InGoal Radio Episode 313 with Harrison Meneghin

Intro

Getting through the summer, we have to get an update on Kevin Woodley's summer on ice performance as we get you into InGoal Radio Podcast presented by The Hockey Shop Source for Sports Langley, thehockeyshop.com, Daren Millard, along with David Hutchison and the aforementioned Woody. How is it going out there, pal?

Still a sieve, bud.

Are you touching a few?

Yeah. Usually not on purpose, but the odd one hits me.

Positioning stops

Positioning stops pucks. That's what's my mantra.

If you touch it and it flips in, that shouldn't count.

That's only half a goal.

Yeah. Half a goal. Right.

Yeah. Yeah.

Good point.

Gotta give him a little credit or at least help the save percentage a bit. The almost percentage.

Woody, when are we gonna get a GoPro out there and just give us a sample of the Woody like performance?

We have some ice rented this Tuesday. Woody coming over with a vehicle jammed full of gear, and we will be on the ice. He doesn't necessarily have to be the only goalie out there, but he might choose to dress up. We might get some real footage of him.

What are you guys doing on the ice?

I just could do a little bit of review work with a bunch of different gear that's sitting in the InGoal office. So we thought we would, spend some time together and get the shots while we can. Over the years, we've tried, you know, you run out there with the camera for the five minutes before Woody's Beer League game and try and grab a little bit of video or something. And now we're now we've taken a couple hours to purposely shoot some stuff that we know we wanna get for some of the reviews that are coming up and to really be able to tease out what's going on with some of this new gear. I don't know if we wanna mention exactly what some of it is, Woody, or we're gonna be able find out.

Followed our social media as

you know. Follow our social. You'll figure it out.

Some exciting new partnerships, Daren.

Here's the tease.

And maybe see a little bit of Woodman in action. You down for this?

He's kinda hoping not.

No. I'm I'm kinda, like, not really down for this. I'll let you notice notice that we're hopping in in a car, and I'm going to the island to do this. Ice is literally one third the price over there per hour that it is over here.

What's an hour of ice time in the Lower Mainland?

$350 an hour in the summer. So

$250 US.

It doesn't

I thought it'd be higher. But I'm so glad that it's affordable on the island.

Honestly, considering we have to rent a bunch of ice over here a couple of weeks from now. And when I asked what was available, there was multiple sheets for multiple days available. I'm a little surprised that it's that expensive. Like, it's isn't there, like, there's some

type Supply and demand. Right?

Yeah. There's there's there's more ice than there is people on it in a lot of these rinks, and yet $3.50 an hour. I guess there's a certain cost. I wonder what the cost is to not have it used.

Does it go up in the winter, or does it come down?

That is a very good question. I think it probably stays the same.

Okay. I I would have thought you mentioned summer, so I was I wasn't sure whether there was a

It's definite it's definitely cheaper over here in the summer. They have different seasons, different rates.

Makes sense.

Real economic supplies on Vancouver Island, just not in the Lower Mainland.

Our economist, David Hutchison, joining us live on InGoal Radio, the podcast.

I may have studied a little economics in university and hated every minute of it.

We'll get into the show here in just a second, but, just to promote and touch on our feature interview brought to you by Sense Arena. It's a fabulous interview this week. What a wonderful conversation, Woody.

Yeah. We got Harrison Meneghin on the podcast, so heads up, and we get into it a little bit. It's a friend of the family. I've known Harrison since he was in kindergarten. Won the Western Hockey League championship, WHL playoff MVP, draft pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning, went through some difficult times, that we get into a little bit.

Lost his dad right at the last game of the regular season. Suddenly, tragically, and was able to come back with some help from his team and the support mechanisms around him, his family, who who my family knows very well, get back and get back into the playoffs and lead a run all the way to the final of the memorial cup. So we talk a little bit about that, about the adversity he's faced, but mostly we just talk about goaltending. Talk about some of the guys that have impacted his life, his experiences, going to development camp with the Tampa Bay Lightning, going to main camp with the Tampa Bay Lightning. What's it like to to look around and see Andrei Vasilevskiy out on the ice and be a part of the same organization?

Getting past not being drafted. Passed over in his first year of the Bantam draft before having success in the WHL. Passed over in his first year of the NHL draft before getting picked second time around and signing with the lightning after the playoff run. So there's a lot going on in this young man's life. He's very open, insightful, honest, talks about everything he's been through personally, but but also gives a ton of great advice for young goaltenders on, you know, what the journey can look like for different people.

And when it doesn't look the way you maybe planned it out in your head in advance, how to bounce back from that, how to move forward, and make sure that you're still a part of the equation. You're not not sort of settling once you've been passed over.

Looking forward to that conversation in just a little bit on InGoal Radio, the podcast presented by the Hockey Shop Source for Sports Langley, the hockeyshop.com. Let's just revisit a discussion that we had organically a a week ago. Which pad is in front when you're in your stance if there's an overlap? And you guys, I give you a credit, after we're done recording, went down a rabbit hole on this. So we're talking about you're in your stance, and, maybe the the feet are a little farther apart, but there's always one pad that seems to overlap forward.

And I was wondering, put it to you guys, am I normal, or is it a little bit different? And because my right pad, is frontal. What did you discover, Hutch?

I did a very, very unscientific analysis of a ton of photos that I have on my computer for from going to goalie camps, and I worked out roughly two thirds of goaltenders, maybe a little bit more, where right pad in front of left. I personally would be left in front of right. So I'm calling that goofy padded in line with the goofy footed snowboarders out there.

Hey. Don't discount skateboarders and surfers easy. Snowboarders.

You count too. Yeah. The only one I've actually tried. Well, no. I've tried surfing, just not very successfully.

I think that's about it, Daren. But it definitely seemed to be quite consistent because I saw multiple photos of the same kid and it was always in that one particular configuration. Might be genetic. 100% of the father son combinations I looked at were both left in front of right. So, I think we can take that one to the bank.

What did discover what you were? Because you were kind of No.

But I discovered that I totally misinterpreted the conversation last week, and I was talking about how my pads crossed when I was in the butterfly as opposed to standing up. It just means your pads

are too big.

Oh, 100%. Not cheating, not trying. Yeah. So, yeah, no, I didn't. I had because I haven't actually had been on the ice since we talked last week.

Can't wait till somebody's on on a breakaway, and you're gonna be thinking, oh, I'm I'm left pad front.

So let me like tying knots left over right and under or something like that.

Exactly. Left

over right and the puck goes under.

Well, there we are.

I remember the first time I noticed that happening though years and years ago after taking a break from playing. And, of course, the old brown Coopers that are behind me on the shelf here, they did not cross. No. No. Because they barely came above the tops of my knees.

And I was, curious because I I had these, new pads, the the, Axis 2 and AF. No. I get that mixed up all the time. Right?

Yeah. It's just like you everything else you do in life is AF. These are actually XF.

Yeah. XF. I I always get that mixed. And I've I've

tried to get them to rename them. It just didn't work.

And and I remember when it first came out, that being, such a great line going AF. Well, kinda no. And that would have been a great take on it. So I'm I'm gonna stick to that, with the XF. And, and with them, I'm like, I couldn't remember on my other ones what what what was normal.

This one just seemed to jump out at me. So thank you. Appreciate it, solving that mystery. Let's get into our Gear Segment, presented by The Hockey Shop Source for Sports Langley, thehockeyshop.com, dealing with some some of the younger groups.

Yeah. And it's perfect timing because if your young goaltender has hit that age where they need their own equipment or if you're just in an association where maybe they don't have it, as they move out of the youth line and into the junior sizes, we've got a great new option from CCM. It's called the Phenom. We're gonna get into that this week, but a reminder that over at the hockey shop and the hockeyshop.com, they've got every line, all types of youth options, and junior. So if you're in that youth range, we can clarify that because it's a little confusing, but the little little guys, they've got multiple options for you at the hockey shop.

If you're moving into that junior, you start to get into that 24, 26, 28, 30 in that range inch pads to the knees, something that looks a little more like a scaled down version of adult pads, they've got those at The Hockey Shop. But best of all, at The Hockey Shop Source for Sports or if you reach out to them by email at The Hockey Shop dot com, they have experts that play the position, understand goaltending, and have fit young goaltenders for years. They have the experience, the knowledge of the position, the passion for the position to make sure that your young goalie gets something that's gonna be right for him. I've been in the store with Cam. I've watched him have conversations with parents about, hey.

I understand you want room to grow, but if you go any bigger, he's not gonna be able to skate, and he's not gonna have fun. Cam is all over those dynamics as is everyone else in his staff. So if you've got a young goalie, we suggest you check out the CCM Phenom line that we're about to unveil here in our latest gear segment, but there are other options at The Hockey Shop Source for Sports. Make sure you reach out to them to find out which one, which size, which price point is the best for your young goalie.

Gear

Let's get into it, on the gear segment presented by The Hockey Shop Source for Sports Langley, thehockeyshop.com.

I'm a phenomena. What? Soundtrack? Is that from Eminem? Yeah.

You're just gonna regale us with your movie knowledge there. Southpaw?

Mhmm.

Jake Gyllenhaal, boxing movie. Great track. Entire track. Little little gets a little dicey there for the parents. Maybe don't listen to it with your kids on some of those songs, but Squirrel. We are phenomenon. That's better. We cut CCM phenomenon.

We're back at the Hockey Shop Source for Sports with tons of

there is a reason they called this the phenom line. There is some phenomenal features for the new CCM youth line. Cam, here at the Hockey Shop Source for Sports, Goal Utopia, is gonna explain them all to us. Where do we start?

I don't know. Was such a phenomenal intro. I I I I don't know where to

go from here. Dad jokes galore, Cam. I already beat you to it. Let's go.

Alright. Ladies and gentlemen, CCM's new, what we'll call junior lineup, kind of replacing all encompassing junior along their their basically, lower end price point, for example, that entry level gear that's gonna get us out there. That said, they've really updated and made a heck of a lot better by commingling both lines together.

Okay. So rather than saying what ages it's for, when you say junior gear, let's go into sizing. Like, what are we talking here?

24 through to 30.

Okay. So roughly what eight and I I just said I wouldn't do ages. What are like, what type of age is this for usually? I guess it depends. Hey. Listen. We know depends. We know some adult goalies that could fit in this.

Yes. Exactly. Digress. Yes. So, I mean, we're gonna be talking about, you know, your U9, U10's, all the way through, maybe even U12.

[crosstalk] It depends again how big the size of your goalie, how far they are in their development stage. The odd 50 plus goalie who's shrinking. The size of your legs, things like that. That's all gonna kinda come into effect. So, specifically, let's talk about the pads first.

Okay. Guys, we got them both fitting in our hand. So completely new design. Can't say redesign because it's a new design. All new.

All new. However, featuring some hallmarks that we've seen from the CCM lines kind of, you know, throughout some of this new development and whatnot. So starting off, no speed scan. No speed skin. All gym pro construction.

No CGT. It's gen pro.

That's correct. We still get their version of their integrated knee, so getting that stability.

And a really solid looking knee stack as well. That's a big, big call out here. So one of the things that's been lacking in a little bit of that junior price point has been that extra stability in the knee.

That's a big, big call out here. So one of the things that's been lacking in a little bit of that junior price point has been that extra stability in the knee.

So so you can be on the in the butterfly nice and stable.

And not having those pads completely roll out on you as well as we're trying to build those fundamentals. So great addition by CCM, great call out, Great feature. Moving its way down.

Okay. On the knee stack, we we we saw a change in terms of the materials Correct. At the flex seven line. Here, we've got the hexa plus. Is it hexa

Hexa plus. Hexa plus.

Hexa plus. That nice soft material we found in the gloves and the blockers of the EFlex 7.

are foreshadowing. We're gonna see it again here in a little bit. So nice soft

sort of landing area. Nice and cushiony, but very stable.

Yes.

Okay. Into the leg channel.

Into the leg channel. So although similar, they call their upper calf straps the AdaptiFit. The adaption point is that it's extremely adjustable, so you can really get that proper wraparound. So in years past, we've had a little bit of kind of trying to figure out what length CCM was going for. It was either too long or too short.

