Pro-Drills: Rob Tallas and the “Greenfield drill”
- Florida Panthers goalies perform the Greenfield Drill 2-3 times per month as a structured slot-coverage exercise.
- Goalies must hold their position until the cross-slot pass is made — no early cheating toward the second shooter is allowed.
- The receiving shooter must cut back across the Royal Road (Slot Line) before shooting, but can drag the goalie all the way to the goal line.
- The drill teaches three core skills: lateral movement to the initial shooter, managing cross-slot passes, and handling plays behind the net.
- The Greenfield Drill also naturally generates paddle-down teaching moments, connecting it to other goaltending techniques.
Rob Tallas calls it the “Greenfield drill” and his Florida Panthers goalies typically do it 2-3 times a month.
Tallas said he named after long-time Florida student Matt Greenfield, who recently finished his fourth season at the University of Calgary, because he helped Tallas demonstrate and develop it after it was inspired watching a broken play in the slot against the Washington Capitals.
It’s a pretty straightforward drill, but one with several components and teaching components, something quickly discovered when watching Tallas introduced it with a couple of CHL goalies at the NET360 Goalie Camp in Kelowna in 2018. In fact, we already shared one of the takeaways from that session as part of the Paddle Down defense with James Reimer article in March.
Before we dig into one of the other teaching points that emerged that day, let’s take a quick look at a couple of reps featuring Liam Hughes, who was with the Seattle Thunderbirds at the time and is now with the Winnipeg Ice, and Dawson Weatherill, then of the Spokane Chiefs:
Join thousands of goalies, parents, and coaches who train smarter with InGoal.
15+ years as the #1 goaltending resource
Already a member? Log in