InGoal Radio Episode 296 Utah HC Goalie Jaxson Stauber

Intro

Famous last words. It's InGoal Radio, the podcast presented by The Hockey Shop Source for Sports Langley, thehockeyshop.com. Daren Millard with Kevin Woodley today. David Hutchison is on assignment. Famous last words.

What was the last thing you said to me before we pressed record?

I think I can pull this off. That that that's the t shirt for today's episode between the

two of us without our dad Hutch here.

We might be in trouble, buddy. We might be in trouble. Nobody to keep us on the rails. This thing might go seven hours or it might go seventeen seconds. No.

It'll go it'll go seventeen hours, but the usable parts might only be seventeen seconds.

Right now, Hutch is listening back to this ready to edit any sweating profusely. Like he just went through a triple ice time.

Don't worry, Hutch, as you listen to this. Me and Daren both have other things we have to do soon, so we can't be on for seventeen actual hours together. Unless we pause it and come back to finish, which could be the case.

It's possible. We we are inside of a month ago before the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and I I find it interesting that the Vezina trophy favorite is playing for one of the top two teams in the National Hockey League chasing a President's Trophy in Connor Hellebuyck, and the next best guy might not even make the playoffs. Can you explain Igor Shesterkin's brilliance even though he's not in a postseason position right now.

Well, I don't know about next best guy because there's a handful right around that territory, but certainly in that list and not many people would, looking at the raw numbers, include him, but I would. Igor Shesterkin is third in the NHL according to Clear Sight Analytics in goals saved above expected. So what are goals saved above expected? It's basically his performance relative to environment in totality. So with all the shots he faced, what's an average NHL goaltender expected to save, and how much more has he saved?

Obviously, if you end up on the negative side of that, it it means that you've been worse than your environment. But Shesterkin is at 17.82 goals saved above expected. Logan Thompson leads the league at 21.34. And as a matter of fact, right now, Igor is actually three goals clear of Connor Hellebuyck, who is the presumptive Vezina trophy favorite and fully deserving of it. He leads every category in the raw numbers.

How does that happen, you might ask? Well, it's a little thing we call shot quality and not Hellebuyck's fault at all. I think, in fact, part of the reason the Winnipeg Jets defend so well is because of their faith in him and how the interplay between his performance, their trust in it, and their belief that if they execute their system the way they do, he will come up with all the saves and more. But he's got one of the higher expected save percentage at nine zero three. Igor Shesterkin, .884.

That is 19 points difference in environment. So to look at the nhl.com stats and the save percentage, the raw numbers that we all see on all the sites, you are comparing apples to oranges. And to make it closer to apples to apples, and it's not exact. It it's a matter of fact, it's a big oversimplification in my on my part. But in simplest terms, if you wanna know what Igor Shesterkin's numbers would be like in Hellebuyck's environment, add 19 points to his numbers at nhl.com.

And now you've got at least a more fair comparison. Again, probably discrediting Hellebuyck a little bit by doing it that way, but trying to show people or explain to people what a difference an environment makes. Anybody that's watched the New York Rangers knows they have not been good defensively this year. It has been a lot of Igor Shesterkin sort of saving their butts, frankly. So I was actually on a podcast recently where they asked me, like, sort of what's wrong with Igor?

I'm like, nothing. He's he's been really good, and you're right, Daren. He might not even be in the playoffs, and he's one of those guys that has the ability to single handedly change a series.

How do you, as somebody that's really engaged in all the analytics, evaluate a season by Connor Hellebuyck, by Logan Thompson? They are going to finish one two in the overall standings with their teams and are expected to finish one two in Vezina trophy. They've been the conversation all year. And then compare that to Igor Shesterkin.

It's really hard to do. Right? Like, it is really hard to do. Essentially, the numbers I have access to through Clear Sight Analytics help us to balance their workload a little bit. You do

You don't wanna just go on the numbers. Right? There's gotta be an eye test there somewhere.

Yeah. But, like, it's kind of impossible. You could watch every game of both teams, and there's, like, there's no way for anyone to quantify the app how much apples to oranges it is from one team to the next without the numbers. Like, I I just I don't care if you're a goalie expert and you watch every single game of all teams. Like, it's really hard to do, and that's why we lean on the numbers.

Now in terms of overall, like, Connor Hellebuyck's having a season, you know, where he he could lead every major category in the National Hockey League. Like, he'll win the Vezina Trophy and is fully deserving of it, full stop. Like I said, like, a big part of what Winnipeg is able to do is because of the buy in and belief that those players and the coaches have in Connor Hellebuyck's abilities and that if they do things this way, they're gonna have a chance to win every night with him in the net. But that that doesn't mean that you discount his performance. It doesn't mean you discount Igor's.

I'm just trying to give you some balance on all of those things. Is Hellebuyck being below some of those other guys in the adjusted numbers enough to take away the Vezina trophy when he leads every single category in the the raw numbers? No. Like I said, I'm not arguing for him not to win it. I think he's fully deserving of a a third Vezina trophy.

He's well on his way to the Hall of Fame. One of the best goalies in the league. He's arguably the best goalie in the league. I just think that the context at least lets us put guys like Igor Shesterkin and Dustin Wolf, frankly, into the conversation, whereas if we look at the raw numbers, maybe that's not the case. The other part that you have to consider here, and maybe this is into the Logan Thompson debate because his adjusted numbers he leads the league, as I said earlier, in in goals saved above expected.

His adjusted save percentage is plus 2.1%, which is tops in the NHL of anybody that's the only other guy that's higher is Frederik Andersen, but way smaller sample size. But I think you do have to consider the games played in the starts. Like, Shesterkin faced almost 1,400 saves or or chances against scoring chances. Connor Hellebuyck faced 1,300. Logan Thompson's just at a thousand.

Like, workload matters and your ability to be consistent and be healthy and and and play a steady game. Like, that's all part of this conversation that goes more towards, you know, the eye test and the overall picture. And that, again, tilts it in Connor's favor because his ability to do this consistently night in, night out through the four nations come back and be the same guy. Like, that matters. And so I I think the numbers just add context for the guys who, you know, might otherwise get overlooked.

Like, the Thompson Hellebuyck conversation is fascinating. Let's see where it finishes. At the New Year, of January 1, you know, Hellebuyck was one two with him. I think the numbers have fallen off a little bit since the New Year, and, you know, let's see where they end up. Same with same with Logan Thompson.

Logan Thompson's numbers have come back down to earth as well, Daren. His numbers at one point this season were up there with Igor Shesterkin when everybody said he should win the Hart trophy. Like, they were that good, like, with numbers we hadn't seen in five years. Now they're still the best in the NHL is adjusted save percentage, but not to the same gap or degree that they were halfway through the season. So you gotta do this tip to tail to be in this conversation, and we're not quite at the tail.

So let's see where it all ends up.

I've always maintained November and December are the most important months when it comes to winning a Vezina Trophy because people gain steam, they travel around the league on road trips, and it's a conversation with all the broadcasters and all the media. And then your opinion is formed by the time you get to the dog days and people turn their attention back to playoffs and other things. And that November, December performances stand out.

Well, Connor Hellebuyck in the calendar year 2024, it was a calendar year for the ages. We talked about Shesterkin's Hart trophy season. That calendar year was in that category. Right? Like, he was exceptional.