Right. Now you have the ability to adjust yourself. So dial in your fit, find it perfect. Great additional feature to help lock in that leg in terms of for that fit of the pad, but not affect pad rotation.

Just like the high end pads, just like the pro pads, the adult pads, the knee stack can be slid down to the calf or you can wrap it around to the removable knee flap on the outside.

And as you've seen in the EFlex 7, that air knit style leg channel all the way is kind of throughout. So nice, breathable, lightweight would be probably the big key here too as well. And soft

and segmented. So if you do go for a tighter fit, you're gonna be able to sort of establish that connected feeling in the bottom of the pad.

Correct. So close it all off with the Velcro craft strap. Moving on to the boot. We have a boot strap. We have a boot strap.

Why, folks, would we have a boot strap in the lower and make it optional as opposed to include it? Hey. You can remove it quite easily.

Exactly. It's just held in by pocket on both sides. The boot strap is really good at sort

of pulling a pad down if you're looking to maybe, you got growing kids. Might not they'll grow so fast they might not even get a season in the right size. If you want it a little bit tall and need to pull the pad down on their leg at the beginning, you can use the bootstrap to accomplish that.

Caution. If you go too tight, you're gonna affect rotation and leg dropping out of the path. So within reason.

Within reason.

Within reason.

I'm a reasonable man, Cam.

Reason for regular skate lace plus elastic.

We like that system, same as in the EFlex 7 stock?

Yes. So you can still create your knots kind of in the front. You get that ease of adjustment in terms of being able to pop it in for Velcro. Or if you do wanna switch it to disc skate lace or for example, else

Easy peasy.

They just untie, pull them out, install your new toe tie.

K. Flex is nice and soft above the knee, down to base.

But they have some rigidity still at the upper portion of the thigh. Like, it's not gonna be completely floppy, which I think is a good call out too as well because that's something, again, that we can find in junior pads when they get too soft, for example.

Bit of extra the extra wear material on the top corners of the thigh.

Correct. Just help free in some of that rubbing, which will naturally happen for sure.

Blocker?

It's a blocker based off of EFlex 7 Axis, bit of a combo of both. For example, you still get that hexapalm that we've seen in those higher end pro versions, for example. I was looking at the

label to make sure I was calling it the right thing.

Yes. X is right. X is right. There you go. It's good.

Junior fit blocker. Nothing too too fancy here to call out other than just proportional size in terms of her hand size as well. So, again, made for those smaller hands for sure, but solid overall feel.

Segmentation on the thumb. So, again, smaller hands, lot of

level of foot

strength, protection will move with their thumb.

This is something that CCM's gotten right the past little bit here for sure is definitely the the blockers. Great overall fit. Good punch in terms of the rebound.

Glove feels like about a five ninety ish break.

Oh, he's got the Phenom glove. So, yes, we have a five ninety break for the glove. Nice, easy, easy, easy closure out of the box. The index finger stall, pinky finger stall that center in between in terms of those two fingers is open, but most kids, when they would put their hand in the glove anyway, would combine those two fingers as a stall. Cross form strap?

Exactly.

Still same as the feature that we have on the Pro level glove.

Giving great wrist mobility. Same with a punching board. I like this. Is this

is this you doing this?

Source for sports?

This is stock little skate lace pockets. Keep skate

lace pocket. Nice easy retention. So you are gonna see some exclusive colors from us. White based with depending on the accents. Stock colors will be solid based darker.

So Source exclusive will be the white bay?

Yes. Oh, a lot of people like that. And the like what?

Well, all white. It's just All white. Everybody gets all white.

Oh, okay. You're not special.

Me? Oh, you know I'm special. Because Ladies and gentlemen, you need figure out how special this gear is by giving me a call at (604) 589-8299 or 1-800-567-7790. We're gonna cap this phenomenal video off by saying thank you for watching. I am phenomenal.

As far as the name of a line goes, like, that that's a brilliant marketing push for that age group. Isn't it, Hutch?

I think we all like to think that our sons and daughters are phenoms. So absolutely. Absolutely. Very cool. Good looking set of gear.

they didn't just take, say, the EFlex seven and scale it down in size. They thought what's best for a goaltender of that age, of that strength, you know, physiologically what's gonna be or biomechanically what's gonna be best for them.

One of the things I like about it is they didn't just take, say, the EFlex seven and scale it down in size. They thought what's best for a goaltender of that age, of that strength, you know, physiologically what's gonna be or biomechanically what's gonna be best for them. I think they've done really good work with this line, and and I know if my son were still that size, I'd be out trying it for sure.

You know what? The other thing that, you know, we talk about you're right. Not just scaling down and shrinking the pro gear, but they figured out the glove at the EFlex seven level. Like, the glove, we've talked about how much better the closure is and this thing too. Like, young goalies are going to be able to close this glove fairly easily, and that's such a key part of learning how to catch a puck.

So, yeah, hat tip to CCM for doing a good job with the Phenom line, not just because it allows me to, you know, channel back my, Eminem lyrics to phenomenal. Great tune. We talked we we we name checked the the movie it's from in the in the segment there, but I I was digging that. I may or may not have added that to my workout playlist after after that day.

Woody, I'm seriously concerned actually about posting this video on YouTube because you are so good. I think we might get a copyright strike.

Daren, before you listen to the segment.

No. I heard it. I heard it.

Okay. So you you already you already knew. Do you know the movie?

Eight Mile?

No. Southpaw. Oh. Jake Gyllenhaal, the boxing one, and Eminem did the soundtrack. It's a good one.

It's a good soundtrack. It's a good workout soundtrack. Pump up music.

I was angry at you because I had the Muppet song in my head for a while.

As well as when they see cats.

That that's what that's what I had in my head.

The two of guys in the balcony. Right?

When it's Sadler and Waldorf. Yeah. Yeah. That was what was in my head. So, there you go, everybody.

You're you're gonna you're gonna live, with me, and my journey as you you enjoy that thing rattling around in your head. You know what? That that glove at the youth age, the the, junior age, you're starting to get some players who can raise the puck a little bit, and it's gonna hurt your hand. So it's important to have some protection there. When you're really young, you're not catching pucks, but you get a little bit older, bordering, knocking on your teens.

That's gonna happen a little bit and some confidence. And that sort of leads us into the Stop It Goaltending U, the app parent segment. What's happening over at Stop It Goaltending, Woody?

Well, interestingly enough, we talk a lot about this over at InGoal Magazine with our weekly ProReads, but they have five daily primers at on the Stop It Goal Tending app this year this week on reading the play. So a reminder, when you get the Stop It Goaltending app, every day during the week, Monday to Friday, you get a weekly or sorry, a daily quick hit video. Something small, something easy, something digestible that you can quickly deposit in the brain, and help make you a better goaltender. And this week's are on reading the play. They also got a full goalie playbook video breakdown on on Karel Vejmelka of the Utah hockey club.

Well, I guess now they're the Utah Mammoths and a drill of the week on quick backdoor transition. So it's a great sample of a drill that you can take out onto the ice with your goalie coach. If it's something that fits what you're working on, there's a drill you can take and and try out yourself. So these are the types of things you get every week at the Stop It Goaltending U, the app. And, of course, as we say and remind you every week, not only do you get all their great content based on twenty five years in the game led by Brian Daccord, former NHL goalie coach, former NHL goalie scout, former NHL goalie director, but you also get a free subscription to InGoal Magazine included with your sub to the Stop It Goaltending U app.

Make sure you check it out on the Apple Store or wherever you download apps for Android.

Parent Playbook

Hutch. Daren, this week, I had a thoughtful back and forth with a parent who, who was concerned about her young goalie flinching as we say during practices with teammates. Her son is under 10, but, really, this is very common at that age, so I thought it was something that we could address. I certainly remember being the flincher myself, especially young ages. These are ages where goalies, as you alluded to earlier, Daren, aren't used to as many high shots, and they definitely aren't prepared for some of these kids who've figured out how to consistently shoot at the top of the net.

And at that age, there's a wide range in development. You've got some kids that might be fifty pounds soaking wet, and you've got some that, are years ahead in development and honestly can look like they can shoot like young men. So fear of the puck at that age, totally normal. You know, you're at this unfortunate intersection. I like to think of it as is where you've got every player out there wanting to shoot at the top of the net while your young goalie is of the perfect age that puts their head right at the crossbar or even a little bit lower.

Apparently, this young man that we're talking about was showing no real fear when he was training with his goalie coach and showing some real ability as a goaltender. But most importantly, he just loves being a goalie. Yet when he's out there facing players, mom described it to me as him throwing every part of his body towards the puck to try and make a save and, even while he's pulling his head in the complete opposite direction for safety. So I had a few thoughts that I wanted to share with her and with everybody else. And the first is that point I've already made.

This is very common. Fear of the puck as a young goalie does not mean that you need to hang up the pads and go find a different sport. It's really hard to watch and, your young goalie with that conflict, you know, of loving what they're doing even while they're fearing what's happening out there in practice. But just know that you're not alone. Second, as much as we wanna scream at the team and tell them to keep the puck down and stop shooting at his head, really, what are the players supposed to do?

They have to learn how to shoot for the top of the net. You can't develop a team that's only allowed to shoot the puck low. And if your goalie's head happens to be at the exact height to be in danger, it's a it's a tough, tough situation. So if you're Daren Millard facing NHL shooters, you probably feel safe. Those players can place it precisely in the corners.

And, as Woody said before, what doesn't hit you doesn't hurt. But, at age eight, nine, or 10, whenever the players are getting stronger and raising that puck consistently, many of those players have no better an idea where the puck is going than your goalie does. And that is a recipe for fear. So that's, you know, for a similar reason, I think that's why they feel safe with their goalie coach simply because they can trust where that goalie coach is gonna place the puck. And so they they can feel like they're in a safe zone with their coach.

So, six tips here for what you can do as a parent if you're in this situation. Number one, listen and be understanding. If you're frustrated, you can be sure that your goalie is just torn apart inside, and they need a chance to be able to share that with somebody without judgment. The second thing, please don't feed the fear by expressing anger about all the players shooting high. That is not gonna change, and helping your goalie learn to be angry about it is just gonna give them one more thing to be upset about.

Number three, find them some ways to enjoy the game away from practice and away from that fear. Now that probably mean you know, they need some sort of pressure relief that will separate, their fear from their love of the sport, I believe. And that's probably providing some great sessions with that goalie coach that they feel comfortable with. It might be some fun at stick and puck where things are a little bit safer out there. I I'd like to think at least what I've seen in some public skates around here.

Yep. You just need to be creative so your kid can have some fun playing the game and not be worried. Number four, engage the goalie coach in a discussion. They probably see what's happening, but they might not know how much this is affecting your goalie and how much it's affecting their their enjoyment of the game. And goalie coaches have a large bag of tricks for helping with that puck fear.

Not gonna get into those here. We might be able to, but this is more for the parents than the coaches. So just trust your goalie coach. They can help. Ask your goalie coach their opinion about your child's gear.

Does it fit? Is it still of the right quality for this new level of play that they moved up to this season? It won't always be an easy solution like this, but I'll recount one quick story. Our young son was flinching on shots, quite frequently after he'd been drilled in the head as a young goalie. And, thankfully for us, he was big enough and strong enough at that age that he could manage it when we definitely overbought and got him a pro mask.

The fear went away immediately. I actually read this segment to Matthew and asked him what he thought about the whole piece, and he said, I was thinking exactly the same thing. Don't go out there and spend $400 on a stick for your young goalie. Spend some money on a helmet. He said, like, those kids can't shoot the puck, but they can sure get a concussion.

My point being, it might not be as simple, but it might be as simple as the fact that your kid's getting hurt on a regular basis on one place of their body because of some equipment, and maybe you can fix that. And then, perhaps they need to chat with somebody else who's got experience helping them work through those fears. They're real. Nobody wants to see them go through this, and I believe that working with a sports psychologist at a young age is a great thing if you're able to make it happen. Won't go through a list of them.

You've heard us talk about lots of people on the show. If any individuals would like some advice, please contact me, parents at InGoal mag dot com, and I'll be happy to share. Fuck fear fear, everybody. It is real. It will take time to get over it.

But if your goalie loves the position, don't give up. There's lots of goalies in the NHL today who were diving for safety back when they could barely tie up their own skates.

