Episode 345: Canadian Olympian and Vancouver Goldeneyes goalie Emerance Maschmeyer

Intro

Well, we've got a first on InGoal Radio Podcast. How many episodes have we done? 1,422? No. It just or is it 15,000?

[crosstalk] Like that to you because you have to talk to me every week. I love talking 300. It's one of my favorite moments. Alright. This has never happened before, and we got a whole bunch coming up in this episode, the three hundred and forty fifth. Great feature interview. We've got the Gear Segment, Vizual Edge ProReads, the parent segment.

Alright. This has never happened before, and we got a whole bunch coming up in this episode, the three hundred and forty fifth. Great feature interview. We've got the Gear Segment, Vizual Edge ProReads, the parent segment. This has never happened before, and we got a whole bunch coming up in this episode, the three hundred and forty fifth. Great feature interview. We've got the Gear Segment, Vizual Edge ProReads, the parent segment. We we love it all. But the New York Islanders announced that Semyon Varlamov is back with the team. He's not gonna play this year, but he's back around the team after double knee replacement.

I couldn't believe that when you sent it to me to the point where I'm still actually having trouble wrapping my head around it. A, that we didn't know this was happening or at least I didn't know, and I try to keep a pretty good tab on what's going on around the league. B, that he's at that like, is he actually caught like, see, like, I've had a consult. I need a knee replacement. I was told to put it off as long as I possibly could.

I'm 52. And it's because of goaltending largely. Actually, you know what? It's not. It's because I tore my ACL playing football when I was in college, and then you add goaltending to it.

But the idea like, goaltending's done for me. It was explained pretty clearly. I could play, but I was never gonna have butterfly width on that one side, and I wouldn't be able to play in any type of, like, just old man hockey is basically what I was told. Yeah. So the idea that you're coming off of two and Oh, no.

Older man hockey. Older. Older. Really older. That's pretty much it was implied because they got my surgeon actually said he has a couple of guys that have done it in play, but he says they're playing against, like, 70 year olds.

So literally older. So, yeah, I was I mean, I'm blown away. Varlamov is, you know, such a like, he's so good. Right? Like, I think he's actually one of the truly underrated guys in the tandem they had there with him and Sorokin, and Rittich is doing a great job there this year.

But, like, yeah, I had no idea he was going through that. I had no idea he was even contemplating it. And to contemplate a comeback from that is kinda mind blow I'm having a I'm having a little trouble wrapping my head around it.

Yeah. I saw the article, and I sent it to you right away saying, is this true? And and then I reread it, like, 20 times. There's a quote from Patrick Roy saying knee replacements. But I've never heard of a any player in the National Hockey League, goaltender, defenseman, forward coming back from a knee replacement.

Never mind two.

Yeah. No. And and, like, lot we know a lot of guys that have them after they're done playing for sure. Yeah. But no.

I'm I'm with you. I I have a friend that came back and played hockey after a knee replacement, but trust me, that wasn't the National Hockey League. And Right. As an aside, hopefully, Varlamov didn't do this to any of his teammates. Said said friend on my old beer league team actually had them take pictures when it was all opened up and sent it to our team group chat.

And insert vomit emoji here. Thank you very much. It's maybe one of the reasons I'm dreading when I eventually have to have it because I've seen what it looks like.

I've I've heard of a couple of guys doing that, getting their doctors to snap pictures while they're splayed open. But we'll keep an eye on it, and and he may not ever play in the National Hockey League again. He's got one more year left in his contract, but to even consider it is incredible. And I love it because maybe there's options for guys whose careers come short because their knees won't work.

As it was explained to me, it was more the internal rotation, like the sort of the like, your knees obviously will work after replacement, but being able to sort of flare out in a butterfly was what I was explained to me would would not necessarily be happening anymore after I had it. Like the hips. Right? When you get

Like the hips. Right? When you get a hip done, it that's the big problem is the rotation. Depends

depends on what type of surgery. Right? Like, sometimes the rotation gets better after you get the hip done because you lose the impingement. I will say here's a strange here's a sort of effect of knee replacement surgery that I never thought of in my life. Because when I went in for the consult and was told I needed this at some point, my thought was my first thought was goaltending.

And he asked me what other things I like to do. And I mentioned surfing. And he's like, oh, that's gonna be tough. And I'm like, I was thinking to myself, like, why? And he said, would have to relearn how to because all the sensors, all the sort of balance receptors and nerves and things that run through that part of your body, and it's an important part are gone.

So the feedback to your brain about balance through that part, like it just disappears. There's like a gap in your muscle memory and the information being processed to your brain. And it's an important gap because it's in your knee.

Really?

This I know and I hadn't either. And he was like, you're gonna have to relearn it because your body's not gonna be communicating to your brain the same way. And that's a significant like, that's the major joint that you're going up and down on and balancing. And I would actually think the same would apply to skating. And so I'd never heard of that before.

I had no idea, but that was sort of the one little extra thing that he threw at me that had me going,

this this this is a day for me. I'm having a challenging Well,

you don't know.

There's a couple of things I had no idea why.

You don't need a knee replacement, do you? Because it's only only for those of us who actually are on a wait list for one that have to worry about it. Yeah. Thank god in Canada, the wait list is long, so I got a ways to go.

Yeah. I was gonna say, come down here. We'll get to you Tuesday. Can't afford it. We had Steve Valiquette on the other podcast, 100% hockey with John Shannon and Daren Millard.

Love catching up with Vali, whether it's on InGoal or just on the side or on 100% hockey, but he he walked me through a couple of things. He his five things that he he wants goalies to do. And a lot of this stuff is over the course of the summer and stuff, but if you wanna tune up he was going towards Tristan Jarry, like, having a reset. And one of the things he's he suggested was go stand, put a puck in in front five feet in front of the blue line. So picture that.

Doesn't matter which which end you're you're pointing towards. But put puck on the other five feet in front of the blue line, and then go stand on the blue line and take your stance and then look down and see where your feet are. And he's talking about an alignment issue. He thinks maybe Tristan needs just a fine tuning of the alignment. So I did that the other day, just in the back of my head, and my right foot, I thought I was square.

My right foot was two inches in front of the left foot. Like, I I I wasn't square at all.

Oh, you had what? Tell me, was the puck at the left point, like, your left?

No. It was just it was five feet in front of me. And I'm standing on the blue line because I well, the reason why you stand on the blue line is it's easier to tell if you're if you're Okay. Off or tilted not. And it was fascinating. So then I did it like halfway through my skate, I was tilted again. And even though it was in my head, but I tried not to compensate just to see the feel of it, what comes naturally, it was wild. And so then he suggested put a puck on the center ice line and stand with your legs straddling, your feet straddling the red line, and then you'll be able to tell whether you've got too much on one side or the other, like, too much space on the right side or the left side.

And that that's my next one. But just thought I'd pass along that drill for if if anybody's feeling like you might be out of sorts a little bit with your an easy way to dial in the alignment.

Square. I it's funny because obviously for some of my radio work in Edmonton, I've been asked to look at a lot of Tristan Jarry film. This and one of the things that and and I don't know that it's necessarily new, but obviously it would jump out to Steve as he talks about a reset is a tendency to be over square on his glove side. So if the play's coming down the to his left down that wing or even shots. It doesn't even have to be a play coming down the wing of the retreat.

A tendency to sort of have the feet maybe square, but the shoulder's not like the glove pulled back faded a little bit towards the post. And so maybe one of the things that Steve picked up on when he was looking at film and that's I like the drill. I love it. Steve shared some amazing things with us here on the InGoal Radio Podcast over the years. I'm gonna have to send him a text message right now and ask him why he's saving that knowledge for you guys and not us.

Gear

Wait.

Well, I couldn't wait to to just bring it

to you. It's great. It's great. Like, I'm picturing I need a quote from Steve. I might I might dig into the 100% hockey podcast, steal a quote from you guys, and and put together a quick, pro tips, pro drills up at ingoalmag.com.

That's a good one.

It's something you can do all by yourself.