The numbers jumped off the page, both adjusted and raw. And so, you know, Logan Thompson in at that point was exceptional as well, but the sample size was much smaller. Right? Like like, I have no doubt Connor Hellebuyck's gonna win his third Vezna trophy, and I'm not making an argument in any way, shape, or form that he shouldn't. I'm just showing you that when you adjust the numbers, there are some other guys that deserve to be in the conversation.

Ultimately, the conversation starts and ends with Hellebuck, and I have no problem with that. I'd happily cast a vote for Connor Hellebuyck to win another Vezina.

If you were voting on the Vezina trophy, what percentage would you put into these three categories if you had to divide them up? Eye test, raw stats, and adjusted numbers. I don't think it would be 33% across the board. So you you don't have to give me the exact figure to add up to 100, but what would be the least and what would be the biggest percentage between the eye test, raw stats and adjusted numbers?

Oh, it would definitely be adjusted numbers. Because I just showed you how, like, raw stats I mean, at the end of the day, it's apples to oranges. Like, comparing guys on different teams with different performances defensively. And Shesterkin's the extreme of it. Right?

Because the Rangers are, like, bottom third in every defensive category. Not just bottom third of the league. I mean, bottom three, I should say. Like, that's and that's really hard to do to have any level of consistency when your team is that bad defensively, and that's what the rangers have been this year. And so that's where the context comes in.

I think that raw numbers, there's just too much apples to oranges, and I test, man, like like

10%?

Well, I don't know. Like, look at Hellebuyck and look at Logan Thompson. Those guys played the game different. Like, it doesn't look textbook all the time. Like, they're very unique.

We've talked about how Connor Hellebuyck thinks the game. You know, that brain like you know, we used to say Hasek was the brain like a computer body like a slinky. Like, he's like that in terms of how he anticipates. Logan Thompson plays a lot deeper this year. On the podcast with us, he credited to Sean Burke to sort of finally buying into that.

But it doesn't like, it doesn't always look pretty. There's a lot of scramble. There's a lot of battle.

But there are a lot of nice saves, big saves. Yeah. Flamboyant saves.

Right. And at the end of the day, flamboyant saves, I don't know that they should

the eye test.

They they do, but how he gets there doesn't always like, so I don't I guess that's the question. Who's doing the

eye 5% then?

Maybe. Like

Okay.

Like, think about it.

5% of the high end.

Who's doing the eye test, Daren? It's not me.

It's you. I'm asking you right now.

Yeah.

If you were doing it.

There's the only yeah. I guess so. Would probably We

got 95% between to divide up between raw stats and adjusted numbers. I'm I'm doing this experiment

I'm leaning adjust I'm leaning adjusted numbers way over They just they just add context. Like, I'd be like I'd be like

Seventy/thirty?

I'd be like, you know, what yeah. Whatever it is. Two thirds, sixty six thirty five? I just like the number 33, you know. Patty Waugh, throw it in there.

Wow. I didn't think it

would be that big of a disparity.

Well, maybe people are hearing that and they're like, well, then screw this guy because I don't trust his, you know, I don't trust his numbers or whatever.

No. No. I think it's I think it's a great education on where you put the priority.

We we've seen it within teams where you can't compare the starter to the backup because they just have different workloads and and they face different teams. And as a result of, you know, like, I've seen, like, 15 swings in expected save percentage because the backup only gets the back to back games, and their team happens distinct in back to back games. Like, we've seen discrepancies within the same team. So how the hell are you comparing goalies on two entirely different teams with two entirely different schedules, different workloads? I just think it's you know, at the end of the day, being able to measure the quality they face and quantify that is your only chance to make any type of direct comparison.

And, again, I'm not going exclusively on it. I just think it needs to be weighted. How much? I'd honestly, I'd never thought of it, but because I just said 67% to give me my Patty Waugh 3333% on the raw, and yet I'm giving the Vezina to Connor Hellebuyck who leads all the raw. So at the end of the day, it's a magical mystical formula, and I don't have all the answers, and it's gonna be one of those goalies are voodoo, which I hate, answers to that question.

I give the eye test a bigger number, but I'm I'm always right.

You're just against the full rights, so that's what that is.

Yeah. Yeah. Exactly.

Right? Like, there's only a few of them left. Washington has two of them. You know? Does style matter?

Like, Kelly's got a unique style, but I love watching him. I don't know.

Style play. Fight over it.

That'd be a that'd be I'd probably go on Connor Hellebuyck at six foot four. He's a big boy with lots of reach.

We could have a goalie fight.

We don't get any of those, do we? We could do it for the Vezina.

We we we almost had one the other day.

Yeah. We need to take the officials off the ice, and maybe the Vizna vote will be the the only time we ever get a goalie fight.

What do you think of Swayman going to center ice and calling Well, Kuemper down?

I I think I've I've I've already done a radio segment this morning on this there. Everybody was disappointed that it didn't happen, but, honestly, we haven't had one since they changed the rules about helmets. I it's not in the rule book, but I'm pretty sure there's an unwritten rule there or instructions to linesmen and referees that as soon as the goalie takes the mask off, because fighters are not allowed to take their helmets off, as soon as the goalie takes it off, they get involved, then they break it up. Saw it with Fleury and Bennington. We saw it last night with Swayman and Kuemper.

So the goalies not know this?

I I I don't because it's not written anywhere. Like, I don't think this is a written rule. But you know it. And and I don't know it, Daren. Like, I'm not reporting this in any way, shape, or form, but common sense tells you we've seen

it at every level. Like So the goalies just need to keep their masks on when they start the fight.

Maybe they need to grapple and take each other's masks off for it to be legal, honestly. Because as soon as it comes off, like, saw it. It's It's a great rule.

You you need that rule in place. You can't be taking your helmets off on purpose.

It's a legality thing. Right? Like, it's a it's, you know, an an insurance liability, like, all those like, that rule came into place for the player. I give you that. Yeah.

But, like, as soon as the lid comes off for a goalie, the officials are in there. So as much as we're all disappointed and we get mad at the referees, clearly, when we have multiple instances of this happening and it happens the same way, something is in there whether it's even if it's not the rule book, even if it's just an instruction or a memoir or whatever for them not to let that happen as soon as the and the helmet coming off is the impetus to prevent it. So, you know, somebody said, Swayman should have just gone through the ref. He could have gone around him. I'm like, yeah, because you really wanna add a suspension to Yeah.

To what has already been a difficult season. You're already getting tossed for chucking them. I I just to me, it seems pretty obvious that that's what's happening here. Anybody from the NHL wants to let us know and confirm that they can, but it seems pretty clear that goalie fights are gonna be tough to come by because of the removal of the helmet. And, nobody wants their goalie throwing hands into a, you know, steel cage that had sharp edges on it.

Right? Like the cage and the welds and stuff like that. You you catch a hand on that, you're cutting yourself open, so you can't punching a guy in the mask. They've gotta come off, and yet as soon as they do, the referees come in.

Yeah. I'm trying to think you could put your fingers in the cage and rip the head around, but then you still don't wanna punch it. Right. So you you put your fingers in the cage and you rip the mask off. That that would hurt.