I went through it when I was Yeah. Younger, like, 13 to 15 age group. Thank you, Bob Lawrence and Brayden Pilling for instilling that and, forcing me through that stage, two guys that came in and took clappers from 20 feet away.

I had a technique when I was younger that was easier to pull off back in the days when Kelly Hrudey used to face shots from the top of the hash marks all the time. My strategy was just get out of the net as far as I possibly could, so I'd take it in the shins before it got high enough to catch me in the head. Little harder to do that in the game today.

And the kids at that age are really discovering the use of the slapshot. And Yeah. That's when they're engaging in in that area, and it's it's a perfect storm for what we're what we're listening to here.

Yeah. And I don't think you could ask those kids not to do that. They wanna be out there at practice having fun. They wanna learn how to shoot the puck. You can ask the coach to make sure there aren't three of them shooting at the same time like they do in Woody's Beer League warm ups.

Control it to that extent, but the the kids have to be allowed to play the game, I think. And and for me, the big one is not getting your kid into that anger cycle. Like, we all joke about it semi seriously about going after guys who shot at our heads in practice, but, I don't think that's the train of thought we wanna be giving our young kid when they're worried.

You talk about the the National Hockey League guys. You you never get hit with with the pro guys. They they're just they're so good that they can control it. It's, it's more at the lower levels that you end up getting them buzzing around your ear or whacking off the the top of your head, unless you're woody and you're diving over.

Unless you're that guy in the RVH and you got some skilled NHL forward

Yes.

Goal line backing it off your ear and in.

Even then, they're so good. It's it's just going in. I wouldn't mind it if it whacked off the bucket, because the bucket is, such a a highly, perfect performance part of my gear that, that I don't mind that every now and then. Woody, when was the last time you got hit in the head and and rang hard? You're on a good run of that, I feel.

I feel like that's almost a pretty much game by game daily. Every time I skate basis, I take one. But that just means I'm centered in position on the pucks. Not my fault. They can't shoot, Daren.

And I may spend a little too much time on my knees. What can I say? Patience is not something I possess. Holding your edges is something we only talk about at ingoalmag.com, not something that I, as one of the writers of those stories, am able to exercise. Thank you very much.

Vizual Edge brings us ProReads every week. Visual Edge, one of the great partners of ingoalmag.com.

Well, in this week's Visual Edge features Cam Talbot. We've told you about guys right up to the NHL, 50 goalies in the professional leagues, American Hockey League, and NHL that have used Visual Edge to help sharpen their visual skills as well as their cognitive tools. We've talked about Jordan Binnington using it every day on a game day basis to get ready to play, both warming up his eyes and his brain. Cam Talbot is one of those guys. He's talked to us in the past on the podcast in his ProReads about the fact that he uses visual edge and that his use of visual edge, he believes, has played a big role in his ability late in his career to sort of become an all star, to take big steps in the National Hockey League long after he entered it.

So this week's ProReads with Cam, it makes him the perfect sponsor because goalies like Cam and our weekly ProReads show you how they read and anticipate the game, and Vizual Edge, of course, is helping Cam see the game better. This week, he breaks down a scoring chance from the top of the circle off a low high pass where his defenseman is rushing out to it. And the first part of the breakdown deals with what side of that defensive screen he positions himself on. So, Daren, I will ask you on the spot, buddy. This is my revenge for saying I gotta get on the ice with a GoPro.

Which side of that screen are you staying on, and what factors dictate that? Top of the circle, defenseman rushing out to him.

I usually go lean towards the hand that the shooter's taking the shot from, and that's an old John Garrett tip. And I still subscribe to that and try and cheat there. Or I will look at which side that the if I have to do it really and sometimes I don't have time for this, but which side the defenseman, if if it's my own guy, is is covering, I will lean over and take the other side and just improve my odds a little bit. And if if they put it beside my defenseman, that's a good shot, and, and I feel like at least I put some some thought into it.

I like it. Ding ding ding, Daren. Really? Hit all the notes, not only in terms of and in this case for Cam, it was short side, but the short side was dictated. His defenseman was flexing out kinda right in the middle lane, so he had to pick one of the two.

And it's the handedness of the shooter. The fact it's a left shot that influenced his ability to go or his decision to go to the short side or on the side of the hand of the shooter. Now that's not where this ProReads end. There's a pass that comes. Cam talks about the decision, how he comes across, whether to slide or skate, and how he skates across, shuffle, not t push, which ends up resulting in a a difficult a high quality chance in the slot being made to look like a routine save.

So we've got that video up at ingoalmag.com. We're not giving away all the secrets that Cam does. Gotta be a subscriber to get it. Make sure you check it out. Cam spends about three minutes walking through the keys to this save, managing the screen, that decision on how to move across, and, of course, a reminder.

Vizual Edge as a sponsor of the ProReads segment also gives InGoal readers a discount. Everybody gets a standard discount using the code InGoal. But if you're a member, go to ingoalmag.com, click in any recent ProReads, and you will see a discount code that doubles how much you get off of Visual Edge. Can't give it away, obviously, on the air, but if you remember, make sure you check it out. Save some money on Visual Edge.

Check out ProReads. Get better at reading the game like Daren has because he watches all our ProReads. That's why he nailed that. All at ingoalmag.com on a weekly basis. New every week.

What are we up to, Hutch? Like, almost 300 of these things? It's gotta be, like, 290 now?

290. Let's say about 290 is a good guess.

290 videos of NHL goalies watching footage and explaining their decision making process, there is no better deal in the game to learn how to read the game than a subscription to InGoal Magazine. Shameless plug by me because it is that freaking good.

Can't believe I nailed that. That's awesome. It it was I was today years old before I discovered that teams have systems set up where the defenseman will take a certain side, and the goalies will cover off the other side, and you spread your your coverage out. And the goalie isn't just standing in the middle peering around everybody. And I think that's an unbelievable edge.

Even if you don't have the system there, the defenseman is usually one way or the other slightly, and you can lean in on that.

I always told guys I played with because I didn't play on the team very often that had a good system. I would especially, league. I just told the defenseman, if you're gonna be rushing out at a guy, shift yourself just a little bit towards his inside shoulder because I would much rather take that shot from an angle where I've got a better chance to deal with it. And I'd much rather take it than forcing him into the middle where there's more chance of a screen and rebound issues and so on. So just shy a little bit to try and get him and and that was also a point on giving me some vision because, of course, if your defenseman is playing goal, they'd better stop the puck because you're not gonna see any of it.

And that kinda matches. Daren mentioned the systems. I would say every team has that baked into their system in terms of, hey. This is where a defenseman, this is the lane we want you in flexing forward, whether it's on a PK or even a five on five, we need you to flex out in this lane, and it's almost always the short side. Your players are trying to box out or flex out on a shot in the inside lane so that the goalie handles the short side.

Because most pucks into the inside, there's more traffic. We've gone through it before. Different things it can hit. Puck has the fastest path to the net on which side? The short side, so it makes sense for the goalie to make that a priority.

And if you're on the same page as your defenseman and your forwards in terms of what lanes they're in, everybody's job gets easier as opposed to the helter skelter crap that I deal with at beer league. I was just trying to

make it really easy for the beer league folks out there. Go with his inside shoulder.

So you're playing. Go with the inside shoulder. That's where you take the angle.

That's what I would tell the defenseman to do. Just shade to the side that's inside a little bit, please. Just keep it real simple.

Also, keep in mind, in pro hockey, the defenseman's or defender's gonna do everything they can to block that shot if it's in. In our leagues, Woody, they're doing everything they can to get out of the way, so you can't totally rely on it.

It's interesting you say that, though, because I saw an incredible breakdown by Steve Valiquette, and we love his work here. And he was going through the percentages of the chances of a defenseman scoring on a clear sighted shot versus the risk to one of your skilled players coming out trying to block that shot. He's just like and he he did it right by numbers, of course, as Woody probably will now, but we can stop those shots.

Yeah. All you're doing is getting in the way and creating more chaos a lot of the time. Now you can't let guys that said

Can't let him walk in.

You can't let him walk in and also a forward flexing out to defenseman at the point. You're right. If there's nothing else between the goaltender and that shooter, but chances are at the National Hockey League level, there's also a screen and a defenseman on the inside in the slot area. Now if you allow that defenseman to have a clear lane, clear sight, and pick either corner with a layered screen of a defender and another forward in front of you, that becomes a 40% scoring chance. So telling the the guys on the outside not to block it, well, I understand, only works if there's not other layers of traffic that you have to deal with as a goaltender.

Now I'm a little more confused, but we've got Sense Arena, bringing us our feature interview this week at NHL Sense Arena, and that's a wonderful conversation coming up. But first, a note from our friends.

Oh, Daren, I was just gonna say that you caught on. You threw it to me, but, you just threw it out there in the middle because you weren't sure where

to go, didn't you?

Yeah. Not not bad. I have been talking about Sense Arena every week and now, well, I'm gonna be talking a little bit about Woody even if I don't completely throw it to him. But I have a feeling Woody will jump in with his own 2 cents at some point. This week, we posted a fun little video on socials of Woody after a Sense Arena training session.

And yes, it was real. It was not staged.

And it was a great it was a great video.

Yeah. Woody absolutely drenched in sweat.

I don't know about drenched, but yeah, I was Pretty much.

Pretty much. Yeah. Pretty and look, Woody's giving. Right? Instead of just sitting around moaning, he's like, how can I help InGoal?

How can I help our readers? I'll just throw myself up there on video. Look, not taking a shot at Woody's fitness level, It's actually a perfect endorsement though of how real NHL Sense Arena training really is. Isn't it, Woody? And it was all part of him going deep this week into his review of part two of the new goalie advancement program, which is all about mastering your angles.

And, and Woody writes let's just say that he writes the way that he talks at length. We're talking about over 2,500 words and 12 videos just on this one part of the program. So if you would like to, learn more about NHL Sense Arena, learn more about the goalie advancement program, check it out now over at InGoal, Woody's review of part two, and, see how NHL Sense Arena can be a massive part of your goalie summer development. And don't forget, use the code I g m 50 to save even more.

Hey. Listen. It's 2,500 words because that's how in-depth that program is. Six levels, three training levels within each level, six to eight drills within each training drill. Like, do the math.

It adds up in a hurry. And, of course, by the time I went through the whole thing one last time, I was a little gassed. I will admit. And by the time you get to the end, you're doing five on three drills with the defenders out there. So we just talked about screens and managing screens.

So as much as it this was all about square and being able to be on angle and learn how to be on angle and square, you had to work to find that puck as well. And, yes, I was sucking a little wind by the end of those sessions, but it was it was great. I can't wait to take it on the ice. I also can't wait to dig into the third part, which is all entirely dedicated to managing traffic as we build off our first two lessons. The first one was on reading the releases.

The second one we just did, talking about staying on angle. Now it's all about that traffic we were talking about, Daren. So I can't wait to dig into that this week, and we'll have that review coming in the next couple.

Feature Interview - Harrison Meneghin

Now to our conversation. Just set the groundwork for us here.

Oh, it's a bit of a tough one. Because we know Harrison. I do. Because we know the family, and we've seen what they've been through. And because of everything he's been through, everything they've been through, didn't know where to start this one because it is a part of the conversation, and him and I talked about that after.

It's been a part of a lot of the conversations and interview he's done. But his story is not just about overcoming the loss of his dad during these playoffs. His story is about a passion for the position, how it developed, how it was nurtured, the coaches involved, the experiences he went through in Bantam not getting drafted, moving up to the WHL, getting drafted at second time around by the Tampa Bay Lightning, going to development camps versus an invite without being drafted at the Minnesota Wild Camp, and then the two years afterwards with the Lightning, signing with the Tampa Bay Lightning. So we get into all of it. It's a story of a young man who is on the path to professional hockey as a goaltender.

First year will be this year, who had to overcome a pretty big bump in the road this season. So, there's a little emotion here, but there's a lot of great insights about the game, about his game, and about how he's navigated that path, both the personal side in this playoff run, but also from a development perspective. It is loaded with great advice from a young man who, to be honest, caught me a little off guard with just how open and insightful he was, about that path as we get into it on this week's feature interview. Really excited to welcome to the InGoal Radio Podcast. First time guest, but I've known this young man for a long time.

