Glen Gulutzan: Role of a Goalie Coach Within a Coaching Staff

Edmonton Oilers assistant Glen Gulutzan has been coaching for 19 seasons, working his way up from the ECHL up the NHL, including four seasons as a head coach with the Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames, so he’s well positioned to talk about the evolution of the goalie coach role

Gulutzan talked about how the role has changed within the framework of a coaching staff in the NHL at the WHL / Hockey Canada Goaltending Symposium presented by InGoal Magazine this summer. While Gulutzan isn’t a goalie himself, his presentation includes some valuable lessons and advice about interacting with the rest of the coaching staff, including the fine line between standing up for your goalies when it’s called for and protecting them blindly. He also talks about how to work with other coaches in a way that benefits everyone in practice, including the evolution of a skills coach and a goalie coach working together during his time as an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks, and a development program there that helped Roberto Luongo, Cory Schneider, Eddie Lack and Jacob Markstrom.

Gulutzan shares lessons from each of the goalie coaches he has worked with, including Mike Valley in Dallas, Rollie Melanson in Vancouver, Jordan Sigalet in Calgary and now Dustin Schwartz in Edmonton, and how it’s now all inclusive. Gulutzan also tells several great stories from his career, including one involving Melanson and an ill-timed phone call from the late Jean Béliveau. Enjoy — and make sure you stick around for the lengthy Q+A session after, it’s loaded with great insights and advice.