That's right. Because I'm I mean and for for those of us who are old beer leaguers, you don't get a lot of help out there. No. So you Self

check. You get as long as you got ice and a blue line, you're good. The red line one, it's the center ice red line, by the way, that you use. We don't wanna go to to the to the goal line. We've got a great story about Eric Comrie coming up, but first, let's get into our Gear Segment.

Sponsored by our good friends over at The Hockey Shop Source for Sports Langley, thehockeyshop.com. They got all kinds of spring break action going on.

Big sales. Massive sales, during spring break as they prepare the shelves, which are still stocked with last year's inventory and years before for all the new stuff that's coming. We did the True Project X stick last week. We've got the True Nitro Pro Gear coming up in next week's Gear Segment. They've already got that on on the shelves at the hockeyshop.com or the Hockey Shop Source for Sports, both for reals and in the virtual world.

It's all there. You can purchase it now. All the new stuff is coming. CCM Tacks releases soon. Warrior Alpha is coming out with their Alpha Surge line.

It's all coming, and they need to create space. So the sales are on right now at the hockeyshop.com as well. We're about to get into it the Gear Segment. I'll let Cam explain. They have got a ton of pro stock inventory, and it's all on sale right now as well.

Nice. You got Vasilevskiy. You got some David Rittich, LA Kings. Jacob Markstrom. Jacob Markstrom.

That's your Demko five eight. This is Pro Return Heaven. Welcome back to The Hockey Shop Source for Sports. I'm Kevin. He's Cam, and this is a collection of really nice goaltending equipment for really large individual well, maybe not really large.

[crosstalk] If you're a big goalie, have we got something for you? Tall Pro returns for tall goalies. Yes. Quite a few. Loves for any goalie.

Yes. That is also true. That's a nice five a. You got the you got the the double t. I got the single t.

There's even a there's even a single t Markstrom. Like, we've got quite a few. So lost to peruse. This is only a small little snippet of kind of what we've got on boxes upon boxes in the back of ProReturn gear. Bauer, CCM, we're blending brands here because Cam has got a crapload of gear that's on sale at the hockeyshop.com.

At the Hockey Shop Source for Sports, what can you tell us just overall? Is there a way to sum this up other than check it out? Probably not. Check it out. They have roll credits.

No. There's a lot of cool little small nitpicky features and stuff like that. There's obviously too much to kinda go through. Did you just call Andrei Vasilevskiy nitpicky? Nitpicky features.

Oh, okay. Just checking. As an overarching statement, not necessarily what he's He's here next week. So we might have have have something to say about that. Like, tell him to come on by and give us a high five.

Alright. CCM pads. CCM pads. Exactly. So on the back of the pads and stuff like that, you will see different features that aren't normally stock on a CCM pad.

E flap. Yeah. Similar with those in a while. Similar with some of the Bauer overturns that we've got. There are a few quirks and things like that.

Similar with some of the Bauer overturns that we've got. There are a few quirks and things like that.

Obviously, custom graphic. So nice little, Colin. It is. And it's like very slick. Got the Bauer, like, raised logo on the knee there.

That's nice too. That's a nice feature. The core of these pads too is quite a bit different than some of the ones that would have, like, just came in stock as well. Thicker typical of NHL pads. Correct.

The core of these pads too is quite a bit different than some of the ones that would have, like, just came in stock as well. Thicker typical of NHL pads. Correct.

Thicker typical of NHL pads. Correct.

Correct. So there's a lot of little, again, nitpicky features and stuff like that to each Did you call Jacob Marks from nitpicky? I'm gonna call you nitpicky here pretty quick. This guy is unbelievable. It's ripping on guys here.

Even down to the gloves, having a slightly different feel than what a stock one need. And just to clarify, these are 5/80, not 5/81's. Like, as if you could see me close this glove and not know that's a 5/80. Yes. David would look at that.

And just to clarify, these are 5/80, not 5/81's. Like, as if you could see me close this glove and not know that's a 5/80. Yes. David would look at that.

Exactly. So I have it. Will be labeled. It's an EMCO. Nice easy game ready closure.

There's quite a few different options. So, obviously, there's a lot to check out the at hockeyshop.com. It's all Mark. So if you got questions about sizing, it'll all be listed on the website at thehockeyshop.com. If you have any questions, if you're worried about anything, questions about a specific feature on a pad that you're not so sure about because it might not be stocked, give him a call.

Well, not just me. Any of the guys. Everybody likes to talk to you, Cam. You know? I just wanna keep you busy.

I know. I don't wanna get Like, you've gotta put all this stuff away when I'm done here for starters. Okay. Give us a call. 604-589-829-901805677790.

Do a little bit more of a zoom in. This is again a super quick gloss over. Some more detailed pictures. Some more detailed specifications. All this can Fine.

Be Again, on the larger side of things, Jacob Markstrom does not exist in a 32 plus two pad, so don't ask because it's not there. Oh. Oh. First, he calls him nitpicky, and now he's calling you guys a little bit slow on the uptake. He doesn't wanna deal with your phone calls asking if you've got the marks from pad in a 32 inch.

Little tough day for you. Go put away my gear.

I just wanna I wanna go back to your intro when you were setting up your visit with Cam. Did you drop out for reels?

I did because I was stumbling I was stumbling with my words, and I thought I'd just go I'd go remedial on you because I was having trouble

with good words.

For reals.

We have way too much fun, the two of us. That's that's why we need papa.

Yep. Dad is not gonna be happy with the grammar.

Hutch is sitting there going, can you guys just get on with it? Yep. Stop acting up. Talking about

Couple of 13 year olds.

Exact for reals.

For reals.

For reals. Yeah. If you want any it's not just pads and gloves and skates and all the the foundational pieces. There's great accessories. That's my go to when I get the emails from the Hockey Shop.

I'm always checking out whether it's padded base layers or the neck protectors, the danglers, what what they've got going on. Socks, love the cut proof socks over at the Hockey Shop, or or cages. Like, the cages are important part. Right? Re replacing them.

And Eric Comrie has turned his game around with the Winnipeg Jets. I think he's won his last five starts.

He has.

And he's changed his cage. Can can you walk us through what he's done here?

Well, he turned the goalie gear world on its ear when he revealed one question what had turned for him because up until the five straight wins he had lost four in a row, and he said it's the white cage. And he gave credit in the post game interviews his last night to Wade Flaherty because he went into Flats and said, I gotta change something up here after he'd lost the four in a row. And Flats suggested the white cage. So he went from a a stainless steel cage to a white cage, and he's won five straight games. And I'm pretty sure it's not just because of the white cage, because Eric's a guy who takes care of all the details and works his ass off and does all the work with Wade Flaherty to make sure he's ready to play.

But that's his story, and he's sticking to it. Sent him a couple of notes after, and he's like, he give it a he give it the old in response. He knew it would get the goalie world going, but it it was just one of those things where Flats said try it, he didn't, it worked. And I think sometimes it's changed for the sake of change just for you know, sometimes you gotta switch things up and it worked and it's good, but it's gonna be it's gonna be all over. It's gonna be all over.

How many people are gonna now gonna go switch to white cages? I that I want I can't wait to see. Are you a white cage? Stainless? What are you doing?

I used to use stainless, like, for years. And I switched back to white cages in the last two years because of that that issue. I just wanted to see better. I felt like I wasn't felt like there was something off. Now this this makes me sound

So hold on. You're come lately. Now now now Comms had like, I asked him and he did he he didn't say anything about he's actually seeing the puck. You you think it's possible?

I I felt like it it was. There's there's a there's a difference there

Really?

Between using a a darker cage or not not a white cage. And guys will use color cages, a black cage or a blue cage or whatever. But a lot of times on the inside of the cage That's white. It's painted white. Yeah.

So I got thinking about that this a couple of years ago. If they're doing that, why wouldn't I use a white cage on the inside? Now I just went all white, but that was that was my thinking was being able to see better.

So I am now.

[crosstalk] I am now. And I'm not good enough to

tell you if it works or not. Are you kidding me? Does this coincide with you being in the show as the practice goalie? This was the this was the difference. Eric's five in a row.