He was a lot shorter when I first met him. Was, like, kindergarten. Harrison Meneghin, WHL champion with the Medicine Hat Tigers, Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick, fresh off his second trip to development camp with the Lightning. There's so much I wanna catch up with you about. But first off, so our audience knows, like, full disclosure, you went to school with my older daughter, so I've known you and your family since probably kindergarten.

Yeah. Yeah. It's been a while, but it's been good. You know, it's pretty pretty cool that we're still in touch. So yeah.

Well, it's funny that our our paths crossed here. I remember how into hockey you were as a young man, and here we are now, National Hockey League draft pick, off development camps. Let's just let's start with right now. What's what's a dev camp like? You've been through three now, two as a drafted goalie, and one before with the Minnesota wild off off of your first draft year.

For those goalies that don't know what it's like, share with me.

Yeah. I mean, there's definitely a lot of different experiences that, you know, you might go through. My first dev camp was a lot of fun. You know, we did a lot of team bonding in Minnesota, but then there's also times where you kinda realize that the next level is a lot harder than the level you were just at. So you gotta kind of sit back and kinda realize some things that you need to work on, whether it's on the ice or off the ice.

And yeah. But you kinda need to take in also what you've accomplished and kinda be a little proud of yourself, but also know that there's a lot of work left. Do you

I mean, after you get drafted and you go to your first development camp with Tampa Bay, you're right. You're like, it's a big moment, but then the next step is always a big step. What are some of the things we can talk about? Give me an example of something that you were like, man, I didn't realize this was gonna be this hard or, hey, I need to change this at this level.

Yeah. I think the the biggest thing for me was the fitness. You know, the there's a lot more staff that you work with and that you kind of have to, I guess, please. They got a lot, you know, higher bar for you. They they expect to see improvement, so if you're not doing the right things, they pick on they pick up on that right away.

And yeah, I think it's just growing as a person as well. Like, you can't be that same goofy kid you once were, and now it's you're becoming a professional. You're you're a business piece now, not so much, just another goalie. You're you're you're more of a asset than maybe you were in Bantam or even junior hockey.

Okay. So it gets a little more serious, but do you still get to be hairy? Like, do you have you have to make sure you don't lose yourself in that process? Because that's probably a part of what allows you to succeed is there's a looseness. And I've had coaches talk about how you were able to sort of bounce back from stuff and not not that you don't take it too seriously, but that you don't end up sort of I'm looking for the right word.

You don't end up like, if you're struggling, you don't you're able to sort of process it and not internalize it. Does that make sense?

Yeah. I think that's kind of one of my stronger suits. I think that as I've, you know, grown in my hockey career, you kinda realize that you play way too many hockey games to sit back and and just, you know, think about one or maybe even a few bad games in a row. It's, it's important, especially in the playoff run, to kind of just move on to the next game. And I think for me, my personality is also, you know, one of those things that helps me a lot, whether it's, being a good guy in the locker room, and just, you know, brightening the mood up.

I think that's one of the things I I kinda take pride in, I guess. You know, it's it's it's the, you know, it's the person I am. I I I don't wanna change that, and I think I'm learning that, you know, as you get older, you can kinda keep those same attributes, but also tweak a few things to kind of, I guess, mature yourself.

Okay. So balance a little bit. Right? You said you don't wanna lose who you are because you're a bit like you said, your ability to sort of, like, move on from things and water off a duck's back without somebody. You know what I mean?

Like, have a bad game, don't dwell on it. But it does get a little more serious. Is it a matter of getting comfortable too? Like, your first time into a development camp, your first time into a team, you have to find where that fits within a room. What's that process like?

Yeah. I think I mean, a perfect example would be when I got traded the Medicine Hat. You know, some people know who you are. One of my good buddies, Matthew Ward, was there, so he knew kind of what I was like. We grew up together.

But when I first got traded there, I wasn't, you know, the same person I usually was. I was definitely I'm I'm not gonna say putting on an act, but I I wasn't being the same kind of social person I was. I was just focused on hockey and kind of learning what all my new teammates were like. And I think the more games you play and the more comfortable you get, you kind of you you learn a lot more about your teammates and you're able to become, you know, more of yourself. And I think that's kind of what brought me more success.

I I didn't start the season off too hot, but, as I got more comfortable, I was able to kind of, you know, be myself, and that helped me on the ice too and definitely off the ice, you know, building new relationships.

Okay. So what's that like? I mean, for a lot of young kids, the dream is to get to junior hockey or college hockey. You're establish yourself in the WHL, and now you get traded. Walk us through that experience.

It's it's definitely a a weird experience. I I don't think I'll ever forget the day I was traded. It was definitely a weird one.

How'd you find out?

Well, it's kind of like a crazy story. We won on Friday night, so the team went out and and just with the guys, then get back a little bit later, and then you get you get traded the next morning at, like, 09:00.

Were you on the road or at home?

We were at home.

Oh, okay.

So we were pretty tired, and I kinda found out that I got traded at night. It got kinda got leaked through whatever. So I found out, I I didn't real I wasn't really sure if it was true or not. So then I get called in the coach's office the next morning, and, you know, as soon as I got called in, I knew I was getting traded, all my teammates knew when I was in there what was kinda happening. So came out, said my goodbyes, and I went and played that night.

Game didn't go the way we wanted, but, it was it was kind of a neat day just to kind of you're you're in one locker room in the morning, and now you're playing a game for a different team. That's arguably one of the biggest rivalries in junior hockey.

The Lethbridge to Medicine Hat. So,

yeah, it was definitely a surreal moment, but I'm I'm super grateful that it happened because, you know, a lot of great things came from that.

So I should probably know this, but, like, did you travel or were they actually playing against each other?

I traveled. So I drew I drove up to Medicine Hat, and then we played Moose Jaw that night.

Oh, okay.

And then we lost, like like, five three or something. Not my best game, but

Well, you probably had a lot on your mind. And I'm guessing if you knew going to bed and didn't actually find out till the morning that wasn't a great sleep.

Yeah. It was not a great sleep, not a lot of hours. But it was a great experience. Like, those guys in Medicine Hat were unbelievable. Like, they're gonna be my family for the rest of my life.

So yeah.

Okay. So that experience of getting traded, new team, obviously, the headliner is Gavin McKenna who's made headlines again as he goes to the NCAA. Wanna ask you a little bit about what it's like facing that shot and and how you approach that as a goaltender in practice because I've I've seen that release. And maybe it's just the old man in me, but all these all these kids shoot way too hard and way too deceptively for me, but he might be at the peak of that list. But what about like, I've known Willie Desjardins for a while because of his time with the Vancouver Canucks.

What can a coach what's what's that like in terms of the coach bringing you into a new environment? How much of a role does he even play, is it mostly the goalie coach? What what was that like sort of first starting with a new team and getting comfortable?

Yeah. I think, Willie, did an unbelievable job. Like, he's a huge reason why we won that championship. You know, bringing me in, he did he he cut he obviously has a lot of experience, you know, bringing in older players. He was ready right away.

Like, he knew that we were making all these trades. We had a brand new team. You know, the team from this year to the previous team, I think there was, like, maybe four or five returning guys. So it was brand new locker room, so he did a really good job. Just And

you were going in early? It was early in the season that you were

Yeah. I went in in October, but even then, it was a really new group. So, I remember getting there, and there was a lot of I don't wanna say friction, but people just no one really knew each other yet. So it was definitely interesting. Usually, I feel like when you get traded, you're the odd man out.

But in this sense, I feel like there was a lot of people just trying to get to meet each other. So Willie was really good. He was a he bought a team meeting, his leadership group, stuff like that just to kinda integrate everyone together, and he just kept it super loose and he knew he knew when to be serious. So that was super helpful. I mean, he did a great job.

Like, when you have a bunch of guys that are, you know, high draft picks or super talented, you know, guys are gonna go first overall probably, you'd expect a lot of egos, but he was able to bring those egos down because we weren't gonna win if we just all only cared about ourselves. So he was able to kinda tame us all, and then at the end of the day, like, we had a really great year. So yeah.

It's still a team sport. Right? What's Buchanan shot like? I gotta ask. Because I mean, there was one in the in the I think it was in the memorial cup where I think I don't know how many guys would have been able to shoot it where he shot it and how quickly he got it off his stick.

I can't remember which game it was, but, like, just seeing that release and having watched the Bedards and the Celebrinis of the world, locally here at some of the summer skates, Man, the amount of deception on releases these days. It was it was easier back in the old days where guys just put their head down and leaned into a slap shot. It was easier to know where that was going.

Yeah. I think the biggest thing now is just the deception. Like, he he has a hard shot, but there's definitely guys with harder shots. He just knows where to place it. He'll shoot it when you don't expect it.

Crazy angles to make you look kinda goofy. Like, I'm happy I didn't really have to play against him this year. I had his number before that. So if he is ever listening, he knows that. But, yeah, I think he just he knows where to shoot the puck and know and knows when to.

And he's also a great playmaker, so maybe as a goalie, you don't think he's gonna shoot, and then he does. It's just you don't really know what to expect, and he just always finds a way to just be in the right position. So it's stuff like that that just you don't know really what's gonna happen when he has the puck.

Mindset, when you're on a team like that, you mentioned it, like, not just him, but, you know, a lot of great players on that team in Medicine Hat, towards practice. Like, as a goalie, we know practice is sometimes not for us. It's sometimes not very friendly for the goaltenders. A lot of open looks from open spots that you might not see during a regular season. How do you approach that so that you are always working on your game even in moments where maybe the drills weren't that friendly for a goaltender?

How have you learned to handle that?

Yeah. I think sometimes in practice, you have your time for yourself, and you have your time just to be a competitor. I think well, at least in Medicine Hat before practice, we'd have goalie skates, then I knew that's when I needed to be dialed in and just work on the stuff that would help my game. But then after that, it was just all about stopping the puck and finding a way. So in practice, if you got a three on one drill or like a a drill where maybe the defense isn't trying as hard because it's just they're doing a lot of reps, It's all about just being competitive.

If you get scored on, you know, maybe that play's probably not gonna happen in the game, but it's just you against your teammates and your friends. So you wanna kind of, I guess, have a little battle with them, kinda make it fun. Don't worry too much about how many goals are getting scored on you. I think when you practice a 100 times a year, you don't really nitpick all the little things like that unless you're doing your own goalie skates. I think it's just about having fun and and kind of chirping your teammates and and making sure that you're stopping more than they're scoring, but also just bringing that competitive nature out of yourself.

Do you think when it benefits for yourself too, but also teammates hit. Like, when a goalie you've probably seen it. Maybe even went through a period of time yourself where where was like, when the when the drills get unrealistic, guys will shut down. Do you think teammates notice a difference when a guy is battling? Like, do do you think being that guy that battles, as much as it helps you with the competitive side, do you think it can help maybe your teammates go to war for you once the puck drops for real because they know you're willing to battle through some of those drills where a lot of goalies might be like, to heck with this.

Exactly. I think that's I think that's actually really true. Like, I talk with a lot of my teammates and, you know, maybe there's a goalie there that's not trying, and then they don't have that kind of built up respect that they would have for you or maybe a different goalie that is battling in net during practice because players don't get they're not gonna be happy if if you're in net and you're not trying because no one's getting better from that. And I think the higher up level you get, you kinda earn that respect from your teammates that you kinda owe it to each other to, you know, want each other to improve. I mean, that's also a huge part of why we won.

Like, we were a team that really wanted each other to get better and wanted, you know, the best for each other. So that's super important that in practice, you know, guys are pushing each other to get better, and we had lots of leaders on our team that would do that, whether it was on the ice or off the ice. So, that's something I really learned this year. I don't think I've ever been a part of a group that's like that. So I think that's important even for me just getting ready for pro that it almost felt like we were in a pro environment in junior hockey.

Like, we were a team that really wanted each other to get better and wanted, you know, the best for each other. So that's super important that in practice, you know, guys are pushing each other to get better, and we had lots of leaders on our team that would do that, whether it was on the ice or off the ice. So, that's something I really learned this year. I don't think I've ever been a part of a group that's like that. So I think that's important even for me just getting ready for pro that it almost felt like we were in a pro environment in junior hockey.

