Episode 350: Chicago Blackhawks prospect Adam Gajan

Intro

Thanks to all of our sponsors, NHL Sense Arena, Stop It Goaltending U the App, Vizual Edge. We have got our Gear Segment brought to us by The Hockey Shop Source for Sports Langley at hockeyshop.com, our presenting sponsor on InGoal Radio, the podcast at Daren Millard along with David Hutchison and Kevin Woodley. Woody, how are you feeling today, man?

Oh, I'm I'm hanging in there, buddy. I am surviving. That was

tell a everybody what you did.

I played hockey for five hours after not playing hockey for six weeks. So that was it's called the cardiac cup. It's a group of pilots that I play with and guy and and other guys that work in the airline industry that I play with, not regularly, but multiple times a year, and I've I've played beer league with some of them, and, they have this event. This is the first time I participated. Now the games are abbreviated, but essentially with roughly five minutes between games and then one twenty minute break, we played from 10:30AM till 3PM.

And like I said, I had not been on the ice for six weeks. I've played once since the start of the Olympics. There are parts of my lower body right now that are speaking to me in languages that the rest of my brain and body does not understand, but I survived there. And you know what I did? I turned it into a demo day.

I actually quick changed twice to we've got all this new equipment that I've been meaning to try. We've had it out in the hands of testers, but I haven't personally had a chance to try it. I literally was changing pads on the ice during the five to ten minutes in between games. Went from wore my CCM EFlex 7, tried Tacks from CCM, tried the Alpha Surge from Warrior, which was by the end of the day, you know, having an easier slide might have been a little easier, but also those things are so fast that you wanna have groin muscles that are ready to sort of keep everything intact as you're moving around on it. It was a fun day.

I'm alive. Thankfully, the name of the tournament, the cardiac cup, I did not become the first victim of the tournament. There was no cardiac arrest.

Yeah. And there's only only no. I did not get fitted. This was a how not to from my standpoint. A bit of a leaky goal cost us in the semifinals.

Actually, had found my game, and let's remember that's relative. That's not necessarily a pretty thing by the time we sorta were winding down the day, but little got little opened up on a one on one net drive and went through the wickets, and that was that kept us out of the finals. So we settled for fourth place out of fourteenth. Good job, Woody.

Thank you. Will Smith right now at Bagger Vance. You've lost your game. Let's go find it. That's what you have to do.

Good for you. That's awesome. I what was that the first time you were awarded

the Yeah. It was. Just like I said, haven't had a chance to get out in it. We've had some other people out in it.

And by the time I came to a complete stop, I was about five, six feet outside of my crease. The puck was with me, so it's okay. No problem. I had it I had it in my body, but, yeah, they're man, like and and the way that flat, super flat boot and the way it sticks out a little bit on the toe, like, it takes some adjustment in terms of you know, again, it's a very different feeling pad on your leg. But post integration, you nail that toe because there's, like, there's a space there.

I found that, and I could just fly into my post. It was I had fun with it. I really had fun with it.

Can you compare that? Can you compare the Alpha Surge to another pad?

Well, again, I only no. Honestly, no. Honestly, no. There's nothing else like it. I I don't think it's than anything like the slide plate, to be honest with you.

You know? I I think from a pad shape and design, you're probably looking at a True Hzrdus in terms of a really a flatter boot, I believe, the Hzrdus, and then a super straight pad. This is a very straight, very stiff pad. The flatter boot is extended to auto. Anyways, we've got a whole bunch of gear review stuff coming at ingoalmag.com in the next little while like this.

So it's it's gonna be a fun time of year. Lots of launches coming, including today, CCM Tacks is out.

I'm disappointed, puzzled, confounded as to why David Hutchison wasn't there to help you with this changeover, the pit stops, getting the pads on and off. Like, Hutch, I see you with the with the towel over your shoulder, the water bottle, screwdriver set in your one pocket. Like, why aren't you there to help him out?

Screwdriver set. That's that's quite the gear change. We're in the we're in the day of Velcro now. But, Daren, that's an awesome idea. Actually, the two of us, you should come up. We get somebody to film this. It'd be great social media piece.

I didn't hear about it until last night. I was frozen out of this conversation.

I didn't know about it till the day before because when Woody's taken a day off to play hockey, he always feels guilty so he doesn't tell me anything.

That's what it is.

You think that's what it is? You think it doesn't have anything to do with, you know, like, basically Woody from Toy Story and me playing goal are the same thing. That's not flying. It's falling with style and not wanting to have Hutch around to capture it with the camera and show it to everyone.

Could be. Yes. Could be.

But I'm not mad. Get the odd picture out from from Woody playing goal that Hutch is with his professional camera.

