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Pheonix Copley is coming off a breakout season with the Los Angeles Kings that included a 24-6-3 record while playing 37 games, more than doubling his career NHL total in games played in the previous 10 pro seasons. We caught up with the North Pole, Alaska native for a recent episode of the InGoal Radio Podcast and he was kind enough to stick around for a video session after.

THE SAVE SEQUENCE

Copley’s Pro Reads debut is a two-part sequence against the Edmonton Oilers historically good power play, starting with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins below the dot with the puck on his forehand:

Looking at the freeze frame, is Nugent-Hopkins the most dangerous threat on the ice? What other options are you looking for, and perhaps more importantly, what factors are you considering when trying to assess what is the biggest concern as a goalie.

As Nugent-Hopkins works towards the goal line, Copley enters his Reverse:

Do you agree with that post-entry decision? What factors can you see that might lead to it?

THE SEQUENCE

There’s a second part to this power play sequence, but rather than splitting up the freeze frame breakdowns, watch the video with both plays and ask yourself the same questions in terms of Copley’s positioning and post-entry decisions, and then as the puck ends up down in the corner to Copley’s left, see if you can identify the most dangerous player in the next part.

How soon did you identify Nugent-Hopkins as the biggest threat in the second part? Watch it again and see if you can identify any keys to how Copley was able to handle it so well. He dropped into Reverse in the first part, but not with Leon Draisaitl holding the puck in the second – what factors do you think might have played a role in making a different second choice?

THE PRO READ

Now let’s hear Copley on his approach to Nugent-Hopkins and Draisaitl in both parts.

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