So goalies got what goalies gotta do now, everybody, if you really actually wanna have a fight, don't take it off, just pop your two buckles the same way they pop when you get hit in the chin, pop the two buckles on the lower elastic that goes through the back plate so that when you arrive with the other guy, it's gonna pop off as soon as you flip your head back. Right? So make it easy for it to come off without actually taking it off. Looks pretty cool though, right, when the guy, like, lifts his helmet off and puts it down in the ice. We don't condone violence here at the InGoal Radio Podcast.

We believe the referees are officially in in the right for doing it this way.

Yes, they are. It is time it is kind of fun. I was on I'm doing the game between Vegas and Tampa Bay last night, and it came across the feed and it was like, oh. And everybody was scrambling for their phones. One more thing on the on the scrap.

Didn't get tossed for crossing the red line. He and Swamin just got two minutes for leaving the crease during an altercation. That old wives' tale, like, can't cross center ice. You're done. Nothing happened.

Well, if you think about it, you cross center ice every time you go to your bench

Not during an altercation, though.

Right. So they let them off they they use judgment and let them off the hook for enough. Mhmm. You didn't fight. We're not gonna toss you.

Common sense. I like it. And I would argue that at some level, as soon as the interpretation about players not taking their helmet off for a fight came in, common sense said that goalies couldn't either.

Gear

Over at the Hockey Shop Source for Sports Langley, the hockeyshop.com, we'll get into our Gear Segment, this week profiling the stick rack with the Project X Smoke by True. How are things going over with your buddy Cam?

They are busy. They are packed. They are jammed. They have all the new inventory coming in for the spring launches. It's going to be a very exciting spring.

CCM EFlex 7, which we had the pleasure of seeing as far back as last summer and actually even in the spring, that's coming. The new gear from Bauer, their customizer is live, so you can check out there the new vapor line. It's all coming in like just boxes and boxes and boxes and it's all being stacked up in the back waiting for launch dates, tons of new material for us to be reviewing here on the InGoal Radio Podcast, all kinds of sales as they try and clear space from the shelf to make room for the new, make sure you check out their spring break sale right now at the hockeyshop.com or in person at the Hockey Shop Source for Sports Langley because there are massive discounts on previous generations of both lines, at the top level pro gear all the way down to the lower level lines, especially on the CCM side. So make sure you check out the sales. They call it the spring break sale.

It is basically let's clear out the shelves in spring because we got a crap ton of new gear coming in, and there has been. You know, it's been a weird year. I think this is the new trend in the industry for launches to sort of come at different times of the year. Bauer and CCM sticking with the spring launches, but we've seen new launches from other companies in the meantime. We've documented them here on the Gear Segment, and that includes this week's stick, which has kinda quietly snuck up on the rack, although it it really jumps out for both from its weight and its appearance.

The true Project X Smoke. Let's go to Cam and get a few of the details on what sets this one apart. Welcome back to The Hockey Shop Source for Sports. I'm over in Goal Utopia with Cam for a quick hit on the Project X Smoke stick. Mister Matwiv, what can you tell me about this new twig?

Well, there's a lot to to check out and know for the stick itself.

I mean, first off, this isn't the same one like, we saw a Smoke, quote unquote, version at the Four Nations. That's different than this.

Not not the same thing. Not the same thing. There is going to be a new smoke stick, but we can't talk about that. We're talking about this one right now. So current Project X Smoke stick, why it's important.

What's the big selling feature? I mean, the first thing we're gonna talk about is the weight. Like, 555 grams for a 25 inch stick. It's but it's pretty close to the lightest weight stick that's out there right now off the top of my head. So, I mean, immediately by grabbing the stick itself, my general feel is, yeah, you pick it up, it feels like there's, like, almost nothing in your hand, pretty much.

Overall, we get some of the same characteristics that we do see on True sticks in general. VSS, their vibration suppression system does make its return. They're invert flex. So, basically, what that means is how you're flexing the stick itself when you go to go actually take a shot. You can really bend it in and feel, again, it basically kicking at a lower kick point in particular.

And you can see sort of some of the different geometry down in the paddle. The construction not flat, not rounded. You kinda see almost like what looks like a shaft sort of running through to a point. Correct. Correct.

Again, I mean, if you're into True sticks and you and you know, you really like their products and whatnot, you're like, you're gonna find, you know, a safe stick here in terms of, like, general feel. We'll say a little bit of sticker shock. It is a pricier stick for sure. That said, again, if you're looking at that elite level and you're looking for that utmost of lightweight, again, looking for something that's gonna be a bit more of that shooter style of a stick, I would say, go further than this Project X Smoke. So it's got

a nice flex to it. Graphics are a little bit unique, sort of bare carbon fiber down at the bottom, not a glossy finish, which, of course, helps reduce that weight. You get the x on the front, the True on the back. Obviously, when you're painting on a bare carbon, it it might not necessarily be the sexiest, glossiest look because there is no gloss on it. It's all about saving weight.

No. Minimalistic will be the, I think, the the word of choice for sure. But that again, that pays off when you're coming to the weight story of

the the stick itself. Okay. Options, curve, things like that. Is it all just retail? Are there custom orders on this one?

Nope. All just retail. One option is gonna be your p well, t 31 curve they call it, which is basically a p 31 or, you know, p four curve inside CCM's world. So that world kinda remains the same. And then, yeah, no no custom option.

Just stock off the wall.

Lightweight, the new True Project X Smoke, and we can look for a Hzrdus version of the Smoke like we saw at Four Nations coming out maybe this summer.

Too early. Can't tell you.

Oh, he's got a secret top secret looking stick. It's all blacked and jetted out and now he thinks he's like a spy agent. He's not gonna tell us when the next one goes. Okay, Cam. We can live with that.

I get it. Big timer. Just another day at

the office for me. If you

got any questions about the Project X Smoke, make sure you give Cam and his crew a shout here at The Hockey Shop. You can find them online at thehockeyshop.com or (604)

You can find them online at thehockeyshop.com or (604) 589-8299 or 1-800-567-7790. And just like that, in a cloud of smoke, I'm gone.

Is there one area where that stick would give you the edge? Is it playing the puck? Is it durability? Is it accents and visual appearance? Is it managing

around I think the it would be a good stick for me because we know I'm a little light these days in the, weightlifting department. Sad to say that my daughter who is really ramping up her volleyball training is now lifting heavier than I am. So for a guy like me, soft, no arms, little bit of a, you know, just not a lot of strength there. I think having a stick that light would probably benefit. It's like, it's there's like nothing to it.

It's so light. I think it is the lightest stick on the rack at the hockey shop right now. So the biggest thing is for for people like me who aren't as strong, need a light stick, this is the one.

I wonder when we'll ever get to a point where it's too light because it's gonna happen. Well,

I think from a breakage standpoint and I'm not talking specifically about the true stick necessarily, but from a breakage standpoint I think we already see that in the pro versus second price point. One of the biggest differences is you end up with heavier carbon layups in the second price point. That's what makes the stick heavier, but it also has a tendency to make it a little more durable. Like at the end of the day, that threshold for weight comes with the durability question mark. Like, you're you're there's a there's a perfect balance there.