I do sense a little drive drive to survive Netflix documentary of you and I doing the doing the pit stop for Kevin

while he's coming on. Awesome?

It would be awesome.

Yeah.

And you know how in in Formula One when the drivers come in, they drop down those not on a pit stop but say between sessions and so on. They drop down those video screens so they can review, you know, what their lap times are like and and so on. So we bring Kevin in for the pit stop and we slap the Sense Arena goggles on him so he can just review what he's doing out there as the gear is changing. We, we could have a heck of a lot of fun with this one or maybe we've just given somebody an idea. I did see Woody in person the day before that though.

Took our monthly trip over to the Mainland for a session with Cam over at the Hockey Shop, and we did have a whole lot of fun together doing that.

Tacks dropping? Tacks dropping?

Yep. There's a full there's a full overview slash review, like early feedback from our testers. Some quotes in there from Stuart Skinner about the way the pucks come off and rebounds come off. As soon as we stop talking on this call, I am driving to Seattle to see Ann-Renu00e9e Desbiens and have a conversation with her about what she's liking about the way the Tacks pads stick, which also launches today, and skates, which don't launch till later this summer, are all performing for her in a midst of an incredible season with the Montreal Victoire. And that transitions over to from the Axis XF the extension from Axis Axis XF.

AF was my new term for it. I'm sad they didn't take it.

Yeah. It was Axis XF. Yeah. This is the extension of that, but a very different shape pad again. It launches today, April 24 as we're recording this.

It's just launched this morning. You've seen it on Jet Greaves. You've seen it on Stuart Skinner. You've seen it on Ann-Renu00e9e Desbiens, Gwyneth Philips in the PWHL. If you have questions because it is a very different shape pad with a lot of new features in terms of strapping, go to ingoalmag.com.

We've got a full breakdown on the changes in the glove. Blockers mostly the same, but changes in the glove and changes in the pad. It's it's really important, and I think this is the same with with Alpha Surge. Like, there are some differences here that are gonna change a little bit how these these things fit on your leg and how they move around or with your leg. And I think it's important for consumers to sort of check that out before just being like, I want the latest.

Understand what it's gonna do.

And there was one change to the blocker you've forgotten, Woody, that seemed so insignificant that it seemed like marketing fluff to me until somebody used it on the ice and came back and said that 100% makes a difference. Go check out the overview at ingoalmag.com to find out what that was.

Oh, do you really? I'm sorry. Yeah. So Oh,

well. K. What is it?

Go check out

Yeah. There were bit a bit of a Don't give it away. Go to ingoalmag.com. This is called the tease, Daren. Come on.

You're supposed to be the professional.

I'm We'll tell you how is.

Fine, Daren.

We'll tell you we'll make you take

a picture of your blocker, and we'll see if it's on that one too.

Okay. We'll we'll do that. I'm I'm curious about the the changeover because I'm using the XF axis and the the fit because I would just sign up for another one of those. But if it's gonna change the fit, I'm I'm now I'm gonna have to lean on you a little bit. My inside source.

Let's get over to the Gear Segment, brought to you by The Hockey Shop Source for Sports Langley, thehockeyshop.com.

They are busy at The Hockey Shop Source for Sports right now. Before we get to this week's Gear Segment, this is just the start of many. I've already talked about few of the launches today, April 24. The new Warrior Covert QR and two lower price point sticks beneath that has launched. That's what we're gonna talk about with Cam today.

But at the same time, new CCM Tacks pads and gloves. New CCM Tacks stick. And let me tell you that new stiff, soft, EVO blade construction definitely makes a difference in terms of the feel on the blade of the new Tacks stick. That's live now. We've also got a new undershirt, which I wore yesterday for the first time from CCM using d three o.

We've got all those videos in the can ready to go in the coming weeks, but they've got all that gear in the store ready to sell to you right now at the Hockey Shop Source for Sports, the hockeyshop.com. And as always happens when we've got a new launch, the previous generations go on sale. So there are big savings. Daren, you're a fan of the CCM AXIS XF, all on sale right now, well supplied last at the hockeyshop.com and the Hockey Shop Source for Sports. Now let's get to Cam and a little insights on the Warrior Covert. Now for goalies, QR sticks.

Gear

Like, normally, I have to hold sticks up. I feel like almost like maybe this is just because I watched Project Hail Mary last night, but, like, like, gravity. This thing's so light that I'm actually having to hold it down counter. And it's pretty. And it performs. And it's covert. We had a name change.

The rest I'm gonna leave to you. This this

is a Oh, wow. Thanks.

Little holograms. Like, look. I don't know if the camera is capturing that, but, like, this thing is this thing is gorgeous. It's light. It's okay. Okay. I already said that. Yeah.

