Braden Holtby ProRead
With Braden Holtby
Dealing with stick-on-stick releases (and a 1-on-1 rush)
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Braden Holtby finished his season with the Dallas Stars on injured reserve but not before he posted a bounce back .912 save percentage, showing off the anticipation and play reading that made him a Vezina Trophy and Stanley Cup winner — and a perfect Pro Reads goalie.
Holtby has always processed the game at an elite level, which shone through in his first three Pro Reads and makes him an ideal guest for our latest video breakdown session.
THE SCENARIO
After breaking down a couple of odd-man rushes and a backdoor chance in-zone in his first three Pro Reads, we wanted to get Holtby’s take on a simpler play that can give some goalies fits at every level of play: a one-on-one rush against a retreating defenseman.
It’s hard to get enough information from a freeze frame like the one above on a play like this, in part because we don’t get an idea of the speed – not just of the attacking player, but whether the defenseman has been able to match it or is about to get beat. That said, is there anything you take away from Holtby’s positioning as the attack reaches the top of the face-off circle? What other clues are you looking for as you try to anticipate what comes next? With the play also moving east-west, are you shuffling or flowing backwards to match speed?
THE SAVE
Now, let’s add the speed component by watching the entire sequence from several angles:
There may not seem to be much to that save, but as so many NHL goalies have told us over the years, their favourite saves are the ones that make look easy. So, let’s see how Holtby read this play, and what information he looked for that allowed him to make it look routine.
THE PRO READ
One part of the save above that every goalie knows can make a routine chance a lot more difficult is the defenseman reaching in with a stick as the shot is taken. Managing that is part of the lessons that Holtby shares in his Pro Read breakdown below:
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- Holtby breaks down his save on a one-on-one rush against a retreating defenseman, a play he identifies as deceptively difficult for goalies at every level.
- Holtby explains that a defender reaching in with a stick at the moment of the shot is one of the factors that can turn a routine chance into a difficult save.
- Reading the speed of both the attacker and the retreating defenseman — not just their positioning — is the key information Holtby uses to anticipate and time his movement.
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