InGoal Radio Episode 286 with PWHL goalies Sandra Abstreiter and Carly Jackson

Intro

Presented by The Hockey Shop Source for Sports Langley, thehockeyshop.com. We are back. We are ready to rock. We are into it. It's InGoal Radio, the podcast, along with Kevin Woodley and David Hutchison, Daren Millard.

Gentlemen, how's the week going? How's the new year? Happy 2025. Haven't had a chance to connect with you guys in the podcast.

Happy 2025 to you. To you. We missed

you last week. New year. Yeah. I was I was sour that I wasn't able to meet up with you guys last week.

You would have heard the dulcet tones of the waves crashing in the background as as I as I was on location last week, and what a location it was.

Can't believe that you do that much scuba diving in and around sharks, but that's for another

That's my wife and kids. I just do the

snorkels up top.

I snorkel up top while they go swim with the tough fish. I just like to play with the turtles up top.

Yeah. But you know what happens to turtles?

They get eaten by sharks. I happen to have seen that in person once by a 12 foot tiger. It was nasty.

Yeah. That's that that's not a good place to hang out. I have been able to be with you, not in conversation, though, this week, as the three of us have participated in the USA Hockey Goalie Certification program.

Yes.

For coaching. Yeah.

Bronze. They're level one. And thanks to USA Hockey for inviting us to sit in and take part in that. It was, it was pretty eye opening. Hey, boys?

Sometimes you hop on these online clinics. I mean, it's an in person clinic, and then we're able to join online, the online component of it. It's just over a 100 people sitting in on this. So absolutely exciting to see how many people are getting certified as goaltending coaches in The United States and really thankful that they allowed us to join them. I guess guys, the thing that really struck me about the whole experience that I've told a whole bunch of people is the amount of time dedicated to, I guess the word is philosophy, but just setting the tone for why they want more goalies, how they're going to get more goalies, how sports should be set up across the world to encourage more participation from kids.

It's not just lip service. It's really some deep discussion, and I think it's, it's it's gonna bode well for, USA goalies.

Yeah. I liked, and again, we've only done part one of two. We'll actually be reconvening on Zoom to to sit through part two tonight. I loved how much of it was philosophical. We did not dive right into what to teach on ice technical at all.

It was very much philosophical in terms of, you know, making sure that kids are having a good experience as goaltenders at a young age. Not about, like, what specific things you're teaching out out of the gate at least. That'll become part of it. But

Oh, yeah.

Age specific, what matters, just everything. It's not about the technical elements at that point. Is this just the bronze certification? It's about making sure that they have more resources right down to the volunteer level that can make sure young goalies and at certain ages, not full time goalies was part of what they stressed, are having a good experience as goalies so that more people wanna play it for longer, and they're also being given the basics to make sure that they're developing at a sort of correct pace for the age they're at. It's just the whole thing was really impressive, and you can see why I think Steve Thompson who led it said between three and four thousand bronze level certified goalie coaches in The United States.

And that means, like, parents on this, moms and dads, volunteers out there with their eight, nine, 10 year olds, give the goalies a voice. Make sure their their experience is a positive one, which in the end retains and creates more good goaltenders long term.

That last part is what jumped out to me, that it wasn't just head coaches of various levels of minor hockey and junior hockey on there. There was a significant presence of parents and subsequently volunteers.

Yeah. It's fantastic. It's exactly what we need. How I I can tell you from being online with all kinds of parents, they're thirsty for information. They want to know more.

And isn't it really important? In so many minor hockey organizations, you have this wall between the coaches and the parents, and the parents aren't supposed to be heard from. And in this case, we're educating them so that we create this one large team, everybody sort of rowing in the same direction to create more goaltenders and to create more happy goaltenders. And, and moms and dads are a big part of that process, and they wanna know as much as they can how they can support their child.

And here's the other one, Hutch. Like, how you hear this more than than me, but I've certainly heard it enough. And I don't have a child in minor hockey, but we hear it from from the audience. You know, then what's the number one complaint for young goalies and goalie coach is the fact they're usually left to their own devices. They're out there for practice with nobody to help them.

They're sitting at one end, you know, there's not a lot of shots or then they're bombarded by shots. They don't have anybody to work with them to sort of facilitate a better environment. So what's USA Hockey doing? They're making sure more people have the information to try and create that. Again, right down to the grassroots level.

It sorta echoes what they've done in Sweden. If you want more great goaltenders, build more great goalie coaches. And not all these not all the people that are doing this as a matter of fact, I would assume most of the people taking this class were not there as step one towards a dream of one day being an NHL goalie coach. There to get a base level of information so that when they're on their ice with their kids or the kids on their team, they're supporting their goaltenders in a in an age specific, encouraging develop proper development fashion. It was yeah.

It was there was a lot of things I loved about it. Even if it you know, there's some holistic kumbaya very much like, and I loved it all, like, in terms of the approach, holistic, like, not just like dig right into better skating and this thing and that thing. It was just very much about creating better people, and ultimately, you end up with better goalies because they're enjoying the experience of being a goaltender. I just I'm I'm I'm rambling, but I just I loved it on so many levels.

There's a cross section. There's the keeners. There's the hardcore.

Oh, absolutely.

And then there's people just trying to be better and be able to contribute to to the the hockey world.

And and let's be clear. I mean, Woody said it, but let's be clear. It's not all philosophy. We we started to get into actual development and some actual technical elements, and I assume it will be largely that when we do the next three, three and a half hours this evening. But even that is is very carefully thought through.

So, yeah, I'm really looking forward to tonight.

Assignment. You guys have to bring your favorite goalie drill for the start of tonight's seminar. So I'm looking forward to

seeing everybody else that's the Sense Arena headset on for his favorite drill.

Oh, with his warm up stick. Let's see if he he goes with that. Let's get into our Gear Segment. Also, next week, can I bring up Norway and what Norway does

with Yes?

Their children's athletics program. Covers all athletics, not just hockey, but it's it's a marvelous take. I'd never heard it before, but we'll get into that. The Gear Segment presented by The Hockey Shop Source for Sports Langley, thehockeyshop.com. Before we dive into it, what's going on with Cam and

Gear

Cam? Well, I mean, you're gonna hear it in this Gear Segment, the new Vaughn VX1 or V 11 depending on how you wanna read VX1, if you're into Roman numerals or not. I I think the x one sounds cool, and as Cam is gonna explain to us in a few minutes, it's there's a bit of a shift in the velocity line that I think it it warrants a bit of a new nomenclature. So we'll get into that with Cam, and it's a great indication. Like, normally, this is the time of year where a lot of the content we do with the Hockey Shop is, you know, more legacy pieces like the glove angle closure last week or their sale items because they're clearing out space.

And believe me, they're still doing that. There's a ton on sale right now at the hockeyshop.com. Their boxing day sales kinda spilled over. A lot of the stuff that was on reduced pricing remains on somewhat reduced pricing because they need to clear space for all the new arrivals coming in the spring. But what's changed, and this is an industry thing and it's good for us, is there's still new product coming in all the time.

The Vaughn piece we're gonna get into today is one of just multiple new pieces of product from Vaughn. There's a new stick from True in stock now. So, unlike the old days where it all used to come in in the spring, it's kind of trickling in throughout the year. It's almost like Christmas every day, and that means there's always new gear to shop at thehockeyshop.com. It means there's new stuff for us to get into this week with Cam in our gear segment.

Welcome back to The Hockey Shop Source for Sports. Spring goal Utopia with Cam Matwiv and the all new Vaughn VX one line. Cam?

Or V 11. You wanna go with that.

Well, I guess, yeah, X and one is is that what this is supposed to be?

Oh, I mean VX one.

Last.

So So

what are you using? V 11 or VX one?

Call it VX one for now.

I think VX one sounds a little cooler.

It does

does. And I'm gonna be honest, folks. I kinda feel like this is a significant enough departure for the Velocity line from a stiffness profile and how it plays perspective that it's probably a good thing if we went with a little bit of a different nomenclature.

I would agree.

This is much different than we've come to expect from a Velocity Line Cam. Why don't we do we start with the pad?

Oh, I think we I think we start.

Let's go. Let's start with the pad.

Alright. So as Kevin alluded to, this pad was probably the biggest departure from a regular Velocity that I've ever seen within the last, you know, we'll call it 10 iterations previous to it.

Yeah. Notably stiff through

Yeah. As you could see

Even with a single brakes through the core.

That flex profile, I mean, there's still some there. And with a classic Velocity pad, there is gonna be some break in period to the pad itself. However, one of the biggest differences now that we can start to look at and because of that extra stiffness, that thinned out thigh rise. So looking at the top of that thigh, a bit thinner than something that we've seen previously in

the past. By Vaughn standards.

Yes, by Vaughn standards for sure. As a result, with anything that you do go thinner, you have to go stiffer to maintain that structural integrity to the pad. That said, as a result, we've kind of created this new, you know, velocity. I mean, I like I said, I don't even know if you can call it a velocity anymore because it's it's it is its own thing. Much rigid, like, in terms of even, like, the landing surface all the way down through up to the calf.