And lighter versus durable, like, we've already not crossed that balance, but you're making a choice to pay more ironically for lighter, you should know going in that inevitably there's a degree of less durability that comes with it. We've seen that across all brands where, you know, other sticks in the second price point. We've talked about it. Like, you know, we joke about my warm up stick or whatever. Mhmm.

But the second price point tends to last a little longer.

Your warm up stick has gained traction with me.

See? Because you don't wanna break your gamer, but you're practicing all the time. So I don't know how you do that because pretty much every shot you face when you're on an NHL practice has the potential to break it if it catches them on the shaft.

I broke two the other day within fifteen minutes, and I've gone to the 24 inch paddle Carey Price with the smaller shaft, and so they grabbed one of Ilya Samsonov's sticks just to get me through the end of practice.

He's pretty upright, he's got a long stick, right?

It felt like I was using King Kong stick. It was so big.

You know what the funny thing, we are not, it's funny how these trends go, like we are not that far removed although now that I think about it, time being a flat circle and all, like, it's probably ten years. But, like, when goalies were looking to try and max out 27, 28 inch paddles,

more cover was there.

Yeah. More coverage along the ice on the paddle down, stuff like that.

Feels like a diff that felt like a different sport. That's the it was one, the paddle was bigger, but it was so tall, the whole thing. Wow.

Yeah. I'd getting that stuck in the net every time I moved to my blocker side along the post for sure.

Have you tucked or gone down that path that talked about the Gear Segment from No.

You know what, Daren? I this is this is me. This is my caveat. And folks, if you don't know what we're talking about, we did the Tucker or untuck a couple weeks ago. Make sure you go check it out.

It's been a fun one. We've got a ton of responses Tons of people. Telling us whether they tuck or untuck and why. I promised Cam that I would go tuck. I really did like the way it felt in the store.

I even bought myself a set of suspenders to try it, but I only had two skates left against sort of the my regular group, which is way above my pay grade. Like, these guys, most of them play junior pro or college. They're all better than me. Let's put it that way. As a guy who didn't start playing goal till his mid thirties, I have to work hard to keep up with them.

And so the first gate, I had a little issue at home. I couldn't get there as early as I wanted to to get it set up. So I said, well, listen, just for the sake of comfort and getting on the ice quick Yeah. I'm not gonna tuck. Now I was down to one last skate with the group.

I played really well in the second to last skate. Do you think I'm changing how my setup is for the last skate of the year? We had we had full benches, 26 guys, two or three that played in the NHL. Like, I was not gonna go out there feeling uncomfortable. So so so my next skate will be outside of that group in a different format, a little more casual, a little less over my head.

I promise to try tuck.

I'm with you. I promise myself too, and I haven't done it. I've had three skates since then.

Yeah. Your skates are all against NHL. You're not going out there uncomfortable, buddy.

But but I just yeah. That's the thing. I I didn't wanna put myself in that position of having to think about something else because

I got enough stuff And going that's not the kind of thing you can undo real quick. Yes. You know?

Parent Playbook

And I thought about that. Like, do I just do it? I don't know. Can't do it. So we gotta Stop it Goaltending U the app parent segment.

No Hutch with us today. How are gonna handle this?

Well, we're gonna rely on Kevin's experience with goalie parents. But first, we're gonna talk about Stop It Goaltending U, the app. The best part about Stop It Goaltending U, the app, it puts you in control of your learning experience. They have multiple different segments that tap into their twenty five years of goalie and goalie coaching experience. You can watch the one minute quick hits five times a week.

They're new every week. You can dig into deep dive videos, drills, training, basically their version of ProReads where they have a coach walk you through a video session of two different goaltenders comparing how they handle different situations. The pros and cons really help you think the game, help you read the game better. You get all of that. You could literally deep dive this app and be lost for two weeks, or you can just catch up as you go along, find those moments where you wanna go down the rabbit hole maybe on a weekend when you have more time.

But on a day to day basis, just take a minute a day to watch the quick hits, the primers as they call them, and you will become a better goaltender. And, of course, to go along with your Stop It Goaltending U, the app membership, you get a free membership to InGoal Premium. We've got some great new content up there, some new ProReads, some new ProDrills, a video and a conversation with Spencer Knight about lateral release and how he uses it in his warm ups now. We've got some more warm up drills coming from our featured guest, the Utah Hockey Club, and Jackson Stauber weighs in on a drill that we've got coming up this week. Just tons of material at InGoal premium, and, of course, you get that as part of your subscription to Stop It Goaltending U, the app.

Well done.

Now we gotta now can I handle can I can I be a goalie parent when I'm not a goalie parent?

Well, you're a parent of an athlete, but I think I think there's you're graduated into it. Maybe I will. That you've or experiences that you've, had that can help you down this path.

And I think the biggest one, Daren, is that my daughter plays competitive volleyball. She's a libero. She's looking at playing college volleyball next year. Having some conversation. We've got some some official visits coming up next month.

So the Libero is the goalie of the team is what I was once told. They're the defensive specialist. She's out there digging everything, making passes, all that kind of stuff, but just because she's the goalie of the team doesn't mean that I know anything about volleyball. No matter how many of her games I watch, how many practices I've seen over the years, I'm not a volleyball expert. And it's something to keep in mind for goalie parents.

As much as we want to educate ourselves about the position to help our young goaltender, We probably shouldn't be too judgmental about their sessions with a goalie coach, whether it's one on one privates, ahead of a practice if your team brings in a goalie coach to help your minor hockey experience, or with an eye towards our goalie school guide, which Hutch is busy publishing right now and our recent directory, the way they experience learning in a goalie school environment this summer. And the reason I know that we need to take a step back or some goalie parents need to take a step back is because of the number of times I have been on the ice with NHL goalie coaches and NHL goalies here in Vancouver in particular and run into a parent that watches the session and inevitably comes up to us afterwards and asks me, You guys were just filming for an InGoal segment, right? That's not how they actually train, right? Because the work was all about meticulous details, skating, it's not sexy, the goalie's not so exhausted he can't move afterwards, he's not dripping in sweat, and so it has happened like well over a dozen times over the years where somebody I know who happens to be a goalie parent will say that's not actually how they train, and I will say no, that is exactly how they train in the off season, and there is a lesson there for goalie parents when they're watching their kids.

If you want to watch your kid at goalie school, the drills don't have to be crazy flying all over the place. Your kid doesn't have to be so exhausted he can't walk at the end of the day, so tired he falls asleep immediately. Like there are benefits, especially as they get older, to skating work, to the types of drills that might not be what you think they should be, but they are there for the goalie, and they will help them get better. Skating drills are good. We can still ask questions, like we talk about skating, if you can't skate you can't play at the NHL level, and where does that skating start?

It starts in instructions, it starts in the summer, it starts in the off season, it starts in their practices, so skating is good. The question you can ask, are they just moving around mindlessly on the ice as you watch or are there positive corrections being made? Is there instruction being applied to it? Simple drills matter, but again, if they're not doing it correctly, is the goalie coach working with them, having conversations, and helping them get better? The complex drills that I think a lot of parents love, the Instagram drills that we see where there are pucks flying all over the places and multiple shot locations, like those are fine too, but do they come later in the day or later in the week at a goalie summer school or a weekend camp?