Daren making it to Vegas practice goalie standards and into the show. National Hockey League debut directly as a result of switching to a white cage. Don't correct me. That's just the story that we're going with here, Darren. You're feeding me I'm I'm picturing this as another headline at InGoal Magazine, InGoal Magazine,

I was already in Vegas when I made the switch. So okay. Sorry.

Sorry. I apologize. But Daren

I reached out to a couple of people about this.

Okay.

And a great answer that I got was sometimes it it's not the answer you're expecting. Like, a guy that was struggling changes the cage and now he's going great.

Okay. Daren, do not ruin my apophenia.

I won't. Do you know what that I'm fully on board with you.

You've are you on board with apophenia? Yes. You know what apophenia is?

No idea, but I'm on board with you.

Okay. It is not a new goaltending technique, but it actually ties into what I was saying about the cage. Like, don't ruin the fact that I think that's what changed everything or Eric Comrie. Apophenia is the human tendency to perceive meaningful patterns, connections, or significance significance in in random, random, unrelated, or meaningless data. And interestingly enough, we have a story up at ingoalmag.com on Jacob Fowler and Apophenia.

Written by Colin Hodd, who is one of our new writers. He's a goalie coach from the East Coast, your neck of the woods in the off season, the East East Coast. He's been doing a great job going through some of our interviews and and turning them into great stories, And there's one up right now on Fowler. The timing is beautiful. Obviously, we had him on the podcast, but it ties in a lot of the things he talked about with you know, from his unique upbringing and how you know, like, for me, it's interesting.

It's not in the story, but when he talked about driving four hours to hockey, I thought of Carey Price. How we think, right, we think of these connections, these unique connections, you know, not playing goalie only as a kid, still liking to play out as a forward. Oh, we think that helps you read the game better. And there's definitely some real value to a lot of those different things, but it's funny how we perceive some of these connections. And Colin did a fantastic job of sort of weaving this word, which a lot of people are gonna see at ingoalmag.com and think it's the new reverse VH, but it's not.

And it's a great feature story about a great young goaltender with a really unique background based off of our interview here on the InGoal Radio Podcast a few months back. So I'm I just wanted to make sure I plugged it because I thought Colin took it in a direction and hit it out of the park that I never would have thought of even trying myself, and it's one that everyone's gonna enjoy reading. So make sure you check it out this week at ingoalmag.com. It just went up today. And, Daren, from now on, due to my desire for Apophenia, you made the NHL because of your White Cage, just so you know.

Eric's five and o. He's never gonna never gonna lose again. White Cage.

I'm closer to being at Applebee's than I am Applefenia. K? Nothing wrong. Just know that.

Nothing wrong with a good Applebee's on a Friday night.

No. But it's it's, like, psychological with That's we're talking about.

Right? Well, that's psychological. Yeah. It it probably. Yeah.

Maybe he feels he's you know what I mean? Like, maybe he feels he sees the game a little better. Maybe he feels he's seeing the ice a little better.

I think there's something to that. And well, it which goes to why guys have the outside painted, but the inside of the cage being white.

Yeah. Absolutely. Guys that do color to match, like, special designs, they typically have the inside painted white, which to your point, I honestly never really thought about it because I've got a I think I have a stainless steel in there right now or a titanium cage in there right now. And now I'm gonna have to try it just just for giggles to see if it makes a difference. And if I win a couple games in a row, we're going full Apophenia on this thing.

Or apophenia.

Oh, no. We go to Applebee's regardless. Win or lose. I'm not one of those goalie parents. Well, I'm the I'm now the goalie parent and the child.

I'm not one of these that we don't need to win to go get ice cream. We go to Applebee's regardless.

Love that. Vizual Edge brings us ProReads.

We got a good one this week. We got a first time guest. A new ProReads guest, Brandon Bussi of the Carolina

Oh, love him.

Yeah. So do I.

By the way, why is he not getting more talk about the Vezina? I'm hearing different names, and then it's and Brandon Bussi and the Carolina goaltender.

I I'm with you on that one. I think it's probably because of the environment. So the save percentage isn't as high as some of those other guys that are in that conversation because Carolina is a team that doesn't give up quantity, but they do give up quality. And raw save percentage or raw numbers that people use don't tell that story. So people look at goal saved above expected.

Well, he's not gonna be high there because they don't give up. That's a cumulative stat, and they don't give up volume. But adjusted save percentage, which is the difference between your environment in terms of expected save percentage, what the average goalie would stop if they were facing the quality of shots you saw, and what he's doing, he's absolutely in that conversation. And so I'm with you, Daren. I just think Carolina honestly be a tough place to to win a Vezina, truthfully.

I mean, it's just they have three of the toughest percentage, by expected say percentage, they have three of the nine toughest or worst defensive environments for goalies. They're all in the eight seventies for the three guys that have played the most for them, Kochetkov, Frederik Andersen, and Brandon Bussi. So, I'll give you an anecdote because a lot of people hear and then, like, what what was he talking about? Perfect anecdote, and it was actually Frederik Andersen in net. Before they came up here and I connected with Brandon for the ProReads, they were in Seattle.

They outshot the Kraken 35 to 15. And you'd see that and you'd be like, how did we lose this game? We outshot them 35 to 15 and lost two to one. Joey Daccord must have stood on his head. The Seattle Kraken had 35 chances and only three of them were high danger.

The Carolina Hurricanes, Frederik Andersen faced 15 chances and five were high danger. Which goalie do you wanna be? Which goalie do you wanna be in that equation when especially when it comes to results, like the guy that's seeing 25 low danger out of 35 chances and, you know, a couple mids. Actually, it was more than that. I think it was, like, like, 28 low danger, six mids, and, like, three highs.

Like, it was, like or the goalie that's seeing only 15 shots, but, oh, by the way, a third of them are high danger. That's a Amazing data. That's tough way to live, man. Like, it just requires a special attitude, mindset towards it, and I think Brandon's got that. Right?

So I think that's a big part of of why he's having success. He also sees the game really well. Talking to him for the ProReads, our first one is up, as I said, this week. Deals with with, an odd man rush against the Utah Mammoth, who have got a ton of skill and know how to open up goalies and make the move East West. And so he has a great little great breakdown where he talks about the depth management.

He talks about the path ultimately that he takes, the route he takes on the final push across. I love that he's honest about it when he discusses his depth. You know, we always at ProReads, we always sort of write it up and sort of present the scenario to you and ask young goalies to think through it themselves. Watch the NHL guy. Would you do anything differently?

And a lot of the times I say, be honest here. Like, put your answers down. We'd like to encourage them to write it down. Like, be critical if you wanna be critical because Brandon is. When Brandon looked at the tape, he's like, I think I could be a little different with my depth here.

And if I'm different here, then I get to this spot in, at this point, and I can move over. And he just broke down the whole thing. That's what ProReads is all about. The other thing that jumped out in doing the video with him, how well he thinks the game. We've got three more coming from him, including this week's, or on top of this week's.

Man, how well he skates for such a big guy. His shuffles are so silky smooth, which allows him to not have a lot of open and close. It allows him to be a little more aggressive in his routes, allows him to sort of stay square as he moves when he's facing a lot of rush chances. There's just a ton to like about it. And on top of it, whether it's his background or his story, just a really thoughtful young man.

So we we had a great time with him on this week's ProReads. Make sure you check it out at ingoalmag.com. ProReads, there is no better way to learn how to read the game than ProReads, and there is no better way to see the game better than through our ProReads sponsor, Vizual Edge. Do you want the puck to look like a beach ball? We've all had that.

Daren has it all the time through his white cage. Every goalie's had it. You know? Those nights where the puck looks huge. You're ahead of every play. You feel calm. You feel patient. You are in total control. Sound like Pete Fry when I say that. You are in total control. Then there are the nights where you're half step late. You see it, but you don't really see it. You're reaching. You're guessing. You're fighting it.

That's not your technique. It's your eyes and brain not processing the play fast enough. Vizual Edge fixes that. It measures how well your eyes track and process the game then gives you a custom plan that trains improvement. Three fifteen minute sessions a week on your laptop or tablet, lying on your couch, sitting at your kitchen table, wherever you can find those fifteen minutes.