The seal out of this pad is, like, unmatched, you know, versus previous Velocity series, you know, continuing on in within the back of the pad and into the details a little bit more. They're balanced stabilizer now, even further improved from their previous iteration. Nice thick knee stack. Great stability for the overall knee itself. Very rigid.

Like, that's been putting a lot of pressure on it to at least get some play out of it. I'd equate this very, very close to like, the next closest thing I think of would be like Stabilite from Bauer in terms of the stability that it's offered. I would say very, very similar properties to it.

I mean, it's not integrated into the face of the pad, is it?

Incorrect. Now it is to a bit of a degree. So we get on to the nitty gritty on the inside. You can see an actual carbon piece running through the actual stack itself into the core of the pad.

So there is one piece that runs all the way through.

There you go. Call it necessarily a bracket because that's But similar function.

Does. There's reason it's stiff. They haven't just stitched it in tighter is what you're telling me.

Exactly. Exactly. So continuing to talk about strapping. You flip your pad over as well. We can see how their rotation control system strapping has evolved.

Eerily similar to something else I've seen.

That's got a that's got a that's got a true feel to it that the way that wraps around the calf with two straps?

I would say so.

Quick quick change strapping is what they call it.

Yes. However

I can read, Cam.

It's yeah. I know. It's a little bit shiny. Yeah.

Here you go.

So with the way that the shopping is, obviously, it's gonna be different from what we find on some of the other pads on the wall. A little bit more of, I will call, a slight integration with the pad itself. In terms of how you overall feel, you have that level of adjustability. When it comes on to, like, custom options, for example, as well, you can make this still tighter if we have to. Again, if we really, really need, we can start messing with the strapping, add some of the straps in there, but, however, that's becoming a bit redundant at this stage of the game.

So nice wraparound tight feel, that's still a hallmark of your velocity line. You're still getting a lot of that control.

Knee strap can go down or Carey Price style as we're seeing a lot more of guys returning to in the NHL around the back of the knee. We're seeing that trend come back again. That option is there. It's stitched in. You could lace that out quite easily. Think if if you want to remove it completely.

Correct. Just held on by lace. That it is.

Nice saw. I like the landing. I do like that knee area. It's really nice.

[crosstalk] So And don't forget. Quick slide. Quick slide. Yeah.

You almost caught there.

So something that we have seen previously on Vaughn pads. This is nothing new. Again, technology that slides very well, very good feedback of it. There's also high wear material as well designed to really prevent that wear on the side of your pad because it is more durable. So looking and flipping over to the boot, which we are now looking at altogether, Vaughn continues with that flat boot construction.

Consequently, as a result, this pad does fit big.

Okay. So the flat boot, which we've seen other brands do in different models

Mhmm.

Wasn't part of V 10?

No. V 10 did have the flat boot as well.

Okay. That there still gonna sit similar to a V 10, but not if you're in a previous iteration of a Vaughn.

However, again, we've added some stiffness profile to the pad as well. So I do find this is still even fitting a little bit bigger. So this is the first time we've seen thirty one plus two as a stock senior size. So further driving home that this pad does fit big, it's like they brought that further size down. So it's always something that was available custom, but now I have available stock off

the wall. Speaking of custom, we talked about how much stiffer the profile this pad is. You can order it in a more flexible option. No?

If need be, yes.

Okay. So you can still get that more traditional feel that you're used to from a not probably to the degree of early like, isn't gonna be Jonathan Quick's

No.

V 2 pad that you can sort of squeeze together and play some music with.

Correct. It's not an accordion. You won't flex like an accordion. But speaking of flex, one last thing to cover, Bungee toe ties. Slightly different bungee toe tie that we've seen gone to the clips, although you still can order them, not recommended.

Velcro toe ties more in line with most of the other products that you do see on the wall. As always, regular skate lace is an option. So I'm gonna cover the pad.

An option we encourage, by the way.

You've heard it here. K. So

Blocker. What's this good for other than hitting you, Cam? Because it's pretty beefy. I demo, but I've pledged to be kinder in the New Year to you.

So as opposed to things that are a massive departure, this is something that's actually a little bit closer to, you know, Vaughn Blocker still past. So some minor improvements over the v 10, in particular, stiffer sidewall, integrated sidewall all the way throughout one piece construction. So we have much more control and also bite.

It's a very protective feeling. Very

Yeah. Exactly. And having that rigidity, when you do to go to go seal up, it's like you're getting that tighter seal rather than that blocker folding underneath you or moving, you know, in a way that you don't want it to.

I didn't say beefy in a bad way.

No. Exactly. Exactly. Overall, the blocker itself does have a nice balanced feel to it. Nothing too too exciting.

Center position on the hand board.

Exactly. Exactly. And they still do continue with what would be, I would say, the looser of the palms on the wall.

We've seen other companies take material out of the palms and they get fit more like a player glove. Vaughn's got a little more material left in there. So

If you are looking for, again, what would be that loose Tighter feel. A little bit more traditional in that pass. Hey. Great. Tight or

you're looking at something else.

They've also widened out the actual area in terms of that integration for your chest in particular by opening up that cuff a little bit more. Adding that flexibility with those elastic straps there as well is allowing that blocker to get nice and forward, really, you know, get that coverage that you're looking for.

Actually steer pucks as opposed to just letting it hit you like you do.

I hate it, man. Puck hits me as long as it dies, we're good. Okay. Last but not least.

Is this the VX 1 glove or the V 11?

VX one glove. Okay. V 11 by your standards. Okay. So staying very true to the V10.

You should have used that with the pads. That would have been a good pun.

Very punny of you. Good overall feel. 50 degree closure, 45 inch NHL legal perimeter off the top of my head. There we go. What has changed a little bit is the backhand strapping.

A new large, large thumb loop held on by this Velcro strap here.

So that that that goes to the internal thumb loop? Yeah. I like that.

It's great overall feel. I find it's a little bit more grabby, but, like, the closure is very natural right out of the box.

It is.

That's brand new.

Open super super well. Like, it feels like I'd I from a break in standard, I feel like this part would be easy, already done. Yep. But I'd need to do a little work to have it open for me and present

nice nice and big. All of that comes from them adding carbon into the actual T pocket of the glove itself.

And that's not a problem. That's part of the process. Right?

Exactly. Exactly. But that added carbon into the T also will help with that glove staying open and a little bit more rigid and durable over

there. Okay. So we put you on the spot here, Cam. Hi. We're fresh off our video on glove brakes and comparing them from different brands.

This this is okay. I'll agree with that. That's kind of fingertip to fingertip in terms of how

it still follows along the line of that kind of traditional feel, but Vaughn has brought it into the new age, especially with the V 10 of using that cuff together to create more of that one piece design that you find with most of the other gloves on the wall. You passed the test.

I hey. What's a shock shield, Cam?

What's a shock shield? That's integrating Kevlar into the actual palm of the glove itself, so that's helping with your stinger reduction.

See, I pledged also in 2025 to make you look good by asking you questions, putting you on the spot, knowing full well that your expertise runs so deep, you'd have every answer. You're not used to being complimented,

are you? Something nice about me.

Don't know. Shocker.

I've told you. It's a new it's a new Woody in 2025 and a new Vaughn Velocity. There you go. There's a spin off of those before. If you've got any questions about the new Velocity, how it varies from the V 10 model or previous models, especially if you're an older generation Vaughn user, Can you make this pad work for you if you're used to something a lot more flexible?

Call Cam and his crew at The Hockey Shop if you got any of those questions. If you wanna talk about customization and the options to do the ordering through Cam, where can they get you?

(604) 589-8299 or 1-800-567-7790.

And, of course, thehockeyshop.com.

Thanks, Kevin.

You said it's like Christmas every day there. So who's Santa in these segments, and who's the elf? Is is Cam Santa?

Yeah. Because he had a little too much Christmas cookies.

And you're the elf that just sits there making sure that he's he's good. I'm not helpful

between the lines. A Yeah.

He's the bad elf.

Yeah. I'm not a helpful elf. I'm definitely not a helpful

elf. Mischievous.

Exactly. I'm not even Buddy the elf. Like, I'm just I'm a problem.

Hey. Do you still get you're there all the time, and you guys are around Cam, you're around the staff, seeing the product on the shelves. And, Dave, I wonder, are are are you still excited every time you walk through the doors there?

Well, of course, because it what's new? There there's always something new. And this week, a whole bunch of stuff that I'd never seen before. I I promise you, as much as we get to do all this stuff, every single time I go in there, I see something new and I learn something new. And, of course, there's still the entertainment value of Cam and Woody hanging out together.

I still yeah. Hey. Listen. The Vaughn V1 X line, like, to me, that was that was one of those moments where, you know, there's a shift there, and you're getting to see something new. We go over the new, we'll have it next week, like the new True Diamond Glide.

Like they've got that on, like there's an True has a new surface on their PX5 line and we got to see that. I'd seen it the week before with Juuse Saros, I saw the symbol on his knee stack, and I didn't realize what it was. And so I'm actually and like an idiot, I didn't ask Juuse Saros, but there the next week, I'm in the hockey shop, and Cam's got the explanation, and I'm holding the pad, and we're checking it out and talking about it. So me too. I I love that Vaughn the glove, the closure on that v v one x glove was really nice.