There should be some logic to how these drills sequence throughout the day and throughout the week. Some schools work a rotation of stations, which is fine, but then the logic of building in complexity of skill should be seen throughout the week. Are we working in progressions? USA hockey, when we took the bronze course, Daren, you remember them talking about complex drills are fine, but are they logical in sequence? Does it end up with a goalie stopping a puck on one side and then going to to the other side to make another save that doesn't connect to the previous one?

Do they, in other words, work through what we might see in a game?

Mhmm.

These are all questions that it's fair to ask as a goalie parent if you are gonna stick around and watch your kids go through a camp or go through a day. Now my advice would be not to, just to trust the people you've put in place and let them do their thing. Because the reality is whether it's me as a goalie parent or a a volleyball parent or the many goalie parents who have watched me work with NHL goalies as a video guy and said afterwards, that can't possibly be how they train. You guys were just doing film work for InGoal, I would suggest that you probably need to take a step back because what they're doing may not be registering properly in terms of why it's important and how they're doing it. So just a little bit of advice from a non goalie parent to all the goalie parents out there, before you criticize what you're seeing out there, there are specific questions you can ask, and one of them is do I really understand what they're trying to accomplish today?

It doesn't have to be complicated. Sometimes the simplest things, especially when it comes to skating, are the most important for your young goaltender.

It's the parent segment, brought to you by Stop It Goaltending U, the app, from arm's length courtesy of a parent in Kevin Woodley.

Now Now is now Hutch is Hutch is gonna is Hutch gonna this will be the question, folks. Do you hear me? I'm complicating his edit process here if he decides to redo the parent segment. Do you hear me doing the parent segment or are we me and Daren now talking post parent segment, but Hutch's voice is on the parent segment because I didn't do a good enough job. He's done such a great job creating the parent segment and building the value in it that I feel a little nervous about having lived up to the work he's done to this point in making the parent segment such a valuable part of the InGoal Radio Podcast.

So if he rererecords it, Hutch, it's okay, buddy.

Let's let's make it open ended. Alright? Give him the choice. So it can't just be, I had to to use Woody because you guys didn't throw to me. So this is what we'll do.

I'll go give him two options. Woody, there's the parent segment. Hutch, what do got this week? Thanks, Woody. Alright, Hutch.

That was awesome. See, he can take any of those, splice it in. Now, Hutch, it's up to you.

Or he could leave all this in as he prefers to do when we when we go off on our little tangent I like that too. Us make us look like who we are which is just rambling idiots.

Just rambling yeah. Just just morons. And and his his idea is, I'm gonna make you guys look like the morons you are by not touching it. There we go. Now, Vizual Edge ProReads, what do you have this week?

Well, first off, our friends at Vizual Edge have a great offer for our InGoal Premium subscribers. If you are an InGoal premium subscriber, you should have received the email. If you're not, make sure you check out the ProReads each week and look for your special discount code. I can't say it on air right here because then everybody would use it. 50% off the first six months.

50% off the first six months of Vizual Edge! Vizual Edge sponsors our ProReads segment every week, which makes perfect sense because ProReads is all about NHL goalies breaking down video to help young goalies see the game better, And Vizual Edge is all about helping goalies see better, see the puck better, track the puck better, see everything around them better, divergence, convergence when the puck is coming at you, training all these different visual skills to help you see the game better much like we do here at our ProReads segment. This week's featured guest on the ProReads segment, we're going back to Devon Levi who's coming off another good week in the American Hockey League. So no, not. He's not playing in the NHL right now, but we know he is an NHL goaltender paying his dues down in the American League this week.

And we've got another great segment with Devin. He is he's become one of our favorites here. The video session we did with him is now fully a summer and a bit old, but his the level he gets into in terms of his breakdowns and how he sees the game is the kind that we just can't miss. So we're going back to Devon Levi this week.

Plus, he's got the best taping technique I've ever seen for the top of your stick.

And great style this year too. It won't be reflected in this ProReads drill because, like I said, it's video from, from the previous season. But his tan leather sort of vintage setup from CCM is, chef's kiss.

I I like the fact that he's in the American Hockey League. A similar strategy that the Calgary Flames used with with Best and Wolf.

Fair.

Play him that entry level contract. Play him a ton as a goaltender in the American Hockey League.

Well, and we and we didn't get to it, but you know, when we're talking about guys that deserve to be in the Vezina trophy discussion, You know, again, we'll see how the rest of the season goes. There's a month left in it and and it's gotta be tip to tail three weeks left in it. Dustin Wolf is fourth in the NHL and goal saved above expected right now, almost 17, just a hair behind Igor Shesterkin. So for all the conversation about Dustin Wolf deserving to be in the Calder trophy discussion as the NHL's top rookie, I think you can make a fair argument, especially given how little run support the goalies in Calgary get, that he would he would fairly be in the conversation for the Vizna trophy. He should certainly get more votes than he and more attention than he has been getting to this point.

I think the win totals keep him down out, but hard to win when your team doesn't score for you.

It's it's that part, the the goal support along the way for the Calgary Net Minders. When you go into a game knowing you have that small of a margin for error, it it adds to the importance of of your performance. And and quite frankly, it heaps a load of pressure on you.

We know this is goalies. Right? Like but I don't think a lot of people realize just how much. I remember, and this is ironic because it's a Calgary Flames discussion, but I remember back when Kipper was dominating for the Calgary Flames. One of the focal points was that he played behind an a really elite and well structured defensive environment.

Daryl Sutter being the coach there. They defended really well, but they did not score. And so the question was, and I used to ask this around the league at the time because I didn't know what the answer was. I was ignorant to it myself. This is around early two thousand before I started playing goal.

Would you rather be behind a team that was exceptional defensively but didn't score or a team that gave up more chances but you knew they could put up three or four for you and bail you out every once in a while? And unanimously back then and to this day, if you ask NHL goalies that question, they will take the team that surrenders a few more great a's but has the ability to score because the pressure of going into a game knowing that one or two is one or two too many is so immense and so crippling after a while. So and that's what Dustin Wolf and Dan Vladar, who's gotten some big wins for them down the stretch, have been dealing with for much of this year.

That's the closest I've come to matching a National Hockey League goaltender.

Is playing on a team that can't score?

No. No. Is is I'd rather play for a team that can bail me out a little little bit. I like that idea.

It's true. It's true at every level, Daren. Right? I Like, remember Beer League, we had one year where we moved up a division, and, like, we would get one or two every night, and it's, like, it's a real like, even at that, you just know you have to be perfect.

No. It's not fun.

No. It's not. It's not. May have quit after that year.

People may think, like, this this is the greatest thing ever. Woody and Mallard were just two perfect dudes. It's not fun. It's hard being us.

It is. Yeah. Playing behind crappy beer league teams is hard.

Feature Interview - Jaxson Stauber

Slide over to our NHL Sense Arena feature interview. This is this is fun. Jaxson Stauber, second generation goaltender. There's just cool thoughts from Jaxson. I get to watch him firsthand both in the American Hockey League and the National Hockey League this year.

So it it's neat experience for me and close to home, but it's also brought to us by NHL Sense Arena.

