Alex Nedeljkovic ProRead 7
With Alex Nedeljkovic
Nedeljkovic: Early Reads Key Success Against Rush
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It’s been a couple of months since we ran a Pro Reads with Alex Nedeljkovic, which borders on unacceptable given how good he has been in these video breakdown sessions to date.
Part of the delay is hoping to catch up with Nedeljkovic again this summer to update these with some Detroit Red Wings footage, but we also wouldn’t want to waste any of his insights from last offseason, even if it means watching a few more saves in a Carolina Hurricanes uniform.
THE SCENARIO
Nedeljkovic is facing another rush chance against the Florida Panthers, this time led by highly skilled forward Aleksander Barkov, who ends up making a nice spin move to put himself in close range and challenge Nedeljkovic’s patience on his edges in the process:
Looking at the freeze frame above, is Barkov still a shooting threat at this point?
If not, what is his most dangerous passing option? What information are you looking for about all three players as you assess this scoring chance off the rush? Is there a one-timer threat?
THE SAVE
Now watch the entire sequence to better gauge Barkov’s speed, how the play developed from a potential breakaway to more of a passing threat, and how Nedeljkovic handled it:
Seeing it play out in real time, do any of your answers change from above in terms of who is the most dangerous threat in this situation? Why? And what is it about Barkov’s path across the ice that makes him less dangerous as the play progresses away from a breakaway chance?
THE PRO READ
It’s time for Nedeljkovic to share those answers himself, and see if they match yours:
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- Nedeljkovic breaks down his save on Aleksander Barkov's spin-move rush for Carolina against Florida, where a near-breakaway shifted into a passing threat.
- Once Barkov turned away from the net, Nedeljkovic recognized he was no longer attacking, reducing — but not eliminating — his threat: 'I don't want to say you are half paying attention to Barkov... I would say probably 80 percent of the focus is on Barkov, especially since the puck is on his forehand, probably more like 90 percent.'
- Tracking puck location on the shooter's forehand is a key variable Nedeljkovic uses to determine how much attention to hold on the puck carrier versus scanning for passing options.
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