So, yeah, I'm I'm still like a kid in a candy store, Daren. It's it's fun to get in there and try new gear.

Parent Playbook

That's the exciting part of our world of goaltending. The real life aspect that hit David Hutchison right between the eyes this week, and it's it's nothing anybody else hasn't been through. But let's get into the parent segment brought to you by Stop It Goaltending U the app. And and, Hutch, this was an emotional journey that you went through as we give Stop It Goaltending U the app some love.

Yeah. New daily primers out this week. They focus on planning. Remember, Stop It Goaltending U, the app. Every day, there's a new one minute quick hit video.

Just to give you something to think about as a goaltender on your path. This week, each one, every every one new day, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, quick hit on planning because we all know how important planning is as a goaltender. Just different thoughts to get you in that mindset. And then each week, new five minute and twenty minute videos. Five minutes this week is more of a power pump up.

They call it their pep tunes with Elvis Merzlikins. You watch this video of Merzlikins who, by the way, is playing really well quietly and under the radar this year for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He's had some unbelievable games. You watch this video. If you're not ready to run through a brick wall and stop pucks, there's something wrong with you.

And then twenty minutes this week, they're actually talking about the path to college hockey. Full twenty minute video breaking that down. I've even though it's not college hockey, I think there might be some tie ins here on what it's like life as from Hutch in the parent segment. Life as a junior hockey parent. Life as a junior hockey goalie.

They've got that covered on the college side over at the Stop It Goaltending U, the app. It's like this every week, folks. One minute quick preps, five minute video if you wanna watch it, twenty minutes when you've got more time. And let me tell you, there's enough in the archives to keep you if you wanna just dig in on goaltending to see it all. And, of course, every Stop It Goaltending U, the app membership comes with a membership to InGoal Magazine premium.

So between the two products, you can go down a rabbit hole and pretty much anything you need to know about goaltending, we'll have it covered. So make sure you get your membership to Stop It Goaltending U, the app, today.

We mentioned the USA Hockey Goaltending Coach certification program that we all participated in. Part one was Monday. Part two is tonight. This is Friday as we record this. And right in the middle of that, Hutch, you and your family were dealt some news that, is going to change your lives.

Yeah. We were sitting there enjoying the clinic and my phone buzzed and I got five words. I think I've been traded. That set up a whirlwind of activity, guys, that I'll I'll share today, at least from my perspective, because we all get excited as fans around the trade deadline. I don't think many parents fully think through what their junior hockey experience is going to be.

As minor hockey parents, we have lots of dreams for our kids. We want them to be happy. We want them to enjoy what they're doing. And year after year, you know, it involves tryouts. It involves hopes and dreams for performance for the kid and for the team.

And and inevitably, there's hopes even from a quite a young age, that you might get noticed by some junior league and that ultimate goal of playing junior hockey is somewhere down the road for for your child. Even though you might have dreams of a pro career for your kid, I I don't think many of us think past that minor hockey step, that routine that happens year after year after year. Junior hockey kinda feels like a destination even though we we do use that old cliche, the work has just begun when a kid does sign inevitably with a junior team. But for parents, let me tell you, the stress has just begun when your child starts playing junior hockey. And it's it's much more of a journey than I ever imagined.

Maybe it's a little easier if you're a parent of a projected first rounder in the NHL, but I'm guessing they have their own stresses as well. I've alluded to some of that stuff in the past, but I thought I'd share this week my story, of what we've been going through. Even though Matthew has sat through three trade deadlines before this year, he was lucky enough to be with his team during the trade deadline as a 15 year old, and he's now seen a couple of team captains traded away. We never really imagined it might apply to us. You imagine success.

You imagine winning championships with your kid's team, but you don't imagine the relationships ending. But this season, we had a feeling. Nothing was ever said. There weren't any heads up given from the team that he might get moved to the deadline. Maybe it's just my experience in the game that I knew something could happen and I felt something would happen.

I have a feeling a lot of families would have been blindsided by what happened this week, but they would inevitably probably look back and see some of the signs that we'd seen pretty clearly this year. I'm not gonna go into detail about any of those things really, except that before Christmas, the team had brought in another goaltender for a three game tryout, and it was made pretty clear to Matthew that his job was on the line. He survived that experience and started to play pretty well for the team. And then, Monday, he hopped on a bus for one of those typical junior hockey ten hour trips up to Prince George British Columbia. Shortly after he got to PG, he was summoned to see his coach.

And that's when that one line text message came in during our clinic. And guys, when it happened, my heart started racing. Fired notes off to you guys to let you know I was just disappearing for a little bit. I can't say it was an upset feeling, but there's that unknown aspect that sort of gets your heart racing and gets you worrying a little bit. As that happened, Matthew was given sort of a business like notification by his coach that he'd been traded and where, and he was thanked for his time with the team and they wished him well as you might expect.

And then that's when I got the next message. Moose Jaw for Smith. Call you later. And, and that was it. Because obviously, he had a whole lot of things that that he had to attend to.

And, but at least we had something to wrap our heads around. But guys, my wife, Matthew's mother, who is also a goaltender, had to leave at that moment to go play her game. Imagine Woody, because I know you like to get stressed when you're playing hockey, stepping onto the ice, you know your kid's been traded somewhere. You I think she at that time knew where, but hadn't had a chance to speak to him and she's got to play for an hour and a half, with her teammates without knowing what's going on. Yeah.

Pretty tough for her of of all people. It was sort of a whirlwind of activity for for Matthew and for us. And as I said, most of that is his story to tell, not mine. But it involved calls with his new team coach, calls with his new team GM, calls with his former goalie coach and his new goalie coach, quick call from his previous year's GM. Impressively, guys, these are kids.

He started getting messages from his new teammates welcoming him to the team. That's that's pretty cool and makes the experience a little bit easier. And very quickly, a plane ticket arrived in his phone because the very next morning, he's got to go meet his new team who are on the road, Moose Jaw Warriors. I don't know if I mentioned that. And that next morning, he's got to get up, get on a plane and head to meet his team on the road.

And much like those stories you've heard in the National Hockey League, he arrived at the rink thirty minutes before warm up and had to be dressed and backing up that night and ended up starting the very next night. Everything other than what he needed for a five day road trip with his old team was back in Vancouver, and he's half a country away with his new team. Finally, after about ninety minutes of of waiting here at home and mom well, mom's on the ice, I got a call from him and I got some of those details that I just shared. It was a mixture of emotions for him and and for us. Everybody's sort of shaken even though as I said it was expected.

There was some excitement because he's wanted. He's got a new team and new teammates who want to meet him and and optimistic about the opportunity that was ahead. Here's a tough part you probably didn't know. He had to phone his old billet family and let them know what had happened. And I can tell you having billeted before, that is not easy on the family.

I don't think it's something an 18 year old should have to do. Our first billet experience, we got really close with this, young goaltender in just a matter of a couple of weeks. And he had to come and tell us that he'd just been released by the team and was leaving. I know it was hard for him. It was heartbreaking for us.

I can only imagine what Maddie and his old Billet family have gone through in the last little while. It's a lot for an 18 year old. It's a lot for us adults. The journey is continuing. He's now, had his first start and made 48 saves and had a had a good experience.

He's in his new home. He's met his new family. It was an overnight bus trip, another typical junior experience guys. Finished his game, hops on the bus, travels overnight because they save money on hotels that way. And he arrived at the front door at a quarter to six in the morning to a new home, people waiting to meet him.

Pretty interesting experience. Here's another classy thing that happened. On the bus after the game, he got a text message from one of his new teammates. I'm thinking, a kid is texting you from the back of the bus. No, this is a new teammate who's injured, hadn't been on the road trip and just wanted to let him know that he'd watched the game, thought he played great and he's looking forward to meeting him.

Pretty classy young men to do that. We are now scrambling because all his things, as I said, are in Vancouver and he's half a country away from us. We're getting his car set up to handle a Saskatchewan winter that is quite unlike the one he experiences in Vancouver. I'm about to hop on in the car on a road trip across three provinces to get all his things to him. Another thing you might not have considered, his new team would certainly help to get his stuff packed up and shipped out to him in Saskatchewan.

But it's a seventeen hour drive away, so they're not super excited about him hopping on a plane and flying back and getting his things and then driving his car out himself. It's, you know, getting to a short part of the season here and he's gotta get on the ice with new teammates and figure out what the new team is doing. So that's what I'm gonna do. Look, we're really, happy, really thankful that he's so happy and that his team has been so welcoming to him. It's it's gonna be a different sort of grind because they're a last place team that's sort of looking to the future right now, but but he's in a really awesome place.

I just wanted to share that story today, boys, because it's nothing that we really imagined when he signed with the junior team. It's certainly nothing we imagined when he was coming up through the minor hockey ranks. You get nervous in September with a minor hockey organization because you'd like your kid to make the team that he wants to be on. You don't realize that you haven't made the team in junior hockey until January. It's basically a tryout from September through January because now that the trade deadline's passed, the rosters are more or less frozen as far as I know.