And, again, the fact that you battle like that makes it easier to become a part of that team, like, to really become a part of that team. It's a great lesson on I think even we've been guilty. I've been guilty in the best of writing about how practice can be bad for goalies sometimes, and we know it's not always goalie friendly, but how you treat those moments matters. And and in this case, like you said, not only are you getting something out of it, but it builds that bond within that team. It's a it's an important lesson, I think, for a lot of young goalies.

Yeah. I think growing up for me, I was always like, oh, it's practice. I would just dread it. And then as I got older and you kind of realize how hard it is to be an elite goalie, you you realize all the things you need to be consistent at, and you're not gonna get consistency from you know, in practice, you're not you don't necessarily need to go a 100%, but you need to make sure you're thinking about what you're doing and also pushing yourself because when the times get, you know, uncomfortable, you need to be ready for that.

The more comfortable practice times, goalie coach times. Matt Wanger was your goalie coach? Yep. I just wanna make sure I had that right. That's what I was looking up on the computer there.

I should have known that offhand. How much time did you get with him? I know it's different from team to team, how much support there is, whether it's full time, part time, in for a week, in for a couple weeks. And what was that process like? Like, how has Harrison Meneghin's game evolved in the past year?

Yeah. I think when you're a 20 year old goalie in junior hockey, your game is pretty much where your coach would want it to be. I think that what Matt what Wanger did a really good job with was, making sure that every day I was focusing on the right things. I think something that I struggled with was I'd maybe focus on too many different things, and I wasn't able to kind of clean up the important things, and that's what kinda hurt me at the beginning of the year. But as I got, you know, as we got closer in our relationship, he was able to kind of figure me out really good, and he was able to kinda just sit me down and talk me through what what we needed to do today, and also just, like, maybe what I needed to focus on off the ice as well.

We had a really good off ice relationship as well. So, yeah, he did a great job kind of just dialing me in. And, yeah, he got me ready for playoffs all season. Like, that's what we were preparing for. We knew we had a good team, so we got ready for, like, we got ready for the harder times rather than just regular season all year.

We were preparing for the most uncomfortable positions we could be in.

Okay. So off ice, when you say that, are we talking, like, training physically or also sort of between the years, how you're managing moments and the ups and downs of a season?

Yeah. It was it was for sure between the years. Me Okay. Me and Wanger, we're not lifting weights together. Together.

So Okay. Yeah. We were he was, you know, it it would almost sometimes I was like, oh, it's too much for me when I first got there. And then as I got more into, you know, the system and the organization, I was like, you know what? This is this is exactly what I needed.

And that's exactly what I'm talking about, being uncomfortable than becoming comfortable in a situation like that. I remember my first game there, I was struggling and he came in and he called me into the the office right away, like, I guess it was the food room, but but yeah. He sat me he sat me down and he just told me to relax. And I was never used to that. I I never had a goalie coach come talk to me in the middle of a game before, so it was a little bit different for me and I was a little overwhelmed.

But as time went on, I got used to it, and it just became routine at that point, and it was easy to kind of just keep moving forward maybe when a game's not going too great.

Was that something that continued? Like like, conversations between periods? Yep. Yeah. And is he full and is he full time there?

So is he around all the time?

Yeah. He's around all the time.

He's nice. That's not always the case. That's that's a feather in the cap to Willie and his staff that they've got a full time goalie coach.

Exactly. And that's kind of something that I knew right away not to take for granted. And that kinda just goes to the type of organization that Medicine Hat is. It's honestly, like, being there was unbelievable. Like, I I was not expecting it to be that good throughout the, you know, the whole organization.

I was just, like, I was just I was, like, honored to play there. That's kinda what what it felt like. So I was super happy with everything that was going on.

Okay. So what were some of the things that you guys talked about? Like, getting you like, you you talked about, like, this this might be too much at the beginning. What were some of the things that you and Matt worked through that helped you continue to get better as a goaltender? And, I mean, if there's stuff you don't wanna talk about, that's totally fine.

But what give me an is there an example or a couple takeaways that you think that might help another young goaltender out there?

Yeah. I think sometimes it's important to realize why you got scored on. I think sometimes there's some goalies that are like, why am I getting scored on? Like, why does this keep happening? And, I think we would talk about each goal that happened.

It'd be really quick. No. That's not in between period. That would some sometimes if I, like, asked him,

I was like,

like, what happened? Like, I don't no idea what happened on that second goal.

Because you don't have replays.

Yeah. I don't I don't watch the game right away. And he'd be like, you know what? It was so small this happened, and you're you're never gonna do that again. Like, that's not what in your style, like, that was a that was a one off.

And we'd move forward and we just play the rest of the game like we were in practice. Like, just go do the things you practice all the time, all the habits you've kinda built up. And that's why practice is so important because you can always fall back on, you know, what you work on and give yourself that confidence.

In terms of on the ice, you talked about too many things versus the important things. And certainly at InGoal, we're always we always talk about tools in the toolbox. Like, when we publish articles or whatever from all kinds of goalies and goalie coaches, the idea is to show people different things they can try, but not to be, hey. You should try this, that difference between the two. Were you trying too many different things, or you were you trying to fix too many?

Like, when you say too many versus the important things, is that just trying new things, trying different things, and not recognizing what your foundation is?

Yeah. I think sometimes you try and be some someone that you're not when you're in that. I think you

Can you give me an example?

Yeah. Like, I think sometimes, maybe not like a certain goalie, but you're trying a new play style that doesn't fit you. Like, whether it's trying to narrow your stance too much, but that's not how I would wanna play. So it's stuff like that, or keeping your hands too far out front because you feel like you can't track the track the puck properly. So just little things like that, and then, you know, Wanger would come back and be like, listen, like, the reason why you're not doing it is because you're not you're not getting square fast enough, you're not moving quick enough.

Like, stuff like that. Like, so you're you're you think it's now you're like, okay, maybe it's just I'm not working to position fast enough, and that's why he was able to pass the puck before I got square and, you know, I spread out or something like that. So it all falls back to smaller details, and you can't really worry about five different little things like that.

It's mean, if we're talking about five different little things, sounds like me on the first tee of any golfer. Right? Like Yeah. Me too. All these things swimming around, and then it looks like a folded lawn chair when I take that first hack.

Did you come up with some staples? Like, did were you able to and we've had different guys at different levels, including well into their NHL careers, sort of almost come up with mantras. We've seen guys write it on their gear or like, hey. This this is my staple. This is my anchor.

This is my focal point. Were you able over the course of the year to come up with things where, hey. This this is this is my foundation.

Yeah. I think there's I wouldn't say there was, like, three things, but I think we would just always say to each other, work to position head first and just track the puck. And if you can do those three things, everything else kinda falls into position. You know, some guys are, like, control rebounds, I don't know, state quick. I don't know.

Something crazy.

But if you're in position, Yeah. If you're in position, if you work to position fast, you're probably controlling a rebound.

Exactly. So it's it's all those things. It's like a it's like a puzzle. Everything just kinda falls into place. The more pieces you have in, the easier it is to finish the puzzle.

So yeah.

I like that. I like that. That's good. Where did the puzzle start for you? Let's give some some love to some people that we both know around here.

Angelo Maggio, I know you trained with him when you were younger, in Maggio goaltending. Let's let's let's rewind here a little bit. Where'd you fall in love with goal who was your first guy? Like, who was the My

first guy was Angelo Maggio. I I started training there when I was, I think, eight years old.

But who's your first who made you love the position? Who who did you wanna be? Like, a role model? Yeah. Or who who'd you watch in the NHL?

Was like, I they what made you wanna be a goalie, Harrison?

I mean, I think the real reason why is because when I put on player skates, I couldn't skate that well. And then I was putting

That's that honestly, it's good.

And no one could raise the puck, so I just felt super confident. And then, obviously, you start watching hockey. And when I started playing hockey, it was when the Canucks were on that twenty eleven run, and that was the first time I ever cried watching a hockey game. So that's kinda where, I guess, the love the love started for the sport when I when I felt really sad when the Canucks played brutal in game seven. So

Luongo was your sort of first one?

Yeah. He was he was kinda my first guy, and I think, you watch just goalies like Carey Price, and then Vasilevskiy when you get a little older, and then now I kinda watch him play on the ice. So it's a surreal moment. But, yeah, I think that's kinda where it started. I'm a huge Canucks fan, so that's that's definitely where the passion started.

And, I mean, it's a frustrating team to support, but, yeah, I'm loyal.

I like it. I like it. Now back to Angelo. You mentioned him. So you fall in love with the sport, with the position.

You wanna be a goalie. Some of your earliest influences, obviously, I remember talking to your parents about, hey. Where should I go? And Angelo and Maggio goaltending, man, like, you look at the a lot of the guys that came out of this area and made it, and a lot of them started there. Right?

Like Tristan Jarry, Laurent Brossoit, and now yourself. Like, what do you remember about the coaching style that you think resonated so much?

Yeah. I think, they always keep you super confident. And then when I was younger, Angelo would be super hard on me when he when he needed to be. He always kept me kind of loose, but also dialed in in a sense. I think I learned a lot of lessons with him in terms of just maybe not goofing around as much as I would like to.

But it was I don't know. Like, we have such a close relationship, especially with his son Greg. That's who I train with that's who I train with now, and he's done an unbelievable job. So I think it's it's pretty cool kind of the relationship that we've built over the years.

I was gonna say too, the one thing I remembered, like, a lot of compete drills for young goalies, a lot of skating. And I think that I mean, to me, that's not a coincidence. You talked about Vasilevskiy. I think what we see from the Russian goaltending, a lot of skating at a young age. I remember watching a lot of skating at Angelo's camps with other goalies.

Yeah. He's Angelo's, like, the skating has been really good for me. I think when I was younger, I didn't realize how important it was. I think there was a few times where I shed a few tears, but now that I'm kinda happy, I think it's pretty funny now. I'm sure that maybe he'd have a good laugh hearing that.

But, yeah, I think the skating is is it's more important than a lot of young goalies think. I think at least I've I've coached a few goalies too. I'm not the greatest coach, but I I definitely see them not enjoying skating. They like to just go in there and stop pucks, but they don't realize that that's the whole foundation of the position. Every goalie when you get older can stop a puck that's shot when they're square.

But it's it's how do you get square and how do you do it fast, and how do you keep up that conditioned kind of feeling that so you're not building all these bad habits. And when I look at a lot of young goalies nowadays, I see they can stop a shot, but they can't really skate that well. So that's kinda where they get, you know, hiccups in their career, and maybe they don't make that junior team they want to because they can't skate as well.

So, and there you go. There's the skating. Right? And we used to we we mentioned Carey Price is one of the early sort of role models, guys that you looked up to, and he used to talk to us all the time about, like, crease movement. If you can't move, you can't play.

Right? You don't need pucks to work on it either. But it's not as fun as when there's a puck out there.

So Yeah. It's

don't love it.

It's not it's not the funnest, but as you get older, you do it a lot more than you did as a kid, and it's probably been the biggest difference in my game. I remember in Bantam, I wasn't the greatest skater, and I wasn't the greatest goalie by any means. I didn't get drafted to the Western Hockey League, but I started working on my skating, and that's when I kinda saw my saw my career, I guess, advance, you could say. Yeah.

Okay. So walk me through that. Because, again, young goalies, I mean, you've been through it now at two levels. You said didn't get drafted into the WHL, didn't get drafted your first time in the NHL. Your second time through the draft, you do get picked by Tampa Bay.

Now you're signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Do we get too caught up in the first opportunity? Like, what was that like for you? I know you played academy, so there's probably a ton of pressure. Your, you know, peers getting drafted.

What what was that like to go through, and how did you move past it?

Yeah. I I mean, I can still remember the day, that the Bantam draft was on. We were all sitting on the on the bikes in the gym, and no one was really pedaling. We were just sitting there watching, and I remember seeing all my buddies get drafted. We had a really good Banham team.

I think there was, like, three or four guys that didn't get drafted, and I was one of them. And I was just standing there, and guys were getting listed after the draft by teams that, you know, didn't wanna use their draft picks, see who was available. And I was just like, I'm so like I wasn't confused, but I just felt like defeated. And then looking back now, I'm like, well, that's stupid. You were 14 years old.