It's what NHL goal is used to make the game slow down when it matters most, and InGoal members get a discount. Nonmembers, you get a discount too because we're we're gracious like that. Use the code word InGoal, INGOAL, all caps, and you will save 10%. If you're a member of InGoal, just go to any ProReads, look for the discount code, and you will save 20%. Had a member reach out to us this week saying, hey. I can't see the code. He was looking in the wrong spot. We sent it to him. Double your discount on Vizual Edge through InGoal Magazine's ProReads. It's a great way to improve my you know what?

It's not just for hockey. My daughter at the end of her first year of NCAA volleyball, div two, The coach said she just needs to be reading balls off the hitter's hands a little faster anticipation wise. So the good folks at Vizual Edge set her up with the glasses and a subscription, and it quickly identified that she had some depth perception issues. And so she's training them using the Vizual Edge program, and she's already finding herself reacting faster to balls off hands, in practice, in in college. So really does identify your deficiencies.

Mine was, convergence, how your eyes see a puck coming at you, which explained why I never used to see the puck all the way in. I like, quite literally, my eyes weren't doing it. They couldn't see it all the way in, and just working on visual edge improves that. So it'll help you identify your weakness and help you fix it.

What a great resource for goaltenders, to lean on, through Radio, the podcast at ingoalmag, ingoalmag.com. Our friends over at Stop It Goaltending U, the app, sent an email out today and sent it to me, but everybody got it. It wasn't just me, but I I feel special.

I didn't get it, Daren, so I'm not special.

Well, it it's titled the goat drill all goalies need to try. And I won't get into it right now. Check them out over at Stop It Goaltending U, the app, but it's that kind of help that you get over at Stop It Goaltending U the app, which presents our parent segment.

Well, that's why they only send it out to the goats. So white cage only. My that's my apathy.

Guys that just are old goats.

Old goats. You know what else they do at Stop It Goaltending? Usually they use Vizual Edge, and they use SensoryNet. All our sponsors work together. It's amazing. That's what happens when you have twenty five years of NHL goaling coaching experience. And if you want that same twenty five years of NHL goalie coaching experience at your fingertips, you should get the Stop It Goaltending U app. You can tap into the same parenting expertise that helped Joey Daccord reach the NHL. You get it all with a subscription to Stop It Goaltending U, the app. All the knowledge from Brian Daccord, who's been an NHL goalie coach, scout, and director, as well as all the insights and expertise from his staff at Stop It, which last year celebrated twenty five years as one of the world's top goalie schools and includes a long list of veteran NCAA coaches on the staff.

All delivered in easy to digest chunks, including five short daily primers, weekly style analysis and breakdown videos, and drills like the GOAT that Daren got in his email that you can take onto the ice with your team and coach. Plus, when you subscribe to Stop It Goaltending U the app, you get a subscription to InGoal premium included, including our ProReads. So check it out now at the App Store or Google Play and get the best of both worlds when it comes to goaltending improvement with a subscription to Stop It Goaltending U, the app.

Parent Playbook

Part two of the parent segment offering from David Hutchison on InGoal Radio, the podcast.

Sorry, I can't be there with you for the rest of the show this week, guys, but quite ill and apologies in advance if my speech is struggling. Got a nasty case of bronchitis and things aren't working so well in the lungs, but here we go. Last week, I talked about why the end of a season deserves more than a parking lot goodbye. How skipping the ending doesn't make the feelings disappear, it just sends them underground. And how some seasons carry things that actually need to be let go of before you can move forward. If you missed it, go back and give it a listen. It sets up everything we're doing today. Because today, I wanna get practical. Knowing something matters and knowing what to do about it are two different things. So here's what intentionally closing a season can look like. First, give it a rest. If you can, take a week or two completely off.

No stick and puck, no skill sessions, no thinking about next team or tryouts. The body needs it, but the mind needs it even more. When athletes don't get a real break, they never fully process the season they just had. The growth that happened quietly over six months just gets buried under whatever comes next. That rest period isn't lost time, it's where the integration happens.

The brain is filing things, connecting things, letting things settle. Let it do its job. Then reflect together as a family. Not a performance review, not a coaching session disguised as a conversation, just an unhurried check-in. Maybe it's at the dinner table, on a drive, really doesn't matter where.

What matters is that it's intentional. And a few questions that would work well here. What was your favorite memory from this season? Not your best game, but your best memory. There's a big difference.

What did you get better at this year? Young athletes are often the last to recognize their own growth. Help them name it. Was there anything hard about this season that you're still carrying a little? As a parent, you don't have to fix it here.

You're just going to ask and then listen. What's one thing you want to leave behind when next season starts? Maybe it's a fear, a habit, a way of thinking about yourself. Making the letting go concrete and intentional is surprisingly powerful. And then, this is the parent part, with your child there, ask yourself the same questions.

What did you get better at this season? What do you want to leave behind? Model the same honest self reflection you're asking of them. Next, I strongly encourage you to give them a journal, a physical journal, something they can hold. Ask them to write a seasoned review in their own words, at their own pace.

There's no right answer. It's not being graded. Here's why this matters. When you write something down, you engage a completely different part of your brain than when you think or talk about it. You move from reaction to reflection.

That shift is where self awareness lives, and self awareness is maybe the single most important thing a young athlete can develop because it's the foundation everything else is built on, on the ice and in life. How do you work on something that you can't see? It creates a record of their growth. In three years, your goalie can open that journal and see exactly where they were. What they were afraid of, what they were proud of, how small the things actually were that they worried about.

The perspective is a gift you can't give them directly. It has to be discovered. It separates them from the scoreboard. When you write honestly about a season, you start to notice that the most meaningful moments had nothing to do with wins and losses. You just can't tell a 12 year old that, but they can discover it themselves on the page.

And it builds the habit of reflection itself. The kid who learns at 13 to pause and look inward is going to be a more thoughtful student, a better teammate, a more self aware adult. This isn't just about hockey. It never is. Give the season a real ending.

Celebrate what happened. Acknowledge what was hard. Let it mean something that it's over because something you cared about is finished, and that's allowed to matter. And then close it deliberately with your kid, not just around them. Because what gets marked gets remembered, and what gets remembered gets built on.

I'm Hutch. This is The Parent Playbook. We'll see you next week.

I called it the parent segment. That's what we called it for. Now it's The Parent Playbook?

That's what we called it for 02/1950 somewhat episodes till Hutch just renamed it himself last week.

Like, on the fly.

Yeah. Totally. Like, he can get away with that. Well, honestly, he can get away with it because it's so damn good. We get emails on it every week.

I think I said this on last week's episode. I was doing a guest appearance on a podcast about athlete development, and I literally told them they had to have Hutch on to talk about all the things he talks about on the parent segment because it's all the experience he has in the role. But then the way he interweaves, like, actual you know, like, he goes and finds journals and science and all this stuff and he interweaves it. It's it's quite brilliant. It's become can't miss stuff.

No. I'm not just pumping his tires because he's had to do that one without us this week. Like, he's just he's not here with us as I say this, but I don't want him to get like Cam over at the Hockey Shop where we gotta, like, stick a pin in his head to get him through the door because I pump it up so big, but done a hell of a job with those parent segments.

We should just still poke him.

Well, maybe a little bit.

Sure that

yeah. Yeah. You wouldn't want that head not to fit in a goalie mask with a white cage.

Even if he can get through the door, we still poke him just to keep him grounded.

Yeah. True. Because we're the kids. You know? Yeah.

We have to you're gonna act like a 13 year old. You gotta take it all the way. Sorry, dad.

Great Sense Arena feature interview this week with Emerance Maschmeyer.

Yeah. And before we get to that, let's talk about our friends over at NHL Sense Arena who continue to evolve with the game. The position is ever changing. Something that Maschmeyer talked about this week and so is NHL Sense Arena. Recently, they added the Pete Fry goalie mindset segment.

You can go in and get the same affirmations, the same visualization as Pete Fry does on game days with goalies right up to the NHL. So Pete and if you've ever been there, we talked about this last week, he'll take a call. It'll be like an NHL goalie waiting for his game day visualization. He'll have to go out and you just hear him with you're seeing the puck. It's at the like, it's it's awesome.