We knew all this was possible, but, but it's just something that I guess we hadn't fully prepared for. But today at least we're really optimistic about the fresh start that he's enjoying. How's mom? Yeah. Really good.

Like honestly, we're both really good, in in very much the same way. When you hear the happiness, when you see the smile on his face, when you chat, that's really all you could ask for as a parent. If he was miserable, if, the new team hadn't been so welcoming, if it was in a place he didn't really want to be, because you have no control over this. I guess the part I didn't mention that I should have guys is when he signed with his first team as a 15 year old, you get trade protection or at least he got trade protection up until he was out of high school. So we at least knew he wasn't going anywhere

until That's great. Yeah. Positive. Yeah.

Now, other stories we hear of in the National Hockey League where trade protection gets sort of pushed aside when you're told you're not wanted. I know we had teammates that were moved when the GM phoned families and just said, hey, we want to trade your kid and all of a sudden, you know, you're not wanted. So you probably just agree to the trade anyway. But yeah, we're all good. We're all good.

But like I said, I don't think everybody really imagines what it is that they're going through. If any parents want to know more about the experience or anybody wants more detail, if there is anything I'm able to share, parents@ingoalmag.com.

More importantly, did mom get the dub?

No. Woody? No.

She's like, it's exactly what you might imagine. It was a terrible start because she was all flustered. But it was a two one. It was a two one loss sadly. But hey, I'll take Yeah.

I'll take two in a in a tough game.

Yeah. Two in bit two in any type of, like, rec league is is impressive. I'm lucky to keep it under 10, so I consider that a dub even if it didn't go down as a dub.

There you go. Woody, that was that was so good. That was so Woody right there.

I'm all about the things I'm all about the things that matter.

I wanted to lie for her, but I cannot tell a lie.

All our best to Matthew. Pass along our support. He's in the cradle junior hockey right there in that Honestly, like Saskatchewan and and Canada. It's it's I think it's going to be a really cool experience for

him. It's going to be incredible to get a little bit of real Canadian culture. I'm not sure that the West Coast Of Canada is real Canadian culture. And, I'll tell you one of the most excited things for him was when he got to the new billet house and they said, hey, we've got we got a rink in the backyard. And he's dreamed his whole life of skating on an outdoor rink.

And he's thinking there's maybe a five by five sheet of ice in the backyard and he walked out there with me on FaceTime because he hadn't done this yet. And it is a full sized rink with boards, with chain link around the ends like we would have had in the fifties or sixties or whatever. And, wow. What what a cool slice of Canadian culture you're getting right there.

Priorities. Put skating on the backyard rink aside until you get the car there with the block heater. Make sure that block heater is ready to go to plug it in.

Right. Yeah. I think I

see the look

on Hutch's like, if you went to a mechanic in Vancouver and said, hey. I need a block heater. They'd be like, pardon?

I yeah. I've got some stories about how yesterday went went around block heaters, but this isn't a car podcast yet.

Alright. Awesome stuff. I'm excited to watch this, next step of the journey of Matthew Hutchison. A Vizual Edge, presents our ProReads, and Vizual Edge continues to guide goaltenders and hockey people through the interesting part of training your mind and your eyes.

Yep. Visual Edge, cognitive and visual training tool. We've been working with it. Over 50 goalies in the AHL and National Hockey League have been working with and including right up to guys like Cam Talbot who will tell you it his work coincided with the turnaround or sort of the late resurgence of his career in the National Hockey League. And I I think today is a good day.

We've talked a lot about all the different things it does. We've talked about the discounts, whether you're an InGoal member or not an InGoal member. You can find that on our ProReads each week. This week will be Joey Daccord. But also goalie coaches, if you're running camps.

I know now is the time of year in January where quite often you're planning your camps for the season. Well, we wanna make sure that you reach out to Vizual Edge because they've got some specific programs for you for goalie schools and goalie coaches. If you're interested in getting the platform into your organization that you coach with, whether it's your own private camps or maybe even you're coaching with a minor hockey organization or or right up to a team, maybe even in junior. Vizual Edge Edge has programs that can help you. So, make sure you check them out at at pretty simple, visualedge.com for all your needs in terms of seeing the puck better.

Perfect sponsor for ProReads. They're all about letting goalies and helping goalies see the game better, and ProReads is all about helping goalies read the game better.

And Vizual Edge is v I zed, not v I s.

Good call out, Daren, because I probably should have said that.

No. I because I've searched it. That's that's the reason why I know. I I've been down that path before. I still found it.

It if you Google it, you'll you'll still find it. It's just it makes it easier. Hutch, this is where you step in and go, you're both idiots.

No. I was just gonna say that zed z, last letter of the alphabet, Vizual Edge, the last word in vision training for your goaltender. It's perfect.

What do you guys say? I'd get a penny.

What's that?

What do you say? Zed or z? Zed.

Zed. Yeah.

One of my favorite musical groups is Zed Zed Top.

Zed's dead, honey. Zed's dead.

I can't believe it's been that long. Like, a long time since I've heard that. I actually really good or thought thought of ZZ Top and ZZ Top.

I actually have to credit that to a guy from Texas that I met who hadn't met many Canadians. He said, y'all talk about y'all like to listen to zed zed top up there or what?

I've seen zed zed top in concert. That's how old I am, boys. Wow. Yes. Yes.

Listen. Let's get back on track here. And who better to get us back on track than Joey Daccord with his ProReads this week? Joey's been so good to us over the years, and his insights that he shares so openly in ProReads every week are always valuable. This week, he gets into a really good conversation on skater slide on lateral plays from below the goal line.

And it's really interesting because I think, especially in this case, it's headed into the slot and around the hash marks. I think most of us are probably sliding on that.

Yes.

Coming off your post, are you coming across on your knees or are you coming up to your feet?

I think most people are moving on their knees both because it feels safer and quite frankly, not everybody reads the play quite so well and takes those little checks. So when you're uncertain, that's also something that people do.

Yeah. And there's another great part of this week's ProReads is the checks. Again, so key how often you look off the puck and when to do it. And Joey explains when and why he looks off the puck here, and that gives him the knowledge to come across on his skates in this one. He explains why, and you'll see why when you check out this week's ProReads at ingoalmag.com.

You'll see why he does, and you'll see how it pays off on this particular play. And you can pretty easily imagine what happens if he doesn't when you watch a video.

If you're watching highlights or you're watching a game and the director takes the camera that, in a lot of rings is mounted on the glass right behind the net, it's one of the favorites of our director of the Golden Knights telecast on Scripps Sports, Joel Myers. He loves just staying on that camera for an entire power play. Now not everybody will do that. But when you see highlights of that camera, you will be able to really take in how many checks a goaltender does from behind the goal line to the slot and the monitoring of what's going on in front of the net. It's a it's a pretty cool experience to see how active the goaltenders head it.

Does every every camera have that going at all times? Like, every broadcast have that camera angle as an option?

I would say probably nine times out of 10, the rink is equipped

by that. To see more of that. Goalies need to we need a goalie camera we can just tune into. And the NHL app used to allow you to pick which camera you watch through. I think it doesn't anymore.

It's it's not the overhead of, like, right right on top. It's on the glass.

Top the glass. It's the best goalie view you can get.

It's where moms and dads put the GoPro.

That's that's the view I want for ProReads. It's the view I want as a goaltender. So to your producer, Daren, he is the goalie's best friend. I love that he goes to that angle. It is the best one.

And, you know, young goalies out there. I know it's you can get it's you understand. Watch the puck. I get that. But really pay attention to the ProReads.

It's become a real recurring theme from these guys, and we're trying to get them to explain when and why they look off, but how often. If you're at an NHL game, you're lucky enough to get tickets to an NHL game because not everybody gets that camera angle, and by the time the camera angle shows the goalie, quite often, he's already done his looks on TV. Watch how often these guys look off the puck. Here in Vancouver, Kevin Lankinen, is so good at reading the game. And obviously him and Arturs Silovs early in the season were sort of competing for the job with Demko out.

And it was night and day between how many looks Kevin Lankinen intakes and how many young Archer She loves who's still learning the game at the NHL level, how often he looked off the puck. And to me, it was part of one of the separators between the two of them early this season. And so keep your eyes on it, folks. If you're a young goalie and you're blessed enough to go watch a live NHL game, watch how often the goalie looks off the puck. It is such an important part of reading the game.

We do have a tendency to be like, you know, watch the puck, watch the puck, watch the puck. Well, are times you really shouldn't be, and you don't give yourself your best chance if you do. And we use these ProReads and guys like Joey Daccord to help sort of spread that message, because reading the game is not always about just reading a shot, reading a release, or watching the puck quite often. It's processing what's going on off the puck and knowing when to do so. And hey, guess what?

Vizual Edge has it's called divergence folks, and they have drills for that. The ability to expand your peripheral to see further out and sort of not just be focused on the puck. Convergence is the puck coming at you. Divergence is the ability to look off of it, without moving your head, sort of have a broader scope, and they train both.

