Scott Murray on new definition of tracking and applying it in the NHL

InGoal Magazine had the pleasure of being on the ice with Washington Capitals goaltending coach Scott Murray and watching him work with Braden Holtby and consultant Lyle Mast during the summer of 2017, less than one year before Murray and Holtby combined with then-Capitals director of goaltending Mitch Korn to help Washington win its first ever Stanley Cup.

So, we were excited to learn Murray was part of the WHL / Hockey Canada Goaltending Symposium presented by InGoal Magazine this summer, and doubly so knowing that partnership allows us to share his presentation with Premium Members.

Murray began his hour-long video session with an overview of the new definition of tracking he learned from Mast, and how he used it at the NHL level with a before-and-after breakdown of Holtby and the role it played in winning a Cup that first season. After reviewing how he used situational specifics to implement parts of these new tracking mechanics with Holtby, Murray goes into specific examples of how he used more of a foundational approach with Pheonix Copley and in a developmental style with Ilya Samsonov, including sharing a series of drills he used to coach each of them. 

We’ll break Murray’s presentation into six parts and share them over the next month and a half, starting with the situational approach he took with Holtby to improve lateral plays, including some telling before-and-after statistics and corresponding video. But first a quick introduction to Murray, his tracking philosophy and how it relates to what he calls “the best definition of efficiency,” which as you’ll learn applies not only to seeing the puck on a shot release, but to every part of movement.

“To me tracking has brought what we do as goaltenders and helped maximize the efficiency in how we do it,” Murray said.