And you just kinda gives you the the goosebumps a little bit. Well, now you get that in NHL Sense Arena, you don't have to close your eyes and imagine it. Although you could, I guess. You could do the straight, like, see yourself, mind's eye, close your eyes visualization, or you just look through the headset as the the blinkers open and that situation presents itself. And the guy comes in and the first shot, full out slow mo.

So it just it's like everything is slowing down for you. And then the same shot, Pete walking you through it, 66% speed. And then when the third shot comes in, full speed. So you're getting and they've got multiple different levels for for different goals of different ages and skills. You not only get that sort of mental preparation pump that Peak gives you, but you're also warming up your hands and your eyes from a tracking perspective when you're in the headset doing it versus having your eyes closed and just visualizing.

So it's kind of the best of both worlds. And, I'm not ashamed to say I used it this week. First skate in, like, three weeks because of a trip and some work conflicts and a minor injury. And Pete pumped me out, got me prepared to play my last Friday afternoon skate, and, you know, I didn't embarrass myself, which for me is a pretty high bar.

What's your post goal routine?

Swear. Think about breaking a stick. Realize how much they're worth. Don't break it. Think about going to the bench and grabbing the warm up stick and breaking that.

No. I'm I'm not exactly the most mentally strong guy, Daren. Come on. Do you think you get the nickname There's nothing wrong with that. Snaptastic?

Yeah. I I could see you doing that. I was just wondering. I I had to get the puck out of the net as fast as possible.

Yeah. I mean, usually, I don't see it go in anyway, so I gotta find it first. No. See. Know what?

Don't touch the puck. Some people have to get it out of there. Some people drink the water. Some people go for a skate.

No. I mean, honestly, like, you you don't wanna be near, you know, within 10 feet of the net. Well, it's probably safe because I I I can't shoot it worth a damn, but I usually like to eject it rather violently if things are going poorly. Like, I don't just want it out of there. I want it the f out of there.

You know, may have almost hit a referee back.

Buried in the roof insulation. The ceiling insulation.

Feature Interview - Emerance Maschmeyer

If I could shoot it that high, I would. No. I've I'm joke jokes aside, I'm actually pretty calm now. So, yeah. No.

It's, listen. Good news is we have real goalies to talk to that have real plans on how to manage these things. And I should stop joking because our guest right now, our guest waiting in the the green room, I think you call it, Daren, Emerance Maschmeyer, two time Olympian, has won all her starts with Canada at the Olympics, is having another great season with PWHL Vancouver after getting traded from Ottawa. So had her whole world turned upside down. We talked about that.

Talked about the adjustments to a new goalie coach. She talks about messages in her blocker that keep her grounded. There's so much in this interview. It's kind of a quick one. We just did it post practice one day, but it went for about twenty five minutes.

I felt like we probably could have talked for an hour because she is such an intelligent and passionate goalie person. Just just loves the game. Loves goaltending. It has so many great insights on it, I know people are gonna enjoy this. So I'll get out of the way.

Emerance Maschmeyer, featured guest presented by NHL Sense Arena on the InGoal Radio Podcast. Really excited to welcome back to the InGoal Radio Podcast. It's been a couple of years since we had you on. Emerance Maschmeyer, fresh off the Olympics with Canada. Just where you at right now?

I mean, do you know what day of the week it is? Like, what's the adjustment like coming home and right back into a PWHL schedule?

Yeah. It's definitely been a whirlwind, you know, coming off the gold medal game and then kinda wrapping up the Olympics and spending a couple days days with teammates and family and flying back and settling right back into, you know, life here in Vancouver and back into practice yesterday. So my my feet are slowly getting under me, but it's been a whirlwind. It's been so special. Yeah.

Just trying to catch up a little bit.

Not your first games, but your first Olympics with fans as you were saying earlier, like, not in a pandemic, your first as a parent. How was this one different for you personally, emotionally? And then we'll get to the performance side as well because sometimes it's different when those people are in the stands.

Right. No. It was so special to have family and friends there. You know, I always imagined, know, if I got the opportunity to play in an Olympic Games with Team Canada, that I would have my family and possibly friends by my side in person, you know, to watch the games and support me, you know, near. And my first experience, I didn't have that.

So that was a huge motivation of mine to, you know, accomplish that goal of going to the Olympics again was to be able to have my family and friends come out and experience it. You know, they've been with me throughout the entire journey, and I wouldn't be there without them. So it's for them as well. And like you said, it was so special to have my son there, and I never imagined playing in Olympic games and being a mother. So having that experience, it's it's really hard to put into words.

You know, I want him to see one day, I'll have to tell him the stories because he won't remember, of course, but I want him to see me, you know, following my dreams and see the passion that I had for the game. And I want him to know that whatever he's passionate about, like, he you know, to go for it and to hold nothing back.

Now last time we talked, you we talked about sort of the relationship with Genevieve in terms of talking hockey. Mhmm. And how when she was still competing, you didn't. Like, once you were home, you were home. What about like, and how that's evolved since she stopped?

What was it like at the Olympic Games? She's been there. She's done that. Yeah. So had you, but, like, were you leaning on her for any advice during that that time?

Or

Yeah. You know, she's experienced everything I've experienced. But what's funny is I think she's gotten soft lately. She's she is always the one you know, when I'm talking critically about myself or about the game, she's always like, it's just a game. She kinda has that perspective now when she's taken a step, you know, away from playing.

But I feel like now more than ever just with our son, when we are together, it's about family. And so that was really awesome to have at the Olympics as well as, you know, you're in the village, you're with your teammates twenty four seven. And so to be able to step away from the village and have time with her and my son and, you know, my extended family as well, just to get away from the game a little bit too because it's a long it's a long month. So, it was great to have that, you know, home away from the the village.

Does that perspective, like does that apply to the PWHL season as well? Like, has that changed? I've talked to players over the years. Soon as you become a parent, you're going home to someone that doesn't care if you won or lost. Can there be some give yourself some grace in those moments a little bit?

Maybe be less hard on yourself when you get home to, you know, to to Beckham?

Yeah. I think, you know, being a pro athlete, it's it's all consuming. It's, you know, you you you have to think about what you're eating, how you're sleeping, you know, when you're on the road, you're around your teammates all the time. And with Vancouver, we're on the road a lot. And with it being an Olympic year, even more so.

So it's it's incredibly important to be able to shut off the hockey brain. I think especially as a goaltender as well, I think our game is very mental, and we have to kinda manage our emotions and make sure that we are in the right mind frame going out into a game. And and so it's it's so important. I think having that balance, and he's given me so much perspective. That my son being being my son, he's given me so much perspective.

I come home. He doesn't care. He wants me to chase him around the kitchen, play games. He doesn't, yeah, he doesn't care if we won or lost or how I played. He's just so excited to see me, and so it definitely puts everything in perspective.

I was gonna say that, like, having that perspective, is it possible to get that before? Like, would you tell or do you tell younger teammates that don't have kids yet? Hey. Like, there's a lesson here.

I mean, I told the girls, have a kid, but I don't know. They're not listening to me. No. I I I do think it's possible. It's hard to say because before, you know, we had him, I I feel like I never I didn't have that perspective

Right.

In ways I would. And I think through conversations with family and friends and different outlets, you know, I would come to that. But I was hockey, hockey, hockey twenty four seven. Didn't shut it off when I went home, which can be great in a lot of ways, and it probably got me to where I am today. But at the same time,

you know A little balance.

Yeah. A little balance is always good. You know, you have to be the human outside of a hockey player and as an athlete. So, yeah, I in an ideal world, I think it is possible. I think if, you know, people can find hobbies or just ways to find me time, whether that's just going for walks, going to a market, I don't know.

Whatever your thing is, finding pockets of time, especially during the season to get away from hockey, think that's incredibly important.

Well, and you and you say that as a self described I can't remember if you used the word hockey. Like, you you're a student of the game. I think that was the phrase you used last time. So to be as passionate about it and still recognize that it can't be twenty four seven, I I think that is an important lesson. Yeah.