That is peripheral vision. Interesting. Put those two things together, and we'll get a a tip on this at one point. But, talking to one of our old billets about this and his goaltending coach was teaching him, you don't have to completely look at the puck because you have your peripheral. So you can sort of do a half head turn when things are a little bit busy, pick up what's happening a little further over in the peripheral, and then you can go back.

It has to doesn't have to be a a full on full on get my nose right on that guy on the backdoor. Use some of that divergence stuff.

Well, as Daren said, it is peripheral, Daren. Divergence is your ability to go from focused on one to pull away. Like, so the eye's ability to expand to the peripheral, that's the divergence of your vision. Convergence is its ability to come together, your eyes to come together as something's coming at you. And like

Those head checks monitoring really does show how engaged the goaltenders are in in the National Hockey League, how much they're monitoring and taking in even though the the puck is in a non scoring situation in the corner of the rink or or behind the back.

Feel like we should be doing the Mike Tyson neck training drills. Yeah. I I had a I had a skate this week where I That's one. Because of the Joey Daccord ProRead. Like, of course, I I edited and wrote up the Joey Daccord ProRead and had a skate shortly after.

And I'm like, I better really make sure I'm looking off the puck. And I ended up with a sore neck by the end of the day because I was trying to I was I was so consciously trying to do it. So I need to get on the Mike Tyson, like, neck program.

Feature Interview - Sandra Abstreiter

Feature interview brought to you by NHL Sense Arena. We've got a doubleheader of conversations to come this week. But, first up, what's happening over with the folks of NHL Sense Arena?

Well, you got a great deal if you want to grab Sense Arena. I think it's 44% off right now for an annual training plan. But I wanted to make the point that NHL Sense Arena is like having all the ice you want and a pile of private coaches helping you. They've got training plans galore including a bunch certified by USA Hockey. USA Hockey approved training plans, USA Hockey approved drills fits in beautifully with what we've been up to this week, folks.

You can face shooters, screens, power plays, even if you'd like NHL shooters if you want a real challenge, in NHL Sense Arena. And it's all wrapped up in an entertaining and challenging platform that you can use for hours on end, including on an outdoor rink, at least a virtual one if that's what you'd like to do. If you ask me guys, NHL Sense Arena beats anything that, the players who just go out on the rink and firepacks, are doing today to help you get better when you're at home. You know what? Actually, if your other kid's a player, they can get on Sense Arena too because NHL Sense Arena has a player's mode and you get, I think, four licenses when you buy NHL Sense Arena.

So child number one, a goaltender can be on the goalie program and child's number two and three who are players, they can get on the player version as well all just by buying an annual subscription to NHL Sense Arena today. So go grab it. Sensearena.com and use the code I g m 50 at checkout and you'll save even more.

Two interviews this week. Yes. Two of them. Both from the PWHL. I'm excited about

this. Yeah. PWHL was in town here in Vancouver, and so what a great chance for me to get down in the rink, watch a practice day, game day skate, and then a game. Very well received. Over 19,000 fans at the rink at Rogers Arena.

As an aside, more fans than the Canucks have drawn to any single game this season. So because the Canucks have only had one sellout, and this was a sellout plus. So great crowd, great atmosphere, great hockey, and a great chance to watch the goalies go to work, including Ann-Renee Desbiens, Kristen Campbell, who InGoal fans will know well. Obviously, Kristen Campbell has been a big part of some of the off ice training and on ice training that we've shared here over the past couple of years. Get to sort of convene with her in the summers and the work she does with some of the coaches we know in Kelowna.

But it was great to catch up with Ann-Renee Desbiens as well and just watch her work. It had been a few years since I'd seen her back with one of the team Canada USA tours. Man, she's good. Like, her her power and precision is so good. And then we longer chats.

We had a chance to catch up with a couple longer chats. I think we're gonna start with with Sandra Abstreiter from Montreal, Victor. And a fascinating story, maybe not a household name for everyone. Team Germany has had an incredible rise to this level, and she gets into what this level means when she talks about going back and and her teammates from Germany and all these incredible players that she plays with. Obviously, teammates like Marie-Philip Poulin scored one of the best goals I've ever seen during this game.

Like, so it it was incredible. So great chance to catch up with Sandra. You guys are not gonna believe when she started being a full time goalie, and now she's at the top of the game. So let's just let's just go to her for starters, and then we'll come back with Carly Jackson who we've had on before after she won a PHF championship. Great goalie, great character, great personality, and great speaker.

So we'll get to that one in a bit. But let's first let's start with Sandra Abstreiter. I wanna start by asking about, actually, the drill you guys were doing. About halfway through practice, two thirds, just the post play drill with each what do you like about that drill? What are your focal point?

I mean, I like doing the RVH drills honestly, like halfway through practice because then the hips are already warmer. Like, I think that makes it easier in that sense. To be honest, the RVH is not my favorite safe technique, would say, or, like, position. So I like to work on it a lot to, like, be able to, like, implement it into my game. So it's it's always good to to work on it.

And then, obviously, like, Anne uses it a lot more than me, for example. So, like, we talk about it a lot too. And then, obviously, just, like, using it practice, you know, like, practice on it a a a bunch will, like, that's the only way that I can, like, get better at at it.

And so is it relatively new to you?

Not necessarily new. I just, like, used to not yeah. I was just not using it as much. But the the goalie coaches here, like, they they like to keep an open mind. Like, they appreciate, like, the way I play, but they also want me to, like, try new things in in a way, and then that's why I'm, like, trying to, like, use it a little bit more than in the past, I would say.

Okay. So, let me talk to you about that. New goalie coaches, new voices, different teams, that process, what it's like. Advice maybe for other athletes that are going through the same thing. You know how it is with goalie coaches.

Right? Like, sometimes you can wanna please a new goalie coach because they decide who plays and stuff like that, but not every new idea is for you. How do you approach that?

I think it's really important to communicate with them a lot. And I think all three of us, we did it, like, right away. Like, in starting, like, in training camp, like, told me, like, they don't wanna change me for those two weeks of of, like, tryout in a way. And they would just, like, look at my game and, like, see how I would approach things. And then afterwards, like, when they selected me, like, that's when we started the conversation.

Okay. Like, these are a few things that we saw in your game that we think we that we can improve, like, if you try different things, for example. And then, obviously, like, I think it's overall, like, it's just very important to communicate with them a lot. And for me, it's, like, it's always good to give beef feedback and get feedback. So, like, that's been a a really important thing for me.

And I obviously also like to joke around with them a bit, and I feel like goalie coaches a lot of times on the teams, like, they're, like, a little bit of the jokesters in a way.

I noticed that out there today, actually, both of you.

Yeah. For sure. So just, like, keeping the relationship pretty loose and then, obviously, like, knowing when it's business at the same time. And think that's worked really well with me for me last year, but also this year. Just keeping an open mind to what everybody has to say and always try willing to be willing to try out new things.

Okay. So I wanna rewind a little bit and we're just gonna keep going. How'd you like, goalie for you in Germany. How'd you become a goalie? How'd you fall in love with the position?

We're going way back.

We're going way back. That's actually an interesting one for you. So I switched to goalie when I was 15, 16 years old. And it happened because I used to play boys hockey. Back home, it's not as as popular in Germany.

And Yeah. Our goalies used to actually be, like, pretty good. So a lot of times, they would, like, switch teams and go to, like, better teams. So then we basically just ran out of goalies at some point. And I used to so a few of my friends and I, like, we all had older brothers, so we had to wait for them, like, for practice.

And we would always play street hockey after our practice, and I always loved to go and net. So that's kind of how it started. And then as, like, our, like, old manager, like, youth manager, he just asked me, like, hey. Like, we don't have any goalies. Like, is there any chance you could switch to it?

And then I did both for a year, and then I made the full switch. And it's worked out for me, I guess.

Wow. Like, that's like, we've had some late, I was talking with we had Raygan Kirk on, and she didn't become a goalie till grade eight, and she had a scholarship by grade 11. But fifteen, six, like, that's pretty late. What was the process like to go from, hey. I'm gonna be a goalie now to being where you are now at the top top I mean, there's a lot of steps along the way, but early on, what was the process?

How much coaching did you get? How much were you just out there playing on instinct?

I think, like, a big thing for me, like, I I did have a lot of different goalie coaches to begin with. Like, even in the very first year, like, we never had a, like, a full time goalie coach and our, like, senior goalies, they would come out a bunch and, like, show us things. And then what I did a lot was watch YouTube videos. I loved those. Like, I always watched every, like, goalie practice that I could I could find, and I just tried, like, all the things that they would do.

Like, I I would notice, like, little things, like how they would hold their gloves. Then in the next practice, I would try that. Like, I think it it helped me a lot. I was just very motivated. It was, like, a new challenge for me in a way.

And and I really like to prove people wrong, obviously, because, I mean, as you can probably imagine, like, there was a few people that were, like, don't do it. Like, it's a really late switch. And I I just enjoyed, like, the challenge and and in a way, it motivated me to just, like, prove everybody else wrong.