But it's definitely tough hearing everyone talk about all the teams that they're going to, and then you kinda sit back and you're like, well, am I as good as I think I am? And then I remember thinking that, but I was like, I feel like there's so much more that I can do. And I'm kinda surprised I thought those things, but I'm happy I did because it kinda kept me able to push forward. I always knew I was better than maybe what people thought I was, so that was that was good for me to think that. And, yeah, I think just I got opportunity to play 16U.

I was supposed to play in the fifteen league, but I got pretty lucky. I'm not sure how that happened. And, yeah, I I had a really good season, and Yogi Sveikowski was my coach, and he's got a lot of connections. So he was able to just I don't I don't know what happened. Maybe some Lethbridge guy saw me, and I played good that day.

Then they listed me, and, you know, I got my opportunity. I just tried my best to season, and I I guess I did. And, yeah, I think it's just important to kinda realize that maybe the first time won't work, but if you believe in yourself, then, you know, good things will happen.

You gave yourself you're honest there about the emotions of that day and and feeling disappointed by it, so can't ignore that. Give yourself that, and then find a way to push through. Like like, you a little harder after that initial disappointment. Is that fair?

Yeah. That's fair. Like, I mean, I remember going

Like, you can't pretend that you're not affected by it. Right? But then just you have a choice. You either let it defeat you or you dig in.

Yeah. Like, you can't sit there and pretend like it doesn't hurt because it obviously does. Like, it's a big it's a big day.

Would argue we make it a bigger day, especially in the academy environment. I've heard I mean, I've heard the stories, not from yourself, but from other kids. Like, when you're in that environment, they're all watching the draft and every and there's a ton of pressure that comes

from There is. And I think, especially for younger goalies, I could, like, name, like, a handful of goalies that are drafted to the NHL and signed that didn't get drafted in the Bantam draft. Like, the Bantam draft means I'll I'll be, like, brutally honest. It means nothing. Like, it it actually does.

Like, unless you're a first round draft pick as a player, like, there's there's nothing gonna be given to any players or it doesn't count you out. Like, there's so many goalies that are the best goalies in that league right now that are not drafted.

So okay. So fast forward now. You're in the dub. You've established yourself Lethbridge, but you get passed over in the first draft in the did you have expectations your first time through the NHL draft, or or were you how did you go into that? How did you come out of it Mhmm.

Mindset wise?

I thought I deserved to be drafted, but I also understood that there was not a lot of pedigree, yet. I, you know, I was thinking, like, I had I had a good season. I proved I could play in that league, but teams wanna see consistency, so I I understood that maybe I wouldn't get picked. But at the same time, I felt a lot of pressure on myself to have a even better season next year. And so going to that next season, you know, I knew I had a opportunity to be a starting goalie in the league.

So I think it was just important to realize that I had to take care of myself for that season and just get ready to be, you know, essentially promoted to a full time starter. So, that's kinda where my mindset was, and I did a good job of that. I had a good year. Didn't have the best playoffs, but yeah. I mean, proved myself I could be a starter, and I think that's when I really thought I could get drafted.

Yeah.

So in between the two years, you put it sounds like you put pressure on yourself. Yeah. How how'd you manage that? Right? Like, how do you how do you raise the bar and raise your expectations without falling victim to?

Because expectations can be a tough thing. Mhmm. But how like, did you do you goal set? Do you identify specific things you need to work on and just knock one off after the other? Like, how did you hey.

I it's one thing to say, Harrison, to me, hey. I wanna be better next year because I think I can get drafted if I take another step. How did you do that? Add that pressure to yourself without feeling that pressure, I guess, is what I'm trying to ask.

Yeah. I think, for me, that's where my, like, loose, goofy kind of personality helps me out. I did put a lot of pressure on myself, but at the end of the day, I was like, you know what? It's just hockey. Like, go out there and play.

But there is things that you do need to, like like, work on and hold yourself accountable for. And, you know, you do take back some time and you just look at some things that you truly need to work on in your game and you work on those things and, you know, you you gotta understand that it's not gonna be quick. But

What were some of the things? Can do you remember some of the specifics you were trying to drill down on?

I think it's just a lot of it's, like, just being harder in front of your own net when there's, you know, bigger players in front of you. I think for me, was just getting a little bit stronger. That's still something I need to work on, but I remember I was just super super, like, fragile and weak, and I've gone a lot stronger and just

So battling for your ice a

little bit? Battling for your ice. And I think a lot of it is just understanding how to be a consistent goalie. Like, you you gotta understand that you can play seven of your best games of your life, and then you could have two games right after those seven games where you played really good that you just play awful, and you can't question your whole career after that. Like, you gotta just understand that goal is a position where you do get scored on.

Like, that's the whole idea of the position is to stop the pucks, but you at the end of the day, like, you're gonna get scored on. You gotta just understand that. Gotta you just gotta accept that fact, and you gotta move on, and that's something that I never understood. I would beat myself up, you know, too much about that.

Does that does that tie into, like, Matt Wong and Yeah. Too many things? Like, would you if you had a couple of bad games, would you start trying to change things? Like, change for the sake of change?

Yeah. I think so. And that's what I was really worried about going to a team that is a contender. I was like, you know, I gotta find a way that I can, kind of push myself in playoffs when maybe we go down in a series or, you know, I play a bad game, but we play the very next day and it's essentially the biggest game of the season. Like, every game is the biggest game of the season in playoffs.

So you just it was it was hard for me to kinda wrap my head around that, but once I did, I felt really good and really confident because you knew that I knew that if I played bad, I was gonna feel the exact same as I did if I played good the night before going into the next game. So that's something that I think a lot of goalies need to understand. I feel like some goalies feel like they're playing guilty in a sense. Like, they're they're trying to redeem themselves for the last game, but, that's just not how it works. Like, it's just game by game.

You can't try harder in this position, can you?

Yeah. No.

You can't. It doesn't usually work. It's like golf.

Yeah. Exactly.

So you rip off a nine nineteen save percentage as a starter, and Lethbridge in 2324, and you get drafted. What what do you remember about the draft?

Well, I remember being in Italy the week before and coming like, everyone else was still in Italy, and I came home by myself. And I was at home with my grandma, my mom's mom, and she doesn't really know a lot about hockey. So I remember seeing the draft by myself at home, not at the actual draft. And I keep watching just, like, these names go by, and we're by, like, the fifth round now. I'm like, k, this is probably where I should get drafted, fifth to seventh round.

And they're just I remember just seeing goalies names that I didn't know necessarily enough.

Which is what we had, especially from overseas and stuff. There's a lot

of that at

the time of the draft. Yeah.

A lot of, like, Russian goalies that obviously are good, but I don't know who they are.

Right. So that's hard.

So it's hard to see that. So you really start questioning if you're gonna get drafted. And but I knew in the back of my mind that I did a lot of talking with Tampa, and I think they had like three seventh round picks. So I'm like, you know what? I'm fine if I go in the seventh round.

I do not care what round I get drafted in. And I remember about to start walking downstairs because I was like, I'm not getting drafted. And as I was walking downstairs, as as cliche as this sounds, I heard my name on the TV, like, really, like, faint because in the seventh round, they don't really announce the picks anymore. They kinda just say it and then they move on to the next one.

Yeah. It's pretty quick.

But I but I heard Lethbridge and then I heard my name and I look and I saw my name just kinda like pop up on the TV and I was like, I kinda just sat there for a bit And my grandma was like, oh, look, it's your name. And I was like actually, I don't even know if she was there. I think she was like watering plants or something. And I like started celebrating and then I go ask my grandma or I go tell my grandma, like, I just got drafted to the NHL. And she's like, so, like, do you, like, have to travel and stuff?

I'm like, well, yeah, like, a little bit. And then I kinda just called my whole family's watching into Italy, so I FaceTime them, but then my phone starts blowing up. Like, all my friends and all my, like, other, like, family members that were in Italy were trying to get ahold of me, and then then Tampa, all their staff started calling me. So, it was pretty busy. And then but it was pretty cool seeing my notifications on my phone kinda just blow up, so that was nice.

Okay. And then first dev camp, and then do you go to training? You went to training camp too last year.

Yeah. Like, I went to think all, yeah, all drafted guys, at least in Tampa, go to main camp. So it was it was like a three three weeks long. It was super long process, but it was super fun. Like, I remember coming back to my team and saying, like, that was, like, some of the most fun I've had playing hockey because you're in Tampa.

It's nice. You feel like you're on vacation, but you're also you're also, like, trying super hard at hockey, so it's a little bit weird. But I got used to it, and I'm like, you know, I could be comfortable here. But, yeah, it was it was super fun.

Okay. So you mentioned Vassi and seeing him on the ice. Do you get a chance to be on the ice with him?

Not yet. I'm hoping this year a little bit, but When

get when you get to watch him, so you're probably just in you're at camp, but you're in different groups, I'm guessing.

Yeah. Because usually

there's a lot, you know. What do you see, like, when you watch a guy like that?

Yeah. I think when you watch someone on TV, you kinda just think that they're, like this is gonna sound super weird, but you think that they're just like a robot. Like, you think that they just show up to games and they're just perfect at everything they do. But you watch and practice and you just see, like, him how he's always doing the same thing. There's so many habits and layers onto, you know, an NHL goalie's game that makes them successful.

So you you do bring that back to your own game and you understand that, you know what, he didn't just get lucky. Like, he he he worked on this his whole life. So you you take that and you bring it back to for me, it was junior hockey. And, you work on those things, and it's a little weird at first because you're always so nitpicky about what you're doing. But you get used to it, and it's, I think it's pretty cool to kind of see that firsthand.

Okay. So the nitpicky, the stuff that you talked about, too many things versus the important things. No matter what it is, even as you narrow that focus, how do you go from worrying about all those things to just playing a game? What's your advice to goalies that maybe sometimes get a little too consumed with all the too many swing thoughts if if I was on the golf course and just watch the ball hit the ball? What advice would you have for that?

Take all the things you work on in practice and just go out and play.

Yeah. I think for me, my game is it's I don't think when I play at all. Like, literally I don't talk to anybody on the ice. I won't talk to the refs. I won't I mean, I barely talk to my teammates when I'm playing.

So it's just I think you just gotta be so dialed in on just playing that you you're so dialed in, you can't even think about things like going down in your RVH too early or if you're on angle to the puck. Like, I feel like when you're playing straight off adrenaline, it's it's when you play your best.

Do you have a way of getting to that point? Like, are there is there a preparation game day right before a game? Like, when you say adrenaline, I think of elevated heart rate. I think of making sure you're up for it. Are there different ways you do to make sure you'd get that dialed?

I think it's, a lot of your warm up. I'm someone that's super loose before games. Like, I play Super Bowl, and I'm talking a lot with my teammates. But it's it's for me, it's just getting my heart rate up. Like, that's just the best way.

So you're super talkative and relaxed and hairy before the game. Yeah. But once it starts, you're Henrik-lite

Once I once I start putting on my gear, I don't say a word. Like Okay. Unless it's, like, to the trainer saying I need something, like

So that's that's how you die everybody's different. That's how you dial in your

Yeah. It's like it's a little cliche, but it's almost like a light switch. Like, that light, like, I need to flip that switch before I play. And

But if you flip it too early, like, if you're not loose and playing Super Bowl, I would imagine it would be draining. Yeah. To be in that mode for two hours before the game as opposed to right when you put your gear on would be tiring.

Yeah. That's that's kinda why I do it. Like like, I I probably played maybe 70 games this year, and I I don't know if I'd be able to play 70 games where I'm just dialed in for six hours straight almost. Like like, it's I'm loose before games. I'm you know, and then at the hotel if we're at the hotel, I'll I'll be talkative with my roommate.

Like, it's not it's not like I need to be dialed in, but once game time comes though, it's it's like a light switch. Like, I'll be I won't say anything to anybody, and it's just yeah. Like, you just gotta you gotta focus on not so much the results of the game. I feel like some people are like, oh, I hope I don't let in five goals today. Like, even if you get scored on first shot, you're just focusing on, you know, the, I guess, the process.