Yeah. And we are at that time of year. We talk about summer and what you're doing for your young goalie. We're talking about going to goalie schools and how we watch goalie schools as a parent, how we watch goalie sessions as a parent. One of the things you can do, and we've talked a lot about this, is getting your kid off the ice, getting them a break, making sure they get away from the game a little bit.

NHL Sense Arena is a great way to do both, to give them an opportunity to stay sharp, to enhance some of their skills, their hand eye coordination, their puck tracking, there are cognitive drills you can do inside the NHL Sense Arena in a virtual reality environment without having to be on the ice, without feeling overwhelmed by the game, feeling like you can still get away for it. Throw the headset on once a week. We had a parent last summer talk about really wanting to let his kid get away from the game, and they just structured a little bit of time each week to hop on the headset. And he actually felt like his young goaltender came in to tryouts. They had a family trip as well that made it tough to get on the ice before tryouts.

They felt their young goaltender came back into tryouts better, mentally refreshed, but still visually sharp. Hands were great, felt good about his game, had a confidence level, and that was all without the extra cost, the extra time, or the extra stress of trying to figure out how to get on the ice. NHL Sense Arena is the closest thing you can get to being on the ice without having to pay $400 an hour to get there. It gives you a chance to train in the off season way more than you would unless you happen to own your own rink, and provides a great this is the time of year where it makes the most sense because it can allow you to sort of escape the rink but not neglect your development as a goaltender. NHL Sense Arena is a great tool, and now is a great time to invest in it.

And for mom and dad, you can throw on the headset yourself and experience, what your child's going through a little bit. When when you watch that goalie seminar, you go, oh, that's that's why they're dialing it in.

Little and for the young goalies listening to this, do what Eric Comrie did a couple years ago. Hey. You guys think this is so easy for on the headset. Let's see if you could stop the NHL level shots.

Come on. We've got a a second generation net minder and professional hockey, Jaxson Stauber this week.

Yeah. And we talk about guys that are having performances, you know, relative to shot quality. Like Jaxson Stauber, in his very limited, admittedly, experience with the with Utah this year has produced numbers that would over the course of a season be top 10 in the NHL. So, he hasn't played much, and we know how hard that is, but he's played well when he's in there. And watching him at practice the other day when Utah came through town watching the work he put in with Corey Schwab, I can understand why there's a really nice balance to his game that I really liked there's a work ethic there and when you get a chance to listen to this conversation it's not a long one we only had we only had fifteen or twenty minutes after practice to catch up, but you can understand where the roots of that are for him.

He talked a little bit about his approach, talks about the evolution of some stance mechanics, and how he's come to sorta change some elements of his game. We get into all of it in a, let's just say, a quick but condensed information packed interview with Jaxson Stauber at the Utah Hockey Club. So normally we start these by asking where you got started. Like, when did goal tend to become a passion for you? It's just a nice little way to sorta let everyone get to know you.

I think I got into the answer with you with your dad. How what kind of like, how'd you get started? How did he how how much of a role did he play in that?

Yeah. My, I have an older sister who's a year and a half older. So we were in skating lessons probably when we were like four and five and I did not like it at all. I hated it. I would do snow angels on the ice.

And so he took us both off. She actually enjoyed it. I didn't. So she kind of didn't get to finish because of me. But yeah, so I did snow angels and he took me off.

He's like, you're not playing. I'm like, that's fine. Like, I don't want to do whatever. And then it probably wasn't until I was eight that I had some older or some younger cousins that were a year younger than me that were starting to play hockey up in Duluth where my dad's from. And so, you you go up there for Christmas, people are playing hockey and stuff.

So then kind of wanted to get into it a little bit more. So started playing that next year. You know, everyone kind of tries goalie once or twice. And then that next year I was a sport and they had a shortage of goalies in our organization. So of course they go and they ask my dad, hey, does he want to play goalie?

And he's like, I'm not sure. So I did half goalie, half skater that year. And then after that, that year I transitioned to full time goalie. I don't really ever remember thinking like, oh, like, really want to do this. It just kind of was like, okay.

Yeah. I'm gonna be a goalie. And and he was never pushy on it or anything like that. So, yeah, that's kind of how I got into it.

As you said, sometimes the guys that played it don't want their kids to play the position because they know everything that comes with it. Maybe the only thing worse than being a goalie is being a goalie parent. What was it like? How'd your dad manage that relationship in the early going?

Yeah. Obviously, he's got his goalie school back in Minnesota. So, you know, I would I would go there growing up and so he would he would coach me and, yeah, that's definitely a different dynamic and relationship as a, you know, as a kid and your dad's coaching, you're not afraid to push back a little bit. Balancing that dynamic can be a little tricky and I think he got better as we got older. But, yeah, he doesn't really we don't really get on the ice too much anymore, maybe once or twice a summer.

But, you know, he likes to do things very high pace in the summer. I'm like, Okay, let's like, you know, go back to some of the basics, take things slow. It's a little bit of a different mindset. I guess in that case, it's good that we don't see it too much together in the summer, but it is fun every once in a while to jump in and get on the ice with them again.

Okay. So speaking of coaches and different voices, who are some of the one other ones that maybe had big influences on you along the way? I think of Rockford and Chicago with Jimmy, a new voice here with Corey Schwab. You when think about your game, who are some of the guys that have impacted you in different ways and and in what ways? You mean maybe an example?

Yeah. I've been fortunate to have a lot of really good coaches, you know, and I think everyone provides something different whether it's, you know, technical, someone who's played the position, you know, where it's going to be a little bit more tactical information and guys that are just good with, you know, asking you what you need and having being that support role, you know, I think of my goalie coach in Providence who was really good at that. Like he was big into skating and stuff like that and like kind of stuff drills that I did growing up as a kid. That was really refreshing. And that was fun to skate with him.

Yeah, I think last year working with Matt Smith and Matt Smith and Rockford was huge. Like he kind of, you know, opened my eyes to some, some different elements of my game that, you know, maybe I hadn't thought of before. So I would credit him with, with a lot of that. And, and yeah, like you said, working with Corey and Jeff Hill in Tucson as well, like has been really good this year. And even Jimmy as well when I was in Chicago, like, you know, he's worked with a lot of really good goalies, Stanley Cup champions like Corey Crawford.

So just getting bits and pieces of information from everyone and trying to, you know, see what works and implement some of those stuff into my game has been huge.

Can you give me an example with Matt? Like, just something that because he gives a lot of young goalies, goalie parents that listen to this. Maybe a takeaway that that like, especially because you said it was new to you. Right? At this stage, sometimes we don't hear much about something that's new.

If you give me an example, if you're comfortable with it. Yeah. But then also the importance of always being open to new ideas. We can get a little stuck in our way sometimes.

Yeah, absolutely. I think sometimes like when you hear it all like I think you need to work on this. A lot of people get defensive at first. And so it's really good to keep an open mind. Like that's something that I've always had like, I'm always eager to learn.

Like, I don't think I have everything figured out. And even when you've played in the NHL for a long time, like, I think you can always get better in the day that you stop thinking you can improve is a that's a bad day. But one thing with Matt, back to Matt was just being a little bit more upright in my stance and even just a little bit wider. Know like a lot of times people are like, oh, like

narrowing out now. Yeah.