What do you love about the position now? Like, to stick in stick with it for now, like, eleven years and and to get to this level, there must be something about the position that that you like.

I think it's it's fun to be, like, that one, like, other purse like, in a way, other person. Like, I don't wanna say the cliche of, like, you can be the hero of the game, but you can obviously also be, like, the one person that's like, if you make a mistake, like, everybody else is like Yeah. Goes down with you kind of thing. I just like to, you know, like, give my team, like, a little bit of, like, calmness, and I think that's really, like, easy to do as a goalie. Like and especially on the national team, I've heard it a lot.

Like, the girls have been saying to me, like, when you're on net, like, we can just, like, know we can rely on you. And so I guess in a way, like, obviously, that's a big role for for all goalies, but I think just, like, embracing that part.

Okay. So national stage, you've been on massive stages before. Advice for other goalies. Like, obviously, stopping the puck is a big part of inspiring your teammates, but are there ways in big moments and big games to calm teammates down as a goalie to have that like, when when we hear a goalie has that calming presence, what in your mind do you do to bring that to a team?

I just like to remind myself that I'm not there for no reason. Like, I've put all the work in before. Like, there's don't need to do anything differently than I have before. Like, in those moments, like, you've earned your spot. There's no need to be, like, freaking out about little things.

Like, you know how to do it. You you do it, like, day in and day out. And, obviously, like, the biggest part is just just have fun with it. And I I like to say it sounds a little bit silly, but I like to say it's not that deep. At the end of the day, it's just hockey.

It's not our whole life. So, like, we all do it because we love it, and I think that's, like, the really important thing for me.

Is that important to be able to sort of have that separation to not take it to as much as it is now your profession, to not take it too seriously, to not be consumed by it?

I think for me personally, yes. A 100%. I like

because everybody's different a little Yeah.

For sure. And I and I'm sure if you ask other people, like, they will give you a different answer. But I think for me, it's just like helps to balance it out. Like, I like to enjoy other things in life. Like I said, there's not only hockey and there's always a life after hockey too.

And I'm sure, like, hockey will always be like in my life for like, for my whole entire life in some sense. But still, like, there's still still still other joys, outside of it, obviously.

And I'm sure, like, hockey will always be like in my life for like, for my whole entire life in some sense. But still, like, there's still still still other joys, outside of it, obviously.

So those early years, watching practices, watching YouTube, teaching yourself, were there any favorites? Were there any things that in, like, goalies that you really liked watching that you started to emulate? Who were some of the some of the goalie?

Well, the easy one is Carey Price. There's obviously a lot of videos on him actually because he used to, like, try new things, like, try things differently than goalies have done it before. So I like to watch his his stuff a lot, but I also loved watching. And I honestly can't name it right now, but I love to watch, like, not the highest level goalies, like, because I feel like they were more relatable in that sense, like, when I started. So I like that a lot.

I love that. As that transition from from there to national teams and then the decision to come over to North America, Was there a year before school, if I was reading it correctly? Walk me through that decision, what inspired it, and how what changed for you there, not just in terms of environment and new culture and all those things, but as a goalie, did technically, what you're being taught, did that change when you when you came over?

Well, the decision was that, honestly, somehow, I've always just wanted to play in college. Like, I knew that

That was part of the goal? Yeah. Like, even when you were before you were a goalie?

Not so much, would say. I don't know. I don't honestly remember, like, when that thought came up.

I'm asking you to go back quite a bit.

Yeah. But, like, I just, like, figured that from seeing, like, all the international games, like, they must be doing something differently in The States and in Canada. So and then I started to look more into it, and I've I've found out that you can play in college. And, like, at that point, that was the highest level for, like, that age, obviously. So then after graduation from after graduating from high school, I just did a camp in Canada, and that's kind of how I, like like, my old college, Providence College, like, they found me, like, for the very first time, and they were like yeah.

Because we played in Beantown, actually. And so that's how they first, like, contacted me, and they said, like, to kinda stick around and that's how I, like, I decided, within two weeks, like, in the summer to, like, go to Canada for the year. And then, like you said, it's, like, a big cultural, like, difference, like, to play on the smaller ice, like, it was a little bit faster, like, learning the language. Like, there were so many little things that just helped me prepare for college. Obviously, like, the goalie part of it too, like, we had really good coaches.

We had a good goalie coach that year as well, and it was also, like, the first time where I was kinda, like, challenged where I didn't play every single game because before when I switched, like I said, we didn't have a lot of goalies, so then I was needed. And then so that year it was like, k, we have three goalies, you're all gonna play. So then that was the beginning of that in a way of you have to prove yourself every day to be, like, to be the goalie that's gonna end up being in the net for the games. So that's, like, that's all, like, the little things that I can think of that it helps you with.

Any advice, like, from from going through that experience? Because that's different. You get to different levels and all of a sudden, you know, maybe you're playing all the time and then you're not playing. How'd you handle it to not get wrapped up in it when you weren't like, I a lot of people say control the controllables, but it's usually easier said than done. How'd you get to that point?

Absolutely. I think, like, that year, it was fine. I was just having fun with it. It was just, like, so many new things. And honestly, in college, like, that's when when I struggled with it a little bit more at first.

Like, my first year, I did a wretched year, so I didn't play at all. And that's a whole season. So then you have to learn how to, like, use the practices as your game. Like, you're always gonna play, like, a mini game at the end of the day or, like, you're gonna play a scrimmage at some point. So, like, you just have to, like, be all in for those and, like, literally use those as your games.

And, I mean, right now, it like, so far in the in in the season, like, that's where I am too in a way. And and last year, like, I didn't play that many games, but then, like, you have to find a balance of, like, still being ready in case you need it. So it's, like, as cliche as it sounds just using every every practice as your game.

Even a rebound game at the end of practice. I noticed how much fun you seem to be having that one.

I love the rebound game. It's it's fun to, like, frustrate frustrate the the players. Players. They They always always wanna wanna play it again, and I feel like most times the goalies win, but the the players love it too.

It's funny because I I I guess maybe I didn't think of it as a game that the goalies I think of it as a game that's really hard on goalies, and yet both you and Ann-Renu00e9e really embraced it.

Yeah. Absolutely. I don't I think it's fun. Like, that's, like, the fun part. Like, the the the players, like, they're laughing, and you can just, like, kinda chirp them.

They will chirp you. I don't know if you saw our goalie coach. Like, he was slashing my six, so I dropped them.

Yeah. I hope that one didn't count.

I don't think they counted it though. But yeah, I think that's the fun parts. And even in between reps, I like to cheer for the other two goalies when they make a nice save. Then also, like, if somebody scores a nice goal on me, like, I'll be like, that was a nice shot. Like, I think it's just, like, appreciating appreciating everybody and, like, everybody is obviously very good and here for a reason.

So it's really fun, though.

You've got some of the best play arguably the best player in the world shooting on you in practice. So how does that how do you approach that and make sure it's raising your game and not getting frustrated at times? Because, like, let's face it, practice, players get time and space, they never get in games. Right? It can be tough.

Yeah. I think, again, just like enjoying it. And in a way, it's like, it's still not real to me. Like, it's the the moments when I realized it, it was like last year at Worlds, for example, and I'm sure it'll be the same this year. Like, my teammates from Germany, like like, we've always looked up to, like, the Canadian and American players, and now I'm like, I walk by them in the hallway and they say, hey, Sandy.

What's up? And and, like, my teammates from Germany, they're, like, jealous. I don't know. Like, so excited for me. And, like so, like, that's when I kinda, like, realized it, but, like, hear, like, everybody treats each treats each other the same and it's not like anybody would be like, I'm better than you.

Like, we're all in the same level. And like I said, we all respect each other. We're all, like, appreciating each other for for our hard work that we've put in so far.

Last one. From college to here, what's what have you had to adjust? You said you're working on reverse VH, adding it a little more. What are some of the things that you've had to evolve in your game at this level?

One that I've been noticing a lot this year actually is not to play as aggressively. I feel like a lot of times we were told to be on top of our crease and just, like, challenge the players in a way, but I've noticed that, like, especially now, like, the passes are faster, like, the players are faster, the shots are harder, like, all those, like, slides from left to right and such. Like, it's a lot faster, so you have to be, like, able to get over. And if you're playing, like, on top of your crease, you're not gonna get there fast enough. Even if you're the fastest fastest goal in the league, you're probably gonna be too far out.

One that I've been noticing a lot this year actually is not to play as aggressively. I feel like a lot of times we were told to be on top of our crease and just, like, challenge the players in a way, but I've noticed that, like, especially now, like, the passes are faster, like, the players are faster, the shots are harder, like, all those, like, slides from left to right and such. Like, it's a lot faster, so you have to be, like, able to get over. And if you're playing, like, on top of your crease, you're not gonna get there fast enough. Even if you're the fastest fastest goal in the league, you're probably gonna be too far out.

So that was a big one that I've learned this year, actually.

I love it. Hunter, this has been fantastic. I can't thank you enough. I've taken up more time than I said I would, but I really enjoyed this. Thank you.

Of course. No no problem at all.

