Pro-Reads: James Reimer Student of the Game
With James Reimer
James Reimer's work before the game allows him to be patient on this save.
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James Reimer is a student of the game. As he notes in his analysis for this ProRead, before every game he goes over every shooter he is about to face with his goalie coach, as well as the team’s offensive tendencies. Not to give anything away early, but in today’s ProRead we’ll see that pay off for him.
The Situation
After a turnover near the blue line Reimer is quickly faced with a shooter – Jordan Weal, then of the Philadelphia Flyers – who is point blank just outside the hash marks and has a back door option that Reimer and defender Mark Pysyk have to be acutely aware of.
Have a look at the image below and consider for yourself what Reimer had to quickly consider:
The Save
Having studied the situation let’s have a look at the save and see how it develops before we hear from Reimer:
The Pro-Read
Nice save on the point blank shot there and in a way we don’t see too often – especially from that distance. Reimer stayed on his feet. So what is it about the situation that left him patient and confident enough to hold his edges?
Let’s listen in as he tells us what he saw and how he chose to make the save. It was part read and part pre-scout. As he told our Kevin Woodley in the video, “before every game, with our goalie coach, I go over every shooter, every player and try and figure out tendencies, if he’s been scoring lately, is he hot…and what d other generate as a team, what kind of chances are you going to get….”
Watch James Reimer break down the full video for you
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- Reimer breaks down his standing glove save on Jordan Weal at point-blank range outside the hash marks, with a live backdoor option requiring awareness from both Reimer and defender Mark Pysyk.
- Reimer stayed on his feet rather than dropping — an uncommon choice from that distance — because pre-game scouting told him where Weal likes to shoot, allowing him to hold his edges with patience and confidence.
- Before every game, Reimer reviews every opposing shooter with his goalie coach, noting tendencies, current scoring streaks, and the team's offensive patterns to anticipate the types of chances he will face.
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