Pro Drills inspired by Warren Strelow Featuring Sabres Seamus Kotyk and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
- Warren Strelow identified five key save points around the crease edge where goals are most often scored, using pucks as physical markers for movement drills.
- Seamus Kotyk runs Sabres goalies through 5-puck movement variations for 3-4 minutes daily as part of their warm-up routine.
- This week's drill variation focuses on forward-backward transitions and edge work, functioning like a power skating drill for goaltenders.
- The drill immediately exposes footwork weaknesses — Kotyk notes that 'clunky goalies are going to struggle' on their first attempt.
- Prioritize balance, delicate footwork, and edge feel over game-pattern mimicry when using this drill as a training tool.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen photo – Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire
Our movement series with top Buffalo Sabres prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and goaltending development coach Seamus Kotyk continues this week with a truly old school skating drill that once again originated from the late Warren Strelow, a legend in the goalie coach fraternity.
For those who may not have seen or remember the original 5-puck movement sequences that kicked off this series, a reminder that Strelow would place five pucks strategically around the edge of the crease. Each represented what he believed to be five key points where saves were most often made, a variation of the zones or quadrants we still see today.
Those five points were used as focal points for movement in drills Kotyk and Sabres goalies still use daily, alternating between the variations for 3-4 minutes as part of their warm-ups.
“Just start moving around the crease and we are going to make you quicker, and if a guy is old school or new school, no problem,” Kotyk said. “We’re just going to make you move from these points to these points in the net and enhance your skills. That’s how we go about it.”
This week’s variation is definitely “old school” and might throw some goalies for a “loop.”
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