I love the street cred she gets for playing in the PWHL.

Yeah. We kind of forget. Like, it really is. It's a 6 team league at this point, and that is cream of the crop at every position on every team. Like, it's it's elite, elite hockey.

And so, yeah, it kinda cool. You know? It'd be like when Daren Millard goes back home and they're like, you got to stop shots from Jack Eichel. She gets she gets that from, you know, from her from her teammates on the national team when she goes home. And how about starting how about starting goalie and and the history behind it?

But starting at age 15 and learning off of YouTube clips and, you know, and to be now at 26, part of the three goalies that are on the Montreal Victoire and, you know, still continuing to learn and get better. It was fun to watch her go to work with the goalie coach and Ann-Renee Desbiens and Elaine Chuli, who we talked about we talked to for a drill that will have it in goalmag.com. Like, just it's a remarkable story. Her energy was contagious. The conversation was fantastic, and I appreciated her time.

Feature Interview 2 - Carly Jackson

Now we get to Carly. It's good to catch up with Carly Jackson.

Yeah. Of course, we had her on with Elaine and ironic with Elaine Chuli, who was her team teammate in Toronto, the Toronto six, the Last PHF Championship. So it's been about a year and a half since we we caught almost two years now since we caught up with her. And just a chance to sort of reconvene in on on her journey. Because you know what happens?

You change teams, you get new coaches, you get new voices, and I think it's really important to listen to her stress new playing partners and how you can learn from your fellow goalies. You add that all together, and she's got a really great conversation or part of this conversation where she gets into the evolution of her stance and how she's changed her game with these new voices and these new teammates and how she's better for it. I think it's it's probably a conversation a lot of goalies are having with their coaches because we hear it a lot, but she, as only she can do, digs into it in a way that explains it and what it's like going through it at another level. So another fantastic conversation with Carly Jackson. So it's been a couple of years, Carly, since we've talked to you.

Guess, yeah, it's almost two, year and a half, second season of the PWHL. I mean, the natural question is just to ask about the steps that you've seen this league take and not so much the differences, but, you know, where those steps are. What what's changed for you as a goaltender, as a professional athlete in this league? Mhmm. I

think the biggest thing is, like, is recognizing how many people put time, love, effort into building what we see now on such a large stage. Right? Like, I've I've experienced some of it but there's this has been going on for years, right? Like, women's hockey has been growing for years and years and and beyond my lifetime truly. But now, it's it's such a gift to be a part of the product that has the full support that it finally deserves and we have it every day.

think the biggest thing is, like, is recognizing how many people put time, love, effort into building what we see now on such a large stage. Right? Like, I've I've experienced some of it but there's this has been going on for years, right? Like, women's hockey has been growing for years and years and and beyond my lifetime truly. But now, it's it's such a gift to be a part of the product that has the full support that it finally deserves and we have it every day.

Right? Like, we have the support from a practice day to a travel day to a game day and and the product is astounding. You see the, you know, the huge lights, the huge barns are set. We sold out this rink, you know, like, it's it's incredible. But also recognizing what it took to get there, it was a lot a lot of steps and a lot of people who who put that weight on their shoulders, and and I feel very fortunate to be in the right place in the right time and that I get to be one of the ones who get to experience this is is a great gift.

Some of that behind the scenes, how does it manifest itself? Full time support staff, you know, some of the things that maybe weren't always there before. Goalie coach, I know there's not one with you right now, but that's probably just circumstantial.

I mean, the food's a big one. And the food. And the food, we get fed a lot, which is great. Every every practice day, we're getting at least two meals a day, so, that's that's pretty good for us. But, yeah, you're getting a plethora of resources. Right? It's not just, you know, one thing. You're getting access to a full time goalie coach. Sometimes two, you're getting, you know, treatment.

Like, we have an AT, a PT, an RMT. And if you need someone else, like, they're gonna help you find that support. Just the buckets are full, and we're able to take from those buckets and refill our own. And so you're not just seeing it from players having the full resources as well, it's also the staff. And that just bleeds into everything in terms of culture, in terms of every single team, every single game, the league itself.

It's like you have people that are pouring a 100% back into this league and that wasn't the truth before where we were all spread out between either another job or other things where you had to support yourself some other way. But now we all have the support and we're able to pour ourselves back into the game.

Professional in every sense of the word.

Yes. Professional in every sense of the word.

Okay. So let's get into the goalie geek stuff. Okay? Goalie coaching. Mhmm.

Kirkwood? Yes. Fogal now as well as I understand this year. So two different voices. This is a question that people experience at every level as young goalies coming up, new voices, new coaches, new ideas. How do you embrace the new without losing the roots of who you are as a goaltender as you go through that process?

Mhmm. I just think it's it's having the mentality of being a sponge. Right? Like, you you learn so much as a person, but specifically about goal tending, you're gonna learn all these different triggers and cues and techniques that that work for you. And I think it's your your job as a student of the game to to be present when you're being taught.

Right? Because it's a privilege to have that resource because not all most goalies don't have goalie coaches. Right? So whether you agree, disagree, or you have any type of feelings, it's important and it's your responsibility to to take as much as you can from that because it's a privilege to have. So I think it's it's different voices, different people.

That's the fun part of it because everybody has their own story and something to bring to the table. So, you know, we have we have both Brads. We have Brad Kirkwood, Brad Fogal, and they both have different communication styles. Some things they preach the same, sometimes they have their own quirks, but it's all about giving it giving it the genuine attention that it deserves. And if it works for me, that's fantastic.

If it doesn't, it now turns into a discussion, and then you can approach that in a really professional way to figure out what works for for my game. But that's that's learning. Right? It's you gotta give it the respect it deserves, and then you work with that to mold it into who you are.

Can you give me an example or two?

I think a big one is something that I worked on last season with Kirkwood and and have really developed into this year has been narrowing up my stance and developing almost a rhythm to the game where I'm not always in a completely set stance when I'm moving around my crease for, you know, say you're on a PK and you're out there for they're in your zone for a minute where I'm set and I'm getting lower and lower and I'm I'm trying to just stay low.

That's a lot of work. It's a lot of work. And I found that I was getting small. Like, I'm not a huge goalie. I'm five five. So we kind of reconfigured my brain, and now I think of it as movement as more of a rhythmic dance.

Right? Like, I'm in my tall stance moving around the crease, and when I have threats, that's when I'm in a lower stance. So instead of getting lower, lower, lower, I may be up, still prepared to adjust if I need to, but I'm moving my moving my way around and say if like, find a rush play is the best way to explain it. If someone's entering the zone, I'm tall. I'm tall, tall, tall.

As they approach me, and they either look like a threat to shoot or a threat to pass. Let's say they're coming in as a threat to shoot. It's like, I'm tall, tall, tall. As soon as I see that trigger, boom, set, fraction of a second before they shoot, and then boom, right into it. It's it's almost the way that I see it in my brain is almost like a baseball player.

If you've ever seen them do their pre pitch dance or stance or however they call it, they do that little movement movement movement Yeah. Jump, set, and then they move. Right? To wherever they need to go. Sometimes most times, they don't move at all.

I picture that in terms of how I do my goalie stance. So that was the thing that we had to work on. Because at first, didn't quite understand, but when I found a way to see it, in a way that I understood, which was baseball, then it clicked in my brain and now it's completely adjusting my game. I'm much bigger even in my video, you know, I'm I'm talking with Kirkwood, and I'm saying, I'm like, oh my god, dude. It looks like I hit goalie puberty.

I look huge, which is awesome.

That adjustment to a high standard, we've seen that. Like, even at the NHL level, guys adjusting that. And for them, it's about narrow Mhmm. Which makes you more power you've got more extension, more ability to push legs underneath you. It's not easy, though.

Because you can feel like you're a long way from the ice. And how'd you get through that threshold of feeling comfortable being up and tall and narrow when you were used to being a little more locked in?

Mhmm. I think I had let go of my ego a little bit. Right? Because the first time I'm trying to end is I'm feeling too tall. I feel like I can't get down.

My knees feel like they're touching and my feet are like, I feel like a pencil and, you know, I'm getting

The back off old school.

Yeah. Yeah. I'm almost feeling like a stand up goalie and and, know, and I'm getting scored on. I'm like, oh my god. This is so frustrating.

But but letting go of the results and focusing on why the process matters to me. So ultimately, it's a it's a switch in my head, right, where I'm like, okay, I wanna be a better goalie. This is how I do this. I need to be uncomfortable. I need to learn something new, and I need to put myself in a space of learning and and patience with myself to learn this technique to now make my game better now.

So, yes, I still use the low stance from time to time when I need it, but it's not my go to all the time. It's developing other tools to use within my own game to ultimately make me a better goalie and to be able to compete at the pro level.

I love this, by the way. Making adjustments like that when you're facing the best shooters in the world as you are in this league, in a practice environment where they probably have a lot more time and space than they would in a game, that's also a challenge. You have to give yourself some grace as you're adjusting your game and and try not to focus as hard as it is on the results in a practice session as at least early on in that transition.