Yeah, exactly. And yeah, like it's it's definitely easier to move, but I think when guys are in good scoring areas for me, like getting a little bit wider actually allowed me to hold my edges longer because I didn't have to race to try and get down to the ice. And it also just the way my, you know, people are different, right? The way your body is, like it gave me a little bit more access you know, drop and keep my feet a little bit, not so much falling behind me, if that makes sense.

So the wider flare.

Yeah, exactly. So just, you know, that was kind of the biggest thing was just postural stuff. And like I said, keeping a little bit upright and getting a little bit wider at times. That was the biggest thing that we worked on and that was a challenge. And I think it's hard to like in a practice setting when your coaches, your head coach and if you're not communicating that stuff effectively with him, well, what you're working on, they just maybe see pucks going in and they're like, what the heck is going on?

It's like, well, this is kind of what you have to do to get better at things. So balancing that dynamic can be pretty tricky as well. But I felt like Matt did a really good job of making sure that he was going to help me communicate that with the coaching staff and say like, hey, like things might look a little bit awkward, you know, here or there, but like we're working on stuff like and certainly in the air, right? Like you have a lot more practices, especially in the American League. So you have time to kind of work on those things.

So, yeah. So it sounds

like almost like you've added like, a mid stance, like a midpoint between save execution and and and being upright. Because because it's funny. We we do hear a lot of guys talk about narrowing up and the game being so fast east west. But once it's into dangerous areas, the transition from narrow to down can be costly if you don't sort of have a middle balance.

Yeah, absolutely. I think like, and Corey's big on, you know, having the high stance, like with the traffic when that pucks outside, obviously it gives you the benefit of being able to see, right? Because if you're in a wide, low stance and there's so much traffic, like it's really hard to see around guys in this league. And so, you know,

is very purposeful in this league, isn't it?

Yeah. And when you got three, four or five bodies in front and guys are coming in and out like that can be difficult. So, you know, utilizing that high stance, especially when that pucks kind of on the outside and then as it gets closer working like you're talking about into a bit of a mid stance, then when the pucks in the slot, I call it my wider stance. So, yeah, you don't have three different kind of variations almost.

Edge work, skating. I noticed, like, in some of your movements a lot more instead of t push, a little bit more shuffle, almost like into a lateral release at times, a real control to that skating. Again, only watching one practice, certainly don't know your game. Does it feel like that like, is that something that's part of your game?

Yeah. I think I think you saw that warmth that we did with Corey where it's like you start in a narrow stance at the top and kind of do a shuffle into your wider stance, just kind of simulating that power play, right? The puck goes up to the flank or up to the point and it goes to the flank for one time where you see that so often. And so working on going that transition from the high stance into that lower stance and being ready for that shot in that situation. And I think too, like guys can shoot at any time from here.

So making sure that you're trying to to get to plays on your feet. And and I think the you know, when you're not maybe opening up to T push quite as much in some of those plays, it allows you to to be ready for that shot if it does come.

I was gonna say too, and if you haven't like, if the guy one touches it back the other way, you've got that edge as opposed, like you said, in a t push having to now close it and go back the other way. And the way guys are moving pucks on power plays in particular, that can be a costly delay. I I that you're exactly right. That was the drill I was watching. I really enjoyed it.

Just the the control of that movement for you.

Yeah. Absolutely. You know, you're still gonna have to t push at times when that puck goes cross ice. You're gonna have to open up, but, you know, just finding ways to to be effective and to be ready to move kind of at all times is big.

You had so much success in the NHL right away, like, win your first three games and things like what was that like? What are your memories of that? You're getting that taste and having that instant success, that early success? I I know it's not instant because there's a long path to it, but, like, when you look back at that first shout out this year, you've had a lot of success really. Where do you how do you feel about your game at this level?

Yeah. You know, I think that was, you know, when you get called up for the first time, there's a lot of excitement, but a lot of jitters too. And and I felt like I had been up long enough where I'd been comfortable kind of being around the team and working into, you know, the speed of the game and the difference between the American League and the NHL. So I think that was huge. And, you know, from that first game that gave me a lot of confidence going forward for those next games.

And yeah, you know, even this year, like when I got called up, like I didn't play for, for I think two weeks and then, you know, got that opportunity. So that again, gave me a chance to kind of get back up to speed and whatnot, because there is definitely a difference. And I feel like, you know, at this level, the game is, you know, the players around you are so good. The players and their team are really good, but your players are good too. So sometimes it's, you know, you can read things a little bit differently than maybe the American League's a little bit more chaotic and, at times, I think, because guys are you know, there's a lot of young guys, lot of a lot of really good players, but everyone's kind of learning too.

Right?

I've had guys describe it, not in a critical way, but just a league with more as a goalie trying to make reads, there's a lot more mistakes in front of you.

For sure. Absolutely. And and that's something that, you know, mistakes happen at every level, but I think, you know, up here, it's it's guys make really high end plays, not necessarily due to other people's mistakes, but just because they're the best players in the world. So, you know, adjusting to that. But like I said, reading off of your own teammates, maybe can be a little bit easier at times.

But it's still like, it still takes a really high level of obviously focus and attention to detail because they can make plays from seemingly nothing situation. It's always being ready and and never counting. Well, you know, he's not gonna make that play or he's not gonna shoot that puck because they'll find a way to do it.

But it's still like, it still takes a really high level of obviously focus and attention to detail because they can make plays from seemingly nothing situation. It's always being ready and and never counting. Well, you know, he's not gonna make that play or he's not gonna shoot that puck because they'll find a way to do it.

Such a fine line because you do have to anticipate at this level. But like you said, you can't you have to like, you can't overanticipate. You can get caught cheating if you do that at this level as well. Reading the game. How do you go about reading and processing it at this level?

Do you use video? Do you work with Schwab? Or is it just a matter of experience in watching?

I think a combination of all that stuff. I think video is really good because you can see things from a different perspective. And then when you're in the game, it feels a lot different. Know, you you could see things coming from a mile away when you're on video. And then when you're in the game, you know, there's bodies flying.

It's easy on video.

Yeah, exactly. And it's it's way faster than on the video. But it's, yeah, I think it's a combination of watching video in game experiences invaluable. It's the tool that's going to give you the most. Just seeing situations over and over again, even in practice is going to help kind of replicate some of that stuff.

You mentioned the jitters your first time up. Can I just ask like maybe advice for young goalies? A lot of young goalies right now getting ready for their first playoffs. How do you manage jitters? Have you learned over the years to embrace them or you have different techniques that you use to sort of get over the nerves?

Yeah, I think, you know, I remember my in college, we had a couple of playoff games and I was really nervous for those games. Sometimes when you get really nervous, you know, you get shortness of breath, maybe you're not feeling as well. And I remember before my first game, you know, there's some nerves and I'm like, I can't afford to feel like that again because otherwise this thing could go south really quick. Just having the mindset of just embrace like the nerves are okay. Like that means you care, want, you want to do well, like all that stuff.

You shouldn't be dead inside. But I think having that balance of nerves and just being confident that, you know, you can go out there and play and be successful and understanding that the other day, like this is a great opportunity. And, you know, for me personally, like it was my first game in the NHL. Like that's something you dream of as a kid. Like just embrace that.