You're focused on the process to winning rather than the results of winning, and that's something I really picked up on this year.

Is that something where where Wonger would, in between periods, be like, hey, like, like, that doesn't like, did he help you get to that point?

Yeah. Like, if I let him let's say, let him two goals in the first period, I'm not I'm not thinking to myself, oh, I'm on pace for six goals tonight. Like

Some guys do. Yeah.

Yeah. Like, used to That's

what lead all roads lead to barely because I guess like me think about.

That's exactly what I used to think about. So that's something that really helped me, just focus on the process. Because that way, in a game, you're almost focused on just getting better almost too. Like, you're just focused on doing the right things. And then when you're actually when the puck's in your own end, you're just playing at that point.

Yeah.

Love it. Playoffs. Different beasts. You see it's funny you said, you know, playoffs even at the the year you were drafted, playoffs didn't go as well as your regular season did. What did you learn about playoffs this year that allowed you to have the success?

You guys win a WHL championship. I'm watching you on TSN and the WHL championship series. Like, there's a bright light. There's a bigger spotlight. What did you learn about that process that allowed you to have more success in the playoffs this year?

And obviously, team and everything plays into it, but it sounded like you personally didn't love your playoffs two seasons ago.

Yeah. What'd you learn? I think it's just I was in a different atmosphere. Like, a lot more people the whole season in Lethbridge, it was we need to make playoffs. We need to make playoffs.

So when you make playoffs, you're thinking, you know what? We made playoffs, like, we're happy we're here. You know, let's see how far we can go. But at the end of the day, we're happy. And maybe the coaches are

saying that let your like, okay. We're done.

Yeah. Like Almost? Yeah. Almost. And then, you know, when the coaches are still they're saying, like, let's win.

But the play it's a different it's a different mindset in the locker room. But in this case, in, Medicine Hat, the whole year, it's when we get to playoffs. When we get to playoffs, we gotta be ready, like, stuff like that.

And you you said Wonger had you dialed in on that too. Yeah. So the focused on.

Yeah. The whole year, we're we're getting ready for the hardest games of the year, which is as like, the farther you go into playoffs. And, obviously, there's gonna be games where you're not as comfortable and you're not feeling your greatest, but it doesn't matter because it's it's game three of the playoffs and you're up two one in the series, and you don't wanna have to come back to Swift Current in round one. Right? So it's it's it's all those little things that, you know, you you work on all year that get you ready for, you know, the bigger spotlights.

Yeah.

The can you give me an example? Like, because you you've said this a couple times, and I'm just trying to think of, like, you know, what as a goaltender you said everything was about getting ready for playoffs. Can you give me an example of what that like, how you would approach something or how you would look at something in a regular season in a way that helps you come postseason?

I think playoffs is it's still hockey, but there's some things that are a little bit different. Teams will try and get to you a lot more. It's a lot more personal. You play the same team at least four times.

You mean personal in terms of, like, chirping and

the Chirping, but more just, like, guys will try and be in your face a lot more. Like like, screens and more hacks, and there's definitely chirps, but I don't really hear the chirps necessarily. But you notice when guys after a whistle slap your glove or something like

It's like more physical intimidation.

But also in a sense, like, when you have that mindset that the these are the games that truly matter the most, it's it it gets you more, like, more, like, hungry to win, and you're you feel more just, like, confident in that situation. It's not like you're doing anything different in practice. It's more just reiterating that, like, k. Playoffs are here, but we've been ready for this the whole time, so there's nothing else you need to think. Like, you you're prepared for this kind of

So, like, if you somebody's whacking you in the regular season Mhmm. There's that, like, hey. Like, don't let this bother you because it can't bother me Yeah. When the playoffs come and everybody's whacking you after a whistle. Yeah.

That type of thing?

Yeah. A little bit. I think the biggest thing though is the reassurance of that you are ready for playoffs. I think a lot of people, when they get to, like, the bigger games, they don't feel ready, and they kinda crack. I think what we worked on all year was everything we did this year was this for this purpose right here was for playoffs.

It was mindset.

Yeah. It's mindset pretty much. Like, if you can dominate in regular season, you can dominate playoffs. I think we see a lot of time, especially in the NHL, you see Connor Hellebuyck. He plays he plays a game where he is always square to the puck, but when it comes to playoff time, it's it's more of a messy game.

Like, it's a different look at It's chaos. It's chaos. And you look at a guy like Thatcher Demko. Like, he he was good in playoffs, but he's always hurt. But he he has really quick foot speed.

Right? And Hellebuyck's different. He doesn't have

Different style of goal. Different styles.

Yeah. So it's it's a completely different style in playoffs in a sense that it it's messier and it's you know, some games are more structured because teams are playing better defense, but, like, there's gonna be more stuff going on in front of the net. So, yeah. Like, it's it that's why you see some

guys It's not as clean a game. Even if you're on a good defensive team, it's really hard to maintain that clean game.

Yeah. Exactly. I got that.

K. Before playoffs Mhmm. You went through something that Yeah. Nobody should have to go through, especially at your age. Yeah.

I haven't even had a chance to say condolences.

Thank I've

seen you since then.

Mhmm.

Walk me through your dad who we knew, Derek. Yeah. What right you head into playoffs and you lose your dad.

Mhmm.

How do you how do you move on from that?

I mean, I don't

Don't, I guess.

Yeah. You it's hard to I think you need a ton of support, and that's what I was really fortunate to have. So after that game in Calgary, when I found out, I went home with my mom right away because it happened at the game. And

Last game of the season?

Last game of the season. And, you know, it was it was like it felt like that plane ride home was, you know, twelve hours rather than one. And I remember getting home and kinda it was just quiet, like no one was really saying anything. I couldn't really sleep at all. You're just I

was in shock.

I was in shock. I gotta understand really even I didn't believe it still. But, you know, I had so much support from my teammates, like, you know, a few days after, I was gonna go back. It took some thinking, and I was like, oh, do I go back? Like, I don't know if I can.

But but I knew that that's what my dad would want. So I I kinda forced myself to, and I'm really really happy I did because I don't know if what I would be doing right now if I didn't. But but, you know, Willie Dejardin, sent a few of my teammates back to me to just to travel with me back. Like, they they slept at my house that night, and we went back at six in the morning. So they How

how much time did you have between I hadn't looked at the calendar, Harrison. It was Like, from that last game and getting the news after that game to the start of the playoffs, like a week?

I think

it was, like, five days or something. Five or six days. Not a lot

of time to process.

Yeah. Not a lot. Yeah. So it was definitely really weird, but, like, my team was so supportive. Like like, when I came back, I was it literally felt like it was my family.

Like, I had so many, like, people that just cared about me, cared about my mom and my sister, like, constantly reaching out. So I felt, like, comfortable being there. And, yeah, like, it just and then for my dad's funeral, they came too. So it they actually did feel like family, and that's like it made hockey so much easier. And then you're just super focused.

Like, after that, you're just super focused on winning, and you couldn't really take your mind off of it. Like, there was, like it almost felt like it was the only thing that mattered. So it was kind of in a sense, it was nice to keep my mind busy.

Because you had to focus

on hockey. Because I had to focus on hockey.

That switch you throw. Yeah. You know, from from Super Bowl and fun to game. Was it harder to throw that switch? Did was the mind still wandering?

Were there mechanisms that allowed you to get back

to it? Yeah. Like, my mind was still wandering, but I remember that first game back, and I don't think I'll ever forget it. I got a shutout, and it was super special after the game kind of just seeing all the fans. They were all chanting Harry, and I just thought it was surreal.

Like, I didn't really like, I thought that I'd I'd never have, you know, however many people, thou I have no idea how not 12,000, like, 7,000 people in there were just chanting my name and it was insane. And then, you know, my captain says go for a lap. So I go for a lap and just the crowd got louder. So I was like, you know what? Like, I really wanna win this for for the city.

So, yeah, I think that's when kind of I really thought, like, we're gonna win. Like, I think when we got in the locker room after, it was silent too. Like, no one was saying anything, and then someone just said, we're like, we're winning this. So then everyone kinda got, like, goosebumps. And yeah.

So everyone was just super dialed in after that. Everyone just wanted to win it.

The emotions must have caught up to you at different points where I would imagine it would be still overwhelming. Mhmm. How did you were you able to keep them at bay at all times during games, or were there times during that run to the WHL championship, WHL MVP for you? Mhmm. Were there times where it where it it came in, where it crept in?

I think we had a pretty, like we we didn't face a lot of adversity in playoffs. Like, we beat Swift in five, and then we swept PA and Lethbridge. But I think it was during the actual games itself where I remember in Lethbridge, was game three and we were down, like, four one. And we were, like, sitting in the lock or I think it was, like, five two or something going into the third. And we were sitting in the locker room, we're like, we're not losing this game.

But before we're going into the locker room, everyone was super negative on the bench, like, guys were arguing, whatever. And we sat down in the locker room, it was silent for like thirty seconds, And then, you know, the older guys on the team were like, guys, we're winning this game. Like, we're finding a way. And that's exactly what we did. Like, we went out there.

It was like a brand new game, and we just felt like we were scoring, like, every shift. And they but they scored right away. Like, they scored, like, the first two minutes of the game, and I was like, I'm sitting in my or of the period, and I'm sitting in my net. I'm like, oh my god. Like, this is crazy.

Like, I was in shock when they scored on me right away. But then we literally came back and tied the game and won it two minutes in overtime, and, you know, it was insane. Like, it was crazy. And now we're up three nothing in the series, and I'm sure Lethbridge didn't feel too great after that game.

So What are the Mem Cup? What was that like? I mean, again, you know, I watched you on TSN. You know, like, which is kinda like, maybe that's no big deal to you. But, like, to watch it like, for me even, and I've covered the NHL for twenty five years, but it's different when it's somebody you know, and I know what you've gone through emotionally, having been at the service

Mhmm.

To being on TV.

Yeah.

And now all of sudden, Memorial Cup's an even brighter spotlight. Sports net's there, and it's it's every game is on TV, and it's in a National Championship. What's that like for you?

Again, how did you Yeah.

How do you manage both the moment and the highlight and the spotlight of the event itself, but also the emotions of what you'd been through to that point? Because there's a gap there. You have a little break.

Yeah. So, I mean, after we won the league, you know, we had our fun. We we relaxed for a few days, and then it was right back to, you know what, we gotta get the water hot again. We gotta get ready for, once again, the biggest games of our lives. And Having a leader

like Willie probably helps with that too.

Right? He we we wanted so badly to win it for him because we knew that he's never won one before, and, you know, in all our leadership meetings, it's like, we gotta do it for Willie. We have to. So it's really sucks that we came, you know, just shy of it. But I remember sitting on the plane going to Rimouski, and I was like, this is gonna be insane.

Like, this is the biggest covered junior hockey thing ever.

And it did a small town that year, so it's like it like, there's probably the only it's it's the event in town.

There was nothing going on in Rimouski except

for this. Cup. Yeah.

And I was sitting there on the plane. I was like, I knew how much media coverage was gonna be around me

Right.

And also having Gav on our team. So I was like, I don't know, like, really what to expect. So I was really nervous for that, but then when we actually got there, I was like, this is just hockey again. I'm with the same group of guys I just won a championship championship with. It's my family.

You know, I'm my mom's gonna be there. Like, it just felt like a hockey tournament in Bantam or or Peewee when you're, you know, it's like Sunday championship. Like like, it's crazy that it's like that again, but

It must make it easier to just go and play.

Yeah. Exactly. So I'm like, you know, we're just gonna go out there, take it game by game, whatever happens happens, but I'm just gonna, you know, stick to the things that make me good. And that's why building all these good habits is it gets you ready for when you're uncomfortable. So in terms of winning, I learned that you need you need to be so, like, so close with your teammates.

Because at the end of the day, when things aren't going well, that's who you fall back on.

Yeah. Being uncomfortable. I mean, you went through the ultimate test of of comfort, but it sounds like that was something you worked on throughout the year. Obviously, not not knowing what's coming, but on the ice too? Because I just wanna touch on that a little bit.

Because it sound like you talk about being uncomfortable, whatever position you're in. Is that something you and Matt purposely worked on?