Yes. Big time. I think you need to be process focused, particularly in practice. Games are another story where hopefully things are coming automatic at that point. But particularly in practice, you need to give yourself some grace.

When shooters do have time and space and they can pick corners and there's no defender and they have no pressure and and whatever. But if you're making saves like that, then games come so much easier.

Anybody else that you work with, like, since we last talked to you? Any evolutions in your game and your approach? I mean, I I I can think of one. You might have you might have met a friend of ours last night who introduced some new things to you off the ice and mister James Wendland. So I know you're kind of, like you said, sponge looking for new things.

What was that experience like working with James and Goggles and off ice balancing and drills for the first time?

Oh, it was fantastic this morning. I got to work with James and and just pick his brain and it was really fun because I have a I have an AT background. So I'm actually certified in The US as as an athletic trainer. So we got to talk a lot about anatomy and and and just how the body works. So he's he's just one of those people that when you finish speaking with him, you feel like you've absorbed some of his intelligence.

And I loved just everything he was talking about with body awareness and balance and and, you know, when you when you get to a certain point and and how to how to elevate your game outside of the things that you know. So I feel like by speaking to him, I've now developed a new pathway of understanding of of, you know, how my body moves, how I feel with him on skates, edge work, and he's given me some drills to kind of play around with that I'm really looking forward to digging into, because I was just learning from him. Like, for I had a conversation with him for two hours this morning, and we were just going back and forth, and I just want to soak up as much as possible from this dude. But it was really wicked because he just thinks about the game in a different way than I do. So to understand that now, I'm like, oh my gosh.

All these things I didn't even know I didn't know, that can help me be a better athlete, a better a better student, a better person. So it was it was really fun to learn from him today.

It's funny. One line in there, he just said, to know what you don't know. Mitch Corn always used to use that with us. Like, you don't know what you don't know. It's one of my favorite parts of this position is I feel like there's always something new I'm learning.

Is that and it feels like you might be the same way. Anybody else or any other things that you've expanded in the last couple of years where it's like, jeez, I'm glad I found this or I I didn't think of things in this in this light and I do now?

I think one of the biggest resources and I would recommend to any goalies listening is your goalie partners. They're people that you see every day and kind of similarly, like, they think about the game in their own way. They have their own story, their own experiences, and and a lot of them are probably very similar to yours. But to to teach each other, right, to be students of each other, I think, is a really valuable tool. And I think the last time we spoke, you know, I my goalie partner was only Julie.

I think one of the biggest resources and I would recommend to any goalies listening is your goalie partners. They're people that you see every day and kind of similarly, like, they think about the game in their own way. They have their own story, their own experiences, and and a lot of them are probably very similar to yours. But to to teach each other, right, to be students of each other, I think, is a really valuable tool. And I think the last time we spoke, you know, I my goalie partner was only Julie.

And, you know, we always It's

funny to see her on the other end now.

This Yeah. Is And and it's so fun when we catch up. Right? We're comparing notes of, oh, dude, what have you been working on? Or or what have you been talking about with your goalie coach?

Have you guys talked about this? Oh, yeah. My god. It's so annoying to work on this, but it's helping a lot. And so to be able to balance off your peers, I think, is one of the greatest assets any at any level.

Can you give me an example, like, something you picked up from Soupy or from Reagan over the past, like, this year, last year?

Yeah. Like, one thing I I've been really noticing off, Kirky because I hadn't seen her play that much before until until she came to this club, and she's so she has such a large chest and shoulders. And she just finds ways to find pucks to track them almost like I mean, to track them essentially right into her her body. And, she always looks so big. And I think she's I think she might be a little bit shorter than Soupy, but she looks the same size.

And I'm like, oh, that's cool, man. So then now, you know, talking to her about her game and and her calmness and, is a cool thing to learn from. Right? It's these professionals that you get to work with at at all levels. But, I mean, being here in in part of this club, it's it's a really excellent resource that's right in front of you every day.

I'm so excited for you because I can feel the excitement as you talk about this experience. What's been the best part? Like, do you are you also getting to see how much of an impact you're having when you come and barnstorm and do things like Vancouver and it's sold out with 19,000 people coming? Are you getting to see an impact that you guys are making on the next generation?

Yeah. I think two big things that I love about this this job is, one, is my friends. Think I that's one of the most valuable things that I that I get to experience is to do all this with people that love the game as much as I do and and we get to do it together every day. My career has almost ended a few times now and something that I always remember in those moments is like the people that you've met and the relationships that you've built and I know that say that but it really is the most important thing and and we're lucky that we have the game that brings us together to do it. So that's that would be my personal answer. But then on the bigger level, I think the really special thing is getting to connect with people that you don't even know that you've impacted. Similarly, it's that you understand things you didn't even know to understand.

And so I I get to meet people when we go to things like this or even over social media or at our home games, away games, and and they'll come up to me and I mean, this is more of a common thing where if someone will come up to me with a mullet and they'll say, hey, man. I got a mullet too and I love it and I just I feel so good about it. I'm like, yes. You deserve it. You know?

And that, to me, that impact is is so important and now that there's there's people growing up that won't ever know any different from professional women's sports and that it is an amazing product and it's an amazing environment in the rink. It's growing into its own thing and it's a really special thing to be a part of from, you know, getting to be part of a team, but also being someone who's in the stands. And I think that's probably something that we're all really, really proud of every day.

Thanks.

My pleasure. Thank you so much.

Outro

You know, it's the second time in the last thirty six hours where I've heard somebody talk about changing their stance. Eric Comrie was discussing it because of the the work that he's done with our good friend in BC, works with Connor Hellebuyck as well, and the different core work in Adam Francilla Yeah. Yeah. And and adjusting his stance.

So this this appears to be somewhat of a trend right now, at least in in my world in the last few hours.

Well, if you think about it and and this and this CJ, I I kept calling her because we need everyone to but everyone else just calls her CJ. CJ explained. Like like, it is it's a big change, but it's a foundational change. You think of how you hold yourself in your posture, whether it's whether it's just narrowing up your stance or in the case of Cam Murray, how you engage your core and activate your, you know, neutral pelvis and all those different elements. I think they call it pelvic tilt with Adam Francilla.

Yes.

All those elements, like that, that's your foundation. Like every movement you make, whether it's dropping to the ice in a save, CJ talks about how much further you are from the ice when you're standing up taller and getting comfortable with that, to every push you make. You're engaging muscles at a different range and in different spot depending on how you start with your stance. So we talk about skating being a foundational piece of the game and obviously it's important at a young age, but how you stand fuels a lot of that as well.

Pelvic tilt. Do you wanna be higher, or do you wanna be lower? Like, there's always

I don't think it's a higher low thing with the pelvic tilt. Like, I think it's a it's sort of a it's a to explain.

You higher if if you if you tilt it up straighter, are you not higher? Tucking it

under It's tucking your pelvis sort of under your core. And it's like a new having a neutral pelvis. Now, inherently, part of this, I do believe, and and I should be careful here. I don't wanna actually, I saw Adam because he was down to work with Kristen, see Kristen Campbell as part of the PWHL thing. So we just bring him up right now and ask him to explain up in further, but go check his podcast with us because he gets into this.

I do think inherently it will narrow your stance somewhat. And then and if you're narrowing your stance, you're getting higher off the ice.

I need a refresher on that because it did fascinate me. I went down a rabbit hole with that.

You and Cam Matwiv, I I can picture you too. Was this in the locker room? Just?

No. I I heard an interview him talking about it.

And it wasn't with us?

And he was very it it wasn't with us. He was on NHL network that's in The States. And he went down that

path too.

With Corey Schneider. So it was it was an interesting discussion that I heard. And and and Adam Francilla came up, and I'm like, I know that guy. And then I connected the dots and brought it back to you guys. Thanks for doing this today.

You guys had to adjust some schedules. I appreciate it. Hutch, we're with you all the way.

It's all fun.

Not something that again, not something that a lot of other people haven't dealt with, but when it's personal, it's personal. Right? And

Hey. Hey. Hold on. Hold on, Daren. I'm with him all the way, but not all the way in a car ride to Saskatchewan.

Let's just make that clear.

Others have volunteered, Woody. Others have I guess I have closer friends. That's all.

Taking Daren up on his offer to go see go see him in Vegas before I'm driving to Moose Jaw.

The Jaw. I think Daren would go with me if he was living nearby here because he loves the prairies.

Love it.

I love the

prairies. And and just think as soon as you get through the Rockies, you don't have to turn again. We got we got a

we got a text message. It was just a picture as he was driving to Lethbridge to meet the team and it just said, I think somebody forgot to put the trees here.

You you can see for a long time. Yeah. But it's it it it can be beautiful. Blowing snow, everything. But it I'm ex I'm really excited for him to experience junior hockey at such a level of love and fascination and dedication that Oh, yeah.

The Prairies offer.

It's gonna be awesome.

Good job, guys. Have a great weekend. We'll talk to you next weekend. Everybody, be safe. We can't wait to tell everybody about the second installment of The USA goalie coaching, certification program, the bronze level, that we're completing this weekend, and we'll have an update on that next week on InGoal Radio, the podcast.