Do you have you worked with anyone to sort of breathing techniques or anything like that or you just all do it naturally?

You know, that's something like my dad's been big the last few years or not few years but more so since he stopped coaching me on the ice is more mental stuff and even growing up like he always talked about that like and just I remember, you know, being young goalie sometimes before a game and you're going dad, I'm really nervous like and just talking with him and that even makes you feel better. I think just being open about how you're feeling is huge and you know, there's there's a lot of great mental skills coaches, you know, and I worked with some of those guys when I was with Chicago and it was great. Like they would send these kind of weekly emails almost and it would just have little blurbs of mental skills, breathing techniques, stuff like that. So I think that's, you know, those things can be helpful and you can try those out and see what works because I think for everyone it's going to be different.

Tools in the toolbox, we hear technically about that. Sounds like mental too.

Yeah, absolutely.

Okay. Last one, skating. You're skating. Again, as an observer who hasn't seen a ton of you, it feels like it's a strength. Where does that come from and how important is edge work to you?

What does edge work mean to you?

Yeah. Skating was the biggest emphasis my dad had growing up and it wasn't just goalie movements. It was a lot of, you know, footwork skating around, you know, like a forward to just being able to be agile and move on your feet, puck handling, stuff like that. Like that's what I did growing up as still what I like to do at the beginning of the summer when I get back on the ice is just to get back into some of that stuff because you don't get a chance to do it quite as often during the season. Do it when you can, but, you know, being able to move in different ways, on the ice and find balance points and stuff is a big part of the game.

So, yeah, that's that's huge and that helps you to get in position and and just make the game simpler for you.

No, it's pretty evident when I watch you play that that that's where the roots come from. So I really appreciate this Jackson. Thanks so much for spending the time with us. Thanks for having me.

Outro

Boy, he came a long way from, the tantrum first time he was on the ice and and his dad taking him and his sister off.

Yeah. I like I like that origin story. You never know. Like, that's it's always gonna be different with with guys that whose parents played. Right?

I feel like there's you know? So

some some And the cousins the cousins up north. Getting them back

into it.

Yeah. That that was that was great, and it just wasn't that natural. Oh, you're you're the son of a NHL player.

It's probably gonna do. But probably also some good lessons in how his dad managed it too. Right? Some really good lessons in in terms of how they manage that relationship and some of the different inputs. And, yeah, there was there was, like I said, not a long interview.

We'd love to it just leaves the door open for us to get another half hour with Jackson a couple years from now. But he's a guy who, when he was in when he when he was in Chicago before and he came up, had a couple brief conversations with him. Again, every time I watched him play, I know it's a tiny sample, but I was impressed with a lot of the elements that tend to lead to success, and I think it's just a matter of time now before he gets an opportunity to play a little more. He's gonna open some eyes.

They rolled into Vegas in the front half of the season and Jackson got the start. And if you were looking at it just from 30,000 feet, would have thought Utah's in town. Vegas has great home ice record, advantage, Golden Knights, and it got flipped. Utah was the better team early, and Jackson ended up posting a shutout. It was it was a cool story.

I forgot. I I think I asked him about the first NHL shot, you know, like, about his success, and I forgot that that you got to watch and call that game, Daren.

And and he was great from start to finish in that game. It was it was a lopsided score, but his performance, he he earned that.

Love it.

Perfect game.

I love it. He, he he's, like I said, small sample, admittedly, but through two organizations now, anytime I've had a chance to watch him play, I've been impressed. And, again, when we get into those small samples, the numbers help us paint a better picture. Like, I remember, you know, ironically, Connor Ingram getting into a couple of games with Nashville, and the numbers were not flattering at all on the raw because one of them was the second half of back to back against an Edmonton Oilers team that was wiping everybody off the face of the planet at the time. And without the ability to look at the quality of the shots he faced, you would have thought it was a poor performance, but it actually wasn't.

And so sometimes in these tiny samples, a way for us to actually weight how much of this performance is goalie, how much of it is team, is through these adjusted statistics that we get through Clear Sight Analytics. And, you know, Jackson's sample remains small enough that you I could understand why teams might be hesitant, but as more and more goalies lock in early with their current teams and thin out the UFA pool this summer, Goalies like him that have great success, Marcus Hogberg in, with the New York Islanders is another one. I think you can find those quote unquote diamonds in the rough or maybe undiscovered diamonds a little easier if we rely on some of those adjusted numbers we spent so much time talking about earlier in the show. And Jackson's reflect really well on his performance so far when he has got the call.

Our sample size is small. You and I doing the show together. We've done five or six of them.

Yeah. Because dad doesn't let us do it unattended. But

I think we've done well. I I think the numbers would would point to positive performance.

Think I our adjusted numbers are off the charts today, Daren. We're we're in at under an hour.

Pretty solid.

They're the you know, like, our lawsuit eligible statements per 60 is really low. Our laughs per 60 is up. Up. We're having fun. Think we've done okay, buddy.

Number of chirps to Hutch per 60, extremely high.

Like a good practice, we gotta go Marc-Andre Fleury on this. You gotta be mixing it up with your teammates in a fun, good natured way.

No. We don't we don't wanna do this every week because we like Hutch and he does a lot of work for us, so we don't wanna have to carry it all on our own.

Hey. Speaking of work, the special assignment that Hutch is on right now is finishing The Goalie School Guide, which is a ton of work, and this man has carried this project from start to finish. I am a mere bystander, and I am so excited to see how it's gonna look. Our online directory, folks, is already there. If you wanna search for Goalie School, go to the website.

You'll get it in your email soon. You can we are now the number one resource, the easiest way to find a goalie school for the summer. It by city. If you're gonna be traveling this summer, you want to say Kelowna, just one that we know, you can search it in there, see what goalie schools are offered. Ontario, Toronto, you got a family trip planned to Nevada.

California. What are the goalie schools that are an option down there? When are they running? Las Vegas, you wanna go see Daren? Where where are the camps?

When are the camps in Vegas? They should all be listed in there. We have over a 150 schools participating, and we will have a magazine style guide that will launch this week, maybe even by the time you hear this, all thanks to the work of David Hutchison and John Hodes who's doing the layout on the magazine for us as well.

Awesome stuff. Hutch, well done. Hurry up and finish it because we miss you.

We do.

I know that's kind of

I don't think he misses us, especially doesn't miss me right now at this point there.

Does he appreciate being slammed with work? Does that offset being free from us? Because, technically, he still has to edit this thing together.

Yeah. But he didn't he didn't have to spend an hour

Good. Participating.

He just has to listen after. So with that in mind, the longer you and I keep making jokes about it, the harder he has to work. We should probably cut this off. Alright.

Well, let's go for another half an hour then. That's good. Thanks to Jackson. Thanks to Cam. Appreciate everybody listening, your continued support.

Love hearing from you too. Send us your comments about the goalie fight, what you thought of it, what was your favorite goalie fight, and whether or not we'll see them again. We get goalie goals all the time, but the goalie fights may be a thing of the past. Love to hear from you. Just have some fun with that.

It's not a a serious conversation because I don't wanna get our lawsuit ratio up a little bit. Woody, thanks for doing this, buddy, and have a great week.

InGoal does not condone fighting amongst goaltenders.