minutes in the car as I I was actually driving him.

I think he was meeting Austin Matthews and a couple of the guys do a little Robson Street Christmas shopping, so I dropped him off up there. The reason I think it's important to point out the reason that was a shorter interview is we kinda prioritize time. Freddie was so gracious. He gave me fifteen minutes sitting down going over video, and, of course, our our InGoal premium subscribers will have already seen the first one where he breaks down a three on two rush against the Saint Louis Blues, and I thought it was I thought it was our best one yet. Like, full three minutes of Freddie Anderson detailing all the elements of a read that allow him to make an incredible glove save on a lateral play.

But when you rewound it and he walked through, like, how the initial puck carrier is bobbling it, how his defenseman attacked the puck carrier and knew what seam was there, when he went from an overlap to skate inside post to make that push, like, the detail these guys see was incredible, and Freddie was incredible spending fifteen minutes with me going over videos. So we've got another three or four clips to share with you in the coming months at the InGoal premium site. And then at the end of it, because he'd already missed both buses from the Maple Leafs to spend that time with me, he needed a lift. So he'd he'd heard about the the InGoal the InGoal what what are we calling this? The InGoal goalies.

Yeah. Basically, it's it's Kevin Kevin and cars with goalies. He'd heard about it with Roberto, and we'd done the one with Hutton. And so I offer to give him a lift after we finished the video session, least I could do. And Don't forget Ian Clark.

And Ian Clark. Least I could do is offer the guy a lift. He just happened to bring the recorder with me and he was game, so we had a little fun with it.

No. The the GPS, though, and he acknowledging listening to him acknowledge I'm I'm fighting through the GPS. Yeah. It was like the the GPS was chirping you guys.

No. Was and and embarrassing. Right? Because my hometown and and I wasn't quite

That did that did cross my mind.

I just you know, let's let's just say that these guys stay in nicer hotels than I regularly frequent. So when I was told we were gonna I had to drop them off and and meet

them there. But you've been to Robson Street.

I wanted to be sure. I wanted to be sure. This one was a newer new it was a newer spot. I didn't know, Derek. And I got it hey.

I think I deserve credit here, boys. Because as I was dropping him off, I could have pulled the Carter Hutton because I needed to take a left to drop him off right where he needed to be, and it was a no left turn lane. So I could have gone two more blocks to take a right and another like, I could have gone, like, an extra four blocks to wraparound and get him right to where I was supposed to drop him off, but recognizing that we were basically kitty corner from it and not wanting to take up any more of the time he'd been so gracious with, I just dropped him off at the corner and said go run through the traffic.

Buddy, I'm done. I I think it's great and I also, love the fact that, in that because you didn't wanna be, bugged by us about, or accused by us of doing that, You put the starting goaltender of the Toronto Maple Leafs in peril by making them jump through traffic. That is good. Well done. But that access is just unprecedented.

You don't

Outro

get it anywhere else and congratulations. That's that's really cool. And you talked to two just absolute superstars in Freddie Anderson and Nora Raty this week, and and that's that's wonderful. I can't get enough of it, and and I know our listeners can too. We learned butter stack.

We learned that the lacrosse goal is going to be a regular thing. And and Hutch, you what did you learn today?

Sorry. I was just gonna say we would be remiss even though this podcast is threatening to set a new record for length here If we didn't mention and congratulate Freddie Andersen on recently becoming, the fastest European goaltender in NHL history to 200 wins and the fourth fastest to 200 in NHL history overall, an incredible feat really. If you think about the names ahead of him on the list, who are who do you know who the three names ahead of him on the list are?

Bill Bill Dernan's on every list, isn't he? Nope.

No? No. And that's sort of what shocks me. Ken Dryden. Jacques Plante.

I've heard of him.

Brayden Holtby.

Heard of him too.

That's it.

That's it. Bidding tons, doing the same thing right now. Like he's on on a similar path like for for this. We're seeing a couple of guys do it, but but Freddie Andersen's record in Anaheim, the way he piled up the wins was was exceptional, and then and then carrying it over to the to the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. And he can always say when he when he is inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame, if if that day comes, he will say, I'd also like to thank Kevin for giving me a ride home from practice at in in Vancouver.

It will be there. It will be there at some point after I missed my bust. Time to jump on out of here. Thanks to you, the listener. Thanks to Source for Sports Surrey, Cam over at the Hockey Shop, the hockeyshop.com.

Thanks for explaining butter stacks, how to defend the lacrosse goal, Nora Raty on Rolling Rs, and Freddie Andersen for not being too cool to jump in a car with a buddy and get a ride back to hotel. We are when they say the goalie union, it's it's not just a cool thing to say, but it is truly a bond. Thanks for listening to InGoal Radio, the podcast. I'm Daren Millard. We'll talk to you next week.

Again, over the holidays, we continue to bring you the best InGoalieTalk out there.