Yeah. Welcome back to the Hockey Shop Source for Sports. I'm Kevin. He's Cam. We've got the new Warrior Covert stick line. Three different models, probably shifting materials and weights.

Three different weights. I've got

the top end one. Oh, mid kick. Like, walk me through. Walk me through. I'm gonna let Cam I'm gonna let him talk now, folks.

You hold those. I will hold these. That's actually not really nice too for mid price. Settle down. K. Starting off with the Covert, the high end stick in particular, we now see that beautiful chrome styled graphic. Really, really like the finishing on this stick.

It is beautiful. Really, really, really pops. Again, weight was something that Kevin already pointed out three times. It's super light. So for a fourth time, now we will talk about the weight of the stick, which is super light.

And guess what? We're not gonna tell you the grams this time because we're gonna let you guys guess below, but it's definitely under six. Is it under five seventy? Is it five sixty? Is it five fifty?

Comment below. That's it. That's his that's his way of saying he hasn't weighed it. That's fine. Twist curve.

K. P 31. Standard curve. We've seen this across pretty much all brands. Flex stick.

So let's talk about the mid kick profile of this guy. So they still have that same cutout they kinda introduced with the M Series. Right. This is kind of a a build off that M Series. Correct. So we're still getting that more of that flex and pop to the stick as opposed more flexible Yes. Through kinda in here. Yes.

In the in middle of the actual Yeah. Panel of the the kick. It's a it's a mid flex, but it's kinda got a low kick. Yes. Mid flex, low kick.

That's my experience. We have one at home. We've been playing with it. I can't handle the puck for crap, but I still notice the flex.

So mid kick? Mid flex, low kick.

Mid flex, low kick. Flex is your kicks on the bottom. I'm gonna kick you. ASG Shaft, they introduced this a little while ago on their I series specifically. And, man, is it ever it's a game changer from breakage standpoint.

Like, no we've had no breakage in the models we tested last year. A lot of reps, a lot of through all the different price points, and it's like, there's just no corners to hit up top there. So pucks that get over top of your blocker, there's no corners to sort of get chipped and cracked and break. I like it as a playability standpoint. Just being able to slot that glove in exactly where that cutout is kind of designed so you can get that more torque behind your shot.

It's fantastic. Just feels good holding it in that glove. It's like you don't have this chunky, you know, shaft in the way. Next. Price points.

These are the these are the cheaper ones. QR 50, QR 10. So QR 50. The top one's just called the QR, folks.

QR 50, still customizable too as well. But We didn't get to the customization stuff. Yes. You can customize this as well. Mostly just colors or can we do things with You get more of a round shape. You get a couple options for curves if I believe off the top of my head and colors. Okay. And once again, this is customizable too. Exactly.

This is the price point that I've currently been using, to be honest. I really like the feel of this. This has been perfect for, you know, my beer league and everything like that. Not noticing a major difference between this and say, like an RTL in terms of overall performance and playability wise. I'm using, for example, this price point.

Still has the the different the cutout on the back.

Yeah. So you notice that flex.

And you still get the ASG shaft and everything like that. So you're still getting a lot of those same pro features. It is slightly heavier. Noticeable. Yep. Because they're using different materials. That's how you save money on the lower price point stick because they've used different materials. I we find in a lot of brands, they're even more durable at that range. The lower you can be. Depends. Okay. Hesitation from Cameron. No. Not necessarily on, like it's just all brands. All brands. QR 10? K. Same kind of thing. Just drop a price point.

Get a

Don't have that exposed carbon that you can see. So they're minimus carbon that they're using all the way throughout their price points. So you can see the different weaves until we get to the QR 10. But this is less than half the price Correct. Of the QR. So you're really getting into significant reduction in price and you still get The ASG shaft? The ASG shaft, which Cameron loves.

Yes. And I quite like. It's taken me a little while. It it it's a different feel.

Yes. Takes a little while to get used to it. Some people might wonder why we haven't seen pro adoption. That's because of the pro sticks that like, because of all the custom options on the pro sticks, they don't have it set up in the factory to make it with the ASG yet. But I'm willing to bet as soon as NHL guys start trying this, you're gonna see a lot more of it. Although they don't really have to worry about durability like we do. There you go.

Cover. Not just for players anymore. And if they got questions about customizing and ordering, where can they get you? (604) 589-8299 or 1805677790. Nice.

Or at the hockeyshop.com. Nice. So nice that I didn't even high stick them in this one. That doesn't happen in a stick episode. Time to covertly exit.

Did you get a chance to use the, covert QR I did. Stick at your cardiac

I did. I did. And this this is the tough part about these things is you can you can try too many different things at the same time. And next thing you know, if you don't feel comfortable, one thing, it affects your opinion on the other. So that's the