I think not so much, like, on the ice in terms of, like, when the play is, like, scrambly.

Right.

But maybe when the game's not going well and you're stuck on the ice. You can't you can't go hide as a goalie. Right. So when you're on the to hit a time out. Exactly.

So you gotta go just out there, and when you're uncomfortable, it's all about facing the next shot. That kinda became a theme for us, and even, like, Joe Frazer, my coach would say it. When I'm going into the second period, it's like two one for the other team. It's like, just focus on the next shot. I'm like, oh, okay.

It's the easiest thing to say, but it can be tough to do.

It's tough to do and it's it's super cliche, but at like, it's all you can do. You can't go back in time and try and, you know, save a deflection that hit off four bodies. Like, you can't save that. You don't know what's gonna happen. Yeah.

I think it's just you gotta be comfortable in the most uncomfortable positions. Yeah.

I think it's just you gotta be comfortable in the most uncomfortable positions. Yeah.

Not to put you in another uncomfortable position, but with your dad Mhmm. Tell us a little bit about him and his role in your career because I know he was, like, your biggest fan. Because we used to talk about you when you were only came up to my waist as opposed to being three, four inches taller than me and about playing hockey. How much you know, not the goofiness. Mhmm. Your dad was so cool. I always thought your dad was the coolest guy.

Like Yeah. A little too cool. Like, almost, like, I felt, like, not worthy because he was just sort of but he was super casual about everything. Right? Do you get a little bit of that that ability to to bounce back and not not get caught up in in negative stuff?

Does that come from him a little bit?

I think when I was younger, I always thought my dad was, like, super hard on me. But now that I'm older, I realized that he just wanted what was best. And I think as I got older, he definitely softened up a bit. Like, he'd always tell me he'd always text me after a game just saying like, you know what, like, it's not your fault. Maybe it was my fault, but it's it's it's not your fault.

Just shake it off, focus on the next one. And I kinda just once you hear that a lot, you kinda just it becomes, like, embroidered in your brain, I guess. Like, you just you just think, you know what? Just one game, focus on the next one. And he just, you know, he just said it's not always gonna be perfect.

Like, you're gonna just have to find a way sometimes and just stuff like that. And, I mean, he funded the whole operation. So

Not easy as a goalie parent?

Yeah. Exactly. So, I mean, I'll forever be grateful for everything that he did for me. And, you know, I always do believe that he's still in a presence in my life too, so it brings me some comfort. But, yeah, I mean, just without him, I wouldn't even be playing hockey.

So I I mean, there's not enough words I think I could say to kind of show my appreciation for for what he's he's done for me. And, like, even for my mom and my sister, like like, he basically was like the glue in our family, and he was like a shield in a sense. So he did pretty much everything for us and I mean, now it's definitely different, but I think that he kinda prepared us for life. So I know, like, I know me and my sister already and, I mean, my mom, she's older, so she knows what life's like. But, yeah, I think, like, he's just taught everyone in our family so many lessons that we're ready for kinda whatever the future holds, I guess.

As cliche as that sounds, but it's true.

No. Okay. That might be a cliche, but when you say prepared us for life, like, that's not a cliche. It sounds like but but as a parent, this won't resonate with you because you're too young. But as a parent, I think that's all you ever hope to do for your kids.

So feeling like he's done that might be the that's the ultimate compliment, Harrison. So you say he's always with you. Where do you take him next? What does what does summer look like as you head into your first year of professional hockey? Where where do you know where you go after camp?

Do you have an idea where you're gonna end up, or do you just go to camp and what will be will be?

I think the whole goal is to just go to camp and whatever happens, happens. You just kinda gotta do what you're good at in a sense. Like, you can't try and be someone you're not. Can't try and, you know, try and do different things than that that you think NHL goalies do. Like, you gotta understand you are where you are because of what you've done, and you you got there because you're good at what you do.

So right back to not chasing change for the sake of change.

Yeah. I think that's something I got to junior hockey, that's something that really hurt me. Before I was actually playing, when I was just up with a team, I was trying to do too much and be someone that I wasn't. And as I gotten like, as I got older, I realized that I'm naturally good at these things, so I might as well just stick to what I'm doing.

So it's okay to watch Vasilevskiy, to admire what he does, to maybe try a few things Yeah. But to understand you don't need to be Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Yeah. There's some things that are things that you do at the NHL level that are you need to do. Yeah. That's that's that comes from experience and learning. It's not something you force upon yourself.

Yeah. If that makes sense.

No. I don't I like that. A lot of guys start now pro. It used to be, like, AHL or bust, but the reality is ECHL right now is where a lot of, like, top prospects start because they they get a chance to play. Is that something that, again, you haven't mapped out.

You don't know where you're gonna be, but, like, is it all about playing at this point, getting adapted to the program, and getting those opportunities?

I think so. I think sometimes you gotta look at maybe the pipeline you're in. Tampa doesn't have a lot of goalies. So for me, I do wanna play in the AHL. I think I'm good enough to, but I also understand if I do go down to the East Coast League, that's a super normal thing to happen for goalies.

And I think it's it is important to kind of work your way up in an organization. You get to know everybody. You feel it feels more like a family when you do when you're there. The longer you are, the better it is just because, I mean, you get to know everybody and you feel more comfortable. I think being comfortable helps me play a lot better.

So, yeah, I think whatever happens, happens. But at the end of the day, you just fall back on what makes you good. Yeah.

I gotta say, we don't have a lot of 20 year olds on this show. It's usually guys who are a little older, a little more experienced.

Yeah.

And the interviews are usually a little shorter when it's younger guys like yourself. Yeah. But we're over an hour, buddy.

This has been really good.

Yeah. Yeah.

Great job. Incredible insights. Thank you. I really appreciate your time.

Yeah. Thank you. Appreciate it.

Okay. So until next time. And when the next time, we'll be we'll be talking to you after you've gone through the pro experience.

Yeah. I look forward to it. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you.

Pretty mature young man.

Definitely. Definitely. And some great answers there. And, like, when I said coming in, you caught me off guard. It's just I'd seen some of the postgame stuff.

I'd say, you know, when the guys go into their hockey speak, and they're on TV, and they're on camera. But you get them talking goaltending, and we rely he was relaxed. He was insightful. He was open. He had some there's some great stuff in there for young goalies, for goalie families that are feeling that pressure if this is your bantam year.

As he said, like, at the end of the day, yeah, it's real and the disappointment was real, but it doesn't have to mean anything.

I love it the way goalies open up on this platform.

Think they feel safe talking to Woody. They know it's goalies talking to goalies, and Woody always I mean, not everybody can hear the the preamble to these conversations like I do when I'm editing them. But Woody always just sets them up in such a professional and yet comfortable way so that these guys know they're safe to speak, and we're not gonna throw them under the bus.

I recently got a very kind note from someone who sent one of our interviews to an executive. And I I don't I didn't ask for permission to share this, so I'm not gonna share names. But just it was just it was a really nice reinforcement to me about that, about getting guys to open up. And they sent it to an executive who was having trouble doing interviews and getting people to open up in interviews. And I think we've done a nice job of creating a a pretty comfortable safe environment for the goalies where they feel like they can share and be open and not worry about who's listening.

Do you have a do you have a strategy in the conversations? Because I have a couple of things that I try to hit on during a podcast interview or, something that's a little bit more long form. Do do you have a, like, a a foundation?

I have a list of topics. And as you guys have heard, we're 313 in on this quite often, and I start with a you know? The origin story? Yeah. The origin story for you.

Because at the end of the day, most of these conversations come down to the shared passions that bind us as goaltenders from PW right to pro, whether it's gear, technique. Like, what is it that makes you love this position? So quite often, get into that as one of my early ones. But the truth is, Daren, despite all the work with Sense Arena, despite all the ProReads, my interviews aren't usually much like my goaltending. There isn't a deep thought or plan involved.

I have a couple of things. Like, I try to make a person laugh at some point, and I try to make sure that I learn something or I hope to learn something along the way. So following up on things. And I always have to remind myself, and this is a tough one, that I don't have to get to everything on my list. If the conversation goes in a certain direction, let it go.

And if that if the person's passionate about taking it there, then your interview is going to be so much better than if you try to rein it back into, what you wanna talk about.

Where was that advice, like, a 150 episodes ago, Daren? The amount of times that I had a list in front of me, and now I make a note like, oh, he he talked about this. Make sure we go back to that. Pull on that thread as as Hutch likes to say. And as I often now say in the interviews, I stole that one from Hutch.

There's a thread there I wanna pull on. But in the early going, I was I very much had my list, and then I would listen back after and I'd be like, man, why didn't I pursue that one more? Because that sounded like it was gonna be really good, but I was too eager to sort of check off the boxes. That's great advice, Daren. And it only took me, over what, 313 in.

I would say probably only took me 250 episodes to figure it out. So thanks for sharing now.

And then the other thing we do is whether it's Woody warning me having done the interview or I pick something up while we're editing it, is every now and then you hear something from a guy that we know what he meant, but we could imagine that it might be interpreted differently. And so we just pull it out. Like, there was a guy not that long ago that mentioned why he didn't go see his goalie coach from when he was younger. And just the way he said it just I could just see people not getting what he was really trying to hit at. So we just we don't need that.

It's not needed. Let's just keep these guys in a in a completely positive space. I don't I don't think we've ever had a case where it's like, oh my gosh. I can't believe he would say something controversial like that. Cut it.

It's more just what we think people might interpret it too because we're we're maybe overly sensitive to what people say on social media these days. So

Yeah. And I guess that maybe maybe that's part of it. We've created that safe space where goalies are comfortable that rather than having something they say immediately peak our eyebrows and go, that's gonna be gold on social media. Let's run with it. If we're worried about it may be interpreted the wrong way or put them in a bad spot, we'll actually go the other way and say, hey.

I think I know what you meant here, but I'm not sure putting other people may interpret it this way. What do you think? Should we just pull this part? And sometimes they say no, and sometimes they say yes, but that's how we approach it. We are not looking to be sensational, make headlines.

Maybe we maybe we'd have more listeners if that was what it was all about. Well, we're just content having great conversations about the position that we all love, and I think they feel that.

Outro

Wanna thank you guys for being patient. We were supposed to record this a few hours ago, but we had a little bit of a power outage in my area of Shelton PEI, and everything's back on and running. So, thank you for just standing by, holding firm before we did this.

I see the wetsuit in the background, Daren. I see the It's dripping. And the old graph skates. So what I'm wondering is if you were out in the wetsuit skates on each hand cutting power lines to get a day away from us.

You know what I did yesterday? We went out in a boat, a a tour boat, through Charlottetown how harbor and then into the Northumberland Strait, and we saw seals. That was a cool experience. And then we pulled up a a lobster trap. They have a educational license so they can fish all year round.

They they don't harvest the lobster. They trap them, and then they let them go. Saw the biggest lobster I've ever laid eyes on yesterday. It was what's that?

How did you weigh it? And how about like No.

The guy he was just holding it. And then he said, does anybody wanna

Give us the fish story. Show us the hands.

The thing was crazy. And they said, does anybody he put bands on them. This one, he couldn't put bands on because it was too big, but he's he let everybody hold the lobster, the three or four that he put bands on. Not a chance I'm putting that thing on me. No way.

And my kids did. Everybody else did. No way. I fully admit that I'm soft there.

Daren's the the everybody else is holding it. Daren's got a large pot in the background. He's letting he's letting a Bunsen burner stove. He's got a little hot butter going. Although they say when they get too big, because everybody likes, I got a two pound lobster.

When they get too big, they get a little less tasty.

Is that right? We were debating that. This thing was 40 years old.

Yeah. Yeah. Mean, you get a

little sad. You get a 40 years old. You gotta love You

get a little sit sinewy when you get old. Right? A little tough to eat.

Imagine cutting us open, throwing us in a pot. Oh, that would the sarcasm that would drip off

The only the only wouldn't be the only thing dripping off the pot. What do they what do they say that about a nice cut of beef? Oh, it's well marbled. I'd be well marbled.

Marbled. That that says us sums us up well. Thanks, guys. Appreciate it. We'll talk to you next week, everybody, on the wonderful journey of goaltending on InGoal Radio, the podcast.