I think, yeah, being

a student of the game, it's also knowing that I have my limits. Right? And I that comes with experience as well. I, you know, I will say when I was younger, I would play hockey throughout the summer. I wouldn't I really didn't take a break.

I maybe took a week or two off of hockey. Now a little bit older, I have more perspective on it, and I understand my body needs a rest. But more than anything, my brain needs a rest. So even with that, it's just being a student of the game and learning what I need to be my very best. And if I'm, you know, running myself, you know, down to the ground, then I have nothing left to give at the rink, and I can't be a student of the game.

So, yeah, it's it's all about balance for sure.

Okay. So another another your second Olympics. You finished with an identical nine fifty seven save percentage, by the way, which

Did I?

You did. You did. Which is Okay. Interesting.

That's a pretty good number. That's a pretty good number. That stage, that spotlight, learning to perform in it. Again, you've been there before. Maybe a little different with friends and family and everybody there.

How do you manage that? How do you make sure that you play your game when that spotlight is a little brighter, when the stage is a little bigger? Any advice you'd pass on to young like, for some 12 or 13 year old, that's just gonna be playoffs in a couple of weeks. Right? Like, how do you how do you keep playing your game when everything around you seems to change?

Yeah. I think for me, it's just controlling what I can control. And I practice my routine every single game day. I, you know, I do very similar things every every game leading up to the game, Slightly different depending on when we play because we play at all different times. But for me, it's having that consistency in preparation.

And, unfortunately, too, with this league, we've we've been playing in front of big crowds and, you know, I've played in a lot of pressure situations before, so I'm not new to it. But there was a period of time, you know, where that was new to me. And so and I did find a way to perform in those moments. And I think it's just the repetition as well and just treating each game and each practice as well as preparation and going through whatever that process is for you, going through that every single time and making it consistent. Because when you get to that big day, you're not trying to do everything all at once.

It's you know, it could be exhausting if you're trying to add in things last minute. So it's, okay. This is what I do on game day. I always write out what I'm doing the night before.

It's I like a little like, day planner almost for your game day.

Right. So I do a little planner. I basically, throughout the entire day, I know exactly what my plan is. Things come up, things

will shift. I will I'm okay to shift my time. Okay. So it's not like if something changes, you're not the wheels are off.

But that way, I'm just cutting out decisions for my game day because I think decisions are exhausting. Even when it comes down to my outfit, that's already decided before. Yeah. I don't wanna make decisions on game day. But the other thing too I would say is on the ice, when I'm feeling like things are chaotic or I'm out of control a little bit, I have a reminder on my blocker.

So it's Can you share it?

Yeah. Sure. So it's I have battle, big, calm, and then I have never give up. So those are all things that they're kind of buzzwords for me, and it grounds me in moments of chaos. And so I come back to it, and it's like, I can control these things.

These are the things that are in, you know, in my my hands, and the rest, I can't control. So

It's like an anchor.

Right. Yeah. And there's lots to the to hockey games. There's there's lots of things going on that you can't control. So that's all you can do.

Right? Your own you can control your attitude, your effort, and your response to things. So Can

I can I ask where that started? We've seen it. We've seen different different people use different ways. Some will put it on a stick. I've seen breathe. There's something as simple as breathe on sticks. Lots of different little reminders Yeah. That sort of ground you.

Yeah. I don't know when exactly I started. I've always kinda put messages in my blocker.

Did they change over

the years? I they have changed it. This has been pretty consistent for a while. I would say, well, like, probably the last eight years. Had a leading up to the last Olympics.

There was a lot of anxiety around not making the team because I had gotten cut in 2018, and I felt a lot of emotions from the past kinda creeping up leading up to the, you know, the decisions for the roster. And I started, you know, a little bit questioning, is this gonna happen again? What if this happens? And I feel like in that moment, I was like, okay, control what you can control. That could happen.

But if I'm doing everything that I need to do and I'm controlling my mindset and my behavior and my attitude, then if that happens, I know I've done everything I need to do. So, yeah, at the end of the day, I was like, don't wanna feel out of control. I wanna have certain things that, you I'll control. And if it doesn't work out, what can you do?

I I that's that's fantastic advice. I'm gonna ask you for more on another part of the game that comes with being part of team Canada. Mhmm. And like you said, like, much like the pressure, like, I think you're, like, gold medal shout out at the U18s in 2012. Like, you've been dealing with this pressure for a long time.

You've also been dealing with teams that sometimes you're not that busy. Advice for goalies that struggle with that because it's we all know it's not easy Right. When you're not seeing a lot of shots. How do you manage that?

Yeah. It's it's definitely the more challenging games, the games where you don't see a lot of shots. Know, You we've all been in the games where you're seeing 40 shots, and you feel like you're in your flow state. Nothing's going in.

Yeah. Not not all of us know what's that what that's like, Emerance, just so you know, but I got you.

Okay. Well, maybe most. Yeah. I think it is it is it is tough. For me too, it's it's staying sharp the entire game because you never know when you're gonna get that next shot.

And I I feel like in those games, the next shot's usually a scoring chance too. It's not usually a dump in. So for me, again, I have my reminders on my blocker in our, you know, with the national team and with our league, we have TV timeouts. So for me, that's kinda my reset moments. I go through a little routine.

I do some breathing. I kinda pump myself up. I tell myself I'm the best goalie in the world. Just a lot of positive affirmations because you're cold. You're even standing around for many minutes.

But just trying to find a way to get my body back into it, make sure my mind's engaged because the next save is the most important. So, yeah, just little little tips and tricks, but it's again, it's from repetition I've learned, this is what works for me, and it might not work for everyone. So I would say for young goaltenders that are, you know, trying to find those reset buttons or whatever that looks like for them, just try something. And if it works, keep trying it. And if it at some point, it doesn't work for you anymore, that's okay.

Try something new. You know, I've gotten to my routine in over many, many, many years. So it just it takes a while and it shifts. You know, how I started at the start of the season might be different with than my preparation and my routine by the end.

Is it is it important to understand? Like, we hear people talk about you gotta focus the whole time. Mhmm. Can almost be impossible. Like, you know, to to understand, is it almost as much about recognizing when it drifts as opposed to trying to have it constantly or or take little breaks where you let it drift on purpose so that you have it back? Mhmm. Yeah. I think what if

you're engaged well, oftentimes, I would say it's two hours, two and a half hours

It'd be exhausting.

To end of a game. It's exhausting. Right? You leave, and you're you're ready to go to bed. Well, usually you're wired at that point, but yeah, that's exhausting.

So I think everyone's a little bit different. I know goalies that love to do a lot of visualization. They kinda have the towel over their head. They're very inward. I'm someone who I have moments where I'm very inward in in in my own, you know, little environment, but I also enjoy like, my pregame, I'm playing spike ball with my teammates.

I'm chatting. I like to, you know, have a good time. I think that's what kinda makes me loose and not be so rigid on the ice. And then also between periods, like I like to just chat. And it's For me, it's a nice little reset.

We're out on the ice a lot, alone a lot.

Yes. We are.

And you can get in your head, and, you know, there's a lot going on there. So I like to take those moments where I can be social to be social and because I enjoy that too.

Some of us just have the conversations internally, and we don't we don't wanna share them. Yeah. But that that's an important lesson too. I think sometimes goalies believe, like, they have to be this intense, quiet, reserved on game days. Don't talk to anyone.

And if that's not your personality, now you're trying to be somebody you're not.

Right. I think that works for some. Right. You know? I've played with goalies who they don't wanna talk on game day, and I'm like, okay.

I understand that I'll, you know, I'll abide by your rules. You know, some goalies love to juggle and do and I'm like, I'm not that goalie, and that's that's okay. I have my preparation that I do. I like spike ball because it's a reactionary, but I'm also just like laughing, having a good time. I wanna enjoy my time at the rink and be with my teammates.

At the end of the day, we do play a team sport even though sometimes it doesn't feel like that as a goalie. But, yeah, I think just finding what works for you. Again, everyone's a little bit different. If the quiet, you know, towel over your head is your thing, that's that's your thing. That's fine.

And if you're the socialite, that's also great.

I love that. I love that. Great advice. You mentioned breathing at the bench and getting yourself hyped. I think we often think of breathing as slowing things down, but we've done breath work drills with with teachers and coaches that same thing.

You can actually increase your Right. Hype level or or whatever term you would use through breath work. Is that what you're doing at the bench? Like, are you trying to sorta get the heart rate up almost with breath work there as opposed to calming it down?

I think depends on the situation. So like in the games that you'd mentioned, Olympics, I was trying to find ways to keep myself engaged and keep my body into it. Obviously, you want your heart rate up a little bit. So I'm moving around a little bit more. Oftentimes in the PWHL, I'm receiving a lot of shots.

So it's trying to regulate my nervous system a little bit. So breathing, just taking a second to, you know, calm my nervous system, especially if you just come off of a PK or, you know, there's lots of scenarios. And, you know, there's a lot there's our rinks are packed. So there's already so much energy and you wanna ride that a little bit. But for me, I need to just regulate, find that perfect medium.

And so oftentimes it's just to yeah. Just take a second and also like appreciate the moment. I feel like there's times where, you know, you get so serious and you just want things so badly, but I think gratitude's always a good place, you know, to start too.

It's and especially in a position where you want things so badly, like Yeah. You can't try harder. Right? Like, tension. I we gotta coach it, and I've started repeating this phrase.

Tension is the enemy of goaltending. So wanting it can become a bad thing.

Yeah. I think that's great advice. Honestly, I think in moments where I've tried to force, you know, stealing a game, it's usually the complete opposite that happens. So yeah. I I mean, I'm best when I'm playing loose and smiling and laughing at scenarios on the ice.

And, course, I'm pretty serious too. But I think, again, there's just balance. And if I'm trying to force things normally, I'm not seeing pucks clearly. I'm not reading plays right. I'm getting frustrated and spiraling.

It's not it's not a good place to be.

And that takes time for like, again, all these different things are lessons that you you learn over time. What's the adjustment been like? Coming here, like, that that probably was a bit of a shocker for you. Like, as much as the PWHL is a massive step and it's it also comes with a lot more movement and player movement and things like that, this trade coming to Vancouver, getting through that, especially with the family Mhmm. How how do you manage that?

Yeah. You know what? It's I'm gonna use the world word again. It was a whirlwind. I fortunately had all summer to kind of prepare for it.

Some girls, it's you have forty eight hours and so that I could imagine that would be really, really difficult. You know, that's the reality of our sport now and it's it's awesome. We want this to be the case. It's a professional league. This is what we've been asking for.

Right. But with that, you know, the human side of it, like you said, I do have a family. We have our home outside of Ottawa. The scenario there was so good, but the situation was, you know, I got injured. My season ended early.

Things kinda happened. I didn't get protected, and this was the best move for my career and therefore my family as well. And my wife is so supportive. Obviously, she understands this lifestyle and it was a no brainer for us. So we said, okay, this you know, there's a lot of emotions around it.

I kind of felt sad and happy at the same time and, you know, hopeful and excited. There's just and that's okay to feel all the above at the same time. But yeah, she was so supportive. It was just like, let's make plans. Let's start figuring out where we're living.

But yeah, it all happened. It felt very quickly, but it was so exciting to get my feet on the ground here and just to see the rink. Like, it's it's so incredible to look around and it's Vancouver golden eyes is plastered all over the rink. And so that's really special that we're the, you know, the primary tenants and the first to be, and our fans are incredible. I'm excited to have more home games because we haven't had enough.

A bunch coming up here, and it's been packed. But another new voice too. Right? Like, the last time we talked, said you'd had the same couple of goalie coaches, but Brad Kirkwood with the national team for, like, ten years. Mhmm.

And then you had PG. Mhmm. And we talked a little bit about overlap, now you've got Joey. That process again, going through it again, being open to new things, but sticking with what your foundation is. Walk me through what that's been like and some of the things that may have evolved here.

Yeah. I think yeah. Yeah. So you you said

it correctly. Like, I had the same couple goalie coaches. You know, my goalie coach growing up, Eric Robertson from just outside of Edmonton, I still will go on the ice with him when I'm back in Edmonton. But since I was seven years old and then Brad Kirkwood, since, I don't know, probably twenty eleven or 12 till present Right. With the national team.

And so you kinda have the same voices over and over again. And so having PG, you know, he was fresh eyes for me. And I feel like it was a little bit challenging at the start because I've been so used to hearing the same terminology and kind of the same feedback or, you know, you kinda start speaking the same language when you've been with a goalie coach for so long. And so it takes a little bit of time to just get on the same page, but he we hit it off right away. I remember the first time we skated, we got off the ice and we chatted probably for an hour.

I was just we were just in our gear just chatting and I was like, this is gonna work great. So, you know, I wasn't closed by any mean, closed to, you know, having a new goalie coach, but at that point, it was just new for me. So I think, you know, having him for only two seasons, but then coming here and getting to meet Joey and work with him, it prepared me well for that transition because I had just gone through kind of the having a new goalie coach. But yeah, Joey's been incredible as well. He's someone who just is positively infectious and he just brings the energy every day.

But he yeah, again, he has fresh eyes. He sees things that other goalie coaches hasn't haven't seen, and he brings, you know, a different perspective. So, yeah, it's been fun just to evolve my game and still have my foundation that, you know, I've built over many years, but I'm okay with trying new things. Like, I'm down to try anything.

Okay. So where are we at with the press? Because I'm I came I came by earlier in the but, like, sort of it was preseason. Talked really briefly about it because it was something that was new to me after talking to Joey. Right.

Is that one of those things, like, the overlap with PG where you just you're trying new things, see how it works? Where are we at?

Yeah. No. It's it's going well. It actually hasn't been a conversation for

[crosstalk] a little while now, but I think Does that mean it's natural or

or Maybe. We should ask him. Joey, we'll have to ask. Yeah. But I think in season two, you know, when we chatted last, I think we were in camp still or just

I believe so. Right around the start.

Yeah. It was kind of that perfect time to be trying new things. But what's really awesome with, you know, honestly, both goalie coaches, they know like, it's very professional. They know, okay. We're in season.

We're not practicing a whole lot. We're traveling. We're playing games.

So that's not the time to reenact the wheel.

Make us feel good, and they do a good job at it.

Have you seen the game evolve PWHL wise, like, over the past three seasons? Like, have you seen changes in terms of how teams attack, tendencies, trends like that? More traffic, less tra like, how are you seeing that evolve? Have you seen much change that way? I feel like the game's constantly evolving, and we have to react.

I just I'm not sure how much it it's changed here over the past three.

Yeah. I that's a good question. I I feel like it's it's probably a slow evolution, and I probably don't see it just because I'm here day to day in a minute. But I do feel it. Like, the game is fast.

It's physical, and every game matters. And every I swear, every second matters out there. And so

The intensity of it.

Yeah. The caliber of the game is incredible, and it makes you have to show up every single day and be your best or else you'll be exposed. So it's it's challenging, but in the best way.

Gear. Where are at with the gear? I gotta say I love the look.

Thank you.

And the and the look over in Italy was that was sharp. So you're you're like you're liking the all out graphics as an option.

Yeah. I mean, I I didn't have, I would say, like, funny graphics for a little while. So I was

You're missing.

I I was missing it. A little bit of character. Why not? Right? We all became goalies too.

Well, I mean, I would say most because of the equipment. And I'm at a point now where I luckily get it for free. So I'm like, let's do something fun.

What how and how has your like, are you as as a student of the position, how tight are you into the performance of your gear? Like, you just give it to me what I used to have or are you tinkering?

I'm like somewhere in between.

Okay.

I wanna try new things, but I also like what I like.

Okay. So So, like, you're not you're over at the Olympics and Ann-Rene's got the new Tacks. Yeah. And you're an EFlex goalie. Like, are you looking?

Are you comparing some of the options? Are you trying different gloves or blockers? You just you need your stuff.

I feel like Ann would be calling me out for this if I were to lie. So I would say, no. I'm pretty stuck in my ways. Yeah. I I feel like with certain gear, would say like my glove and my chest protector, there are certain pieces that it often takes me a while to feel good in it.

So to be trying out new specs or new glove angles or it would take me a while to actually know my answer. I would probably have to use a glove for, you know, a good month before I actually gave a good review. So I don't have a month to waste.

Last one. In addition to new coaches here, new teammates, although you would have known Soupyfrom from national team, Kimberly as well. And then you go to the national team. You got Ann-Rene and Kaley. Mhmm.

When you're playing with new like, how much are you talking about as a student of the game? Talking about save selection or how you do did you compare notes? Maybe not in a short tournament or in the regular season. Like, how much do feed off each other?

Yeah. I think it's it's a lot of fun to obviously have goalie partners that you can collaborate with. And all the goalies that you just mentioned, we all are similar in ways in our technical game, but we're all very different. So it's a lot of fun to be able to just watch other goalies and see how they're playing certain scenarios, but also to have conversations. Like, Soupy and I spent a lot of time in goalie session and and Kim too.

But it's it's we're different size goalies. We play differently, but it's great to, you know, be able to collaborate and talk through different scenarios. And at the same time, we could chat about what works best for her, what works best for me. And the answers are diff probably different in a lot of scenarios. But even just to like pick each other's brains on what we, you know, what she might think about, okay, what did you see there for me?

And and in game, we do that a lot too. Like, we have a I feel like we have a really good system and great communication between her and I. We we've known each other for a long time, and there's a lot of trust that's been built over time. We genuinely want the best for each other. So with that, we can have those conversations.

I love it. Well, this conversation has been fantastic. Went longer than I promised it would, but I really appreciate just fantastic stuff. Thank you so much for your time, and congratulations again.

Thank you very much.

Outro

Can you imagine you're undefeated at the Olympic games? Yeah. Yeah. No. What a cool thing to have in your hockey DB.

Shout out this year too as well. I think she only gave up one goal, got in relief against USA as well, and just a really good goalie. I've I've I've enjoyed I haven't been out to as many PWHL games in person as I would like since it moved here just largely because I don't know about you, but most of my work talking to the goalies is done, like, sort of after practices. And if I'm not working a game, like, I don't have a job or a story to write at a game, I don't like to take a spot in the press box. It just doesn't feel right.

And so I haven't gone to games in a press capacity. I've been meaning to to go with the family to one, and I I plan to before the end of the season. But as you know too, Daren, from the day job standpoint, it's been pretty busy with NHL and the condensed season this year. So we get another one in a couple of years I see with the World Cup. We didn't even talk about that.

Prague, Edmonton, and Calgary, the host cities, but, there'll be eight nations, and two pools of four. I I like the way they've they've formatted it. The fourth place finisher in the pool play is out, and then two plays three in a quarter final, a laddered quarter final step playoff, I guess. And then you go to the semi final. The the first place in the pool gets a buy straight to the semi final and off you go.

It's kinda neat. So pool play in for the European teams or the prog pool, they'll just play their their round robin there, and then they'll come over for the playoff round.

Hopefully, they get a little bit of a gap to get used to it. I like the format too, Daren. Seventeen days off in the middle of the season.

You're not the only person I've talked to in our universe who said seventeen days? That's great. We're next year is gonna be hard. Yeah. Next year is gonna be hard with just a a five day all star break.

Yeah. And and they're by the way, they're adding two games to the regular season schedule next year. And two years from now, we'll have a break and still have to all get in 84 games. So But

they're starting way earlier.

That's true, which is great. Great. Because, you know, September's an actual nice month here in Vancouver. That's what I wanna do. I wanna go into a rink.

I'm just kidding. I'm I'm really

catch a break.

I'm really grateful to be covering hockey. It's just been a little tough to watch locally for a while now. They, I I I like I like everything about it. I know that the the big you know, like, it's like the teams itself. There are the group of players that get to get geared up to play best on best competition, and then there are those that plan their vacation in Hawaii.

On the scale of media standing and and getting to cover events like this, I am in the b group. I get to plan my vacation at rather than getting assigned to cover the big games.

I was thinking about you the other day. Vegas played Pittsburgh on our broadcast. The Golden Knights were up enough that, it forced the Penguin into, do we go for it or not? And Vegas took a penalty with about seven and a half minutes to go in the third period in a five two game. And Pittsburgh went with the extra attacker for the power play.

The the penalty ended, ran its course, and then it was Pittsburgh just kept the ex the extra tacker on. Like, like, the final seven minutes without a goaltender. And Adin Hill got one good crack at it going for the net, and Chris Latang knocked it down at the red line. But there's some players under that laid off side, Woody, in in the Vegas zone.

Oh, they had to go tag up?

Pittsburgh had to go tag up. And a couple of guys in the in the Vegas bench were like, give it to him. Meaning, Aiden Pass it back to

pass it back to him. Yeah. The only the only the only

It didn't happen. But there's there's that much thought into it these days.

Well, and that's the other thing too is, like, if they're regrouping, it means you really gotta chuck it. You gotta land it Mhmm. Down at the hash mark to get it over everybody's head. But

Aiden can put it in the air to the net.

I doesn't yeah. That doesn't surprise me. He can he can chuck it. So, what do we have? We had one the other week.

I was watching a game. It was Vancouver in Seattle. So, the job sort of says I loosely gotta keep an eye on that one even though I wasn't wasn't covering it. Oh, maybe I was covering it remotely. Oops.

I said to my wife that the Canucks were down as they tend to be a lot these days, and they pulled their goalie with over five minutes left. And my wife was watching with me, and I said, oh, I better dig out the stats here. Joey's gonna get one. And his dad was actually there. Yeah.

Just he had been up here scouting and sent a note, picture of him and Cam at the Hockey Shop to which I said, thanks for letting me know you're coming. Would have met you there. And he was at the game that night, so he almost scored. He missed it by about six inches wide left on the one good look he had. Yeah.

And I'm like from my first thought was, this is amazing. He's gonna score a goal. My second thought was, it's so cool that his dad's gonna be there to see it, and it just missed. So, I know Joey's getting one at some point. He's one of the best puck handlers in the game. So

I thought Joey might be able to score in a goalie.

Well, if I'm the goalie, absolutely. Especially before I get my white cage on, Daren. I'm still using the chrome.

So what are you gonna do? Are you gonna switch it?

Oh, I'm definitely trying. Now there's a little challenge of me wearing a cat eye and being in Canada and finding those is not easy. So now I gotta find a white cat eye to fit my my CCM mask, but I'm on it. I'm gonna try that a 100%. Everything that helped and it's all all white CCM.

I haven't got it painted or anything. So I will I will it would you won't even be able to see anything above the shoulders. Between my pale complexion, my white beard, and the white mask with the white cage, it'll just be like I'm not there.

Yeti.

Well, some people might tell you from the shoulders up, there's not much there anyways.

Oh, Hutch. I I feel for you, man, when you're not here, and you gotta listen to all this and edit it back together. We were actually pretty good today.

I thought. Yeah. I mean, I kept it completely self deprecating. I didn't say anything you mean about Hutch, who is our anchor and our glue, by the way. Mhmm.

But we we, like, we didn't have to do 15 pickups or anything like that?

No. Solid? No. And you know what? Time frame wise, we've actually kept this to a reasonable number because you had to get going.

So I should stop talking, which is something we hear a lot on this podcast.

Alignment. Try out my alignment or Valiquette's alignment suggestion. I'm curious to see if you if you see anything, if you're if you're out. But, again, my right foot was way above my left foot. That you know what?

Instead of in the mouth, which it usually is.

I am gonna try that a 100%. First thing I thought of was Sense Arena because they have that in the in the goalie advancement program sort of to get you set in square, like like squareness and angles, the angle mastery program. So

I'm I love that part.

I'm I'm trying both of those this week to make sure that first, we're gonna get my head on straight, white cage, and then we're gonna make sure the feet and the shoulders match, my friend.

Might take a while to get that head thing straightened out.

Yeah. That's fair. That's fair. Hey. The season ends here pretty soon, and I might need it as you can tell by this, punch drunk evening of podcasting.

Thanks for listening to InGoal Radio, the podcast presented by The Hockey Shop Source for Sports Langley at thehockeyshop.com. Happy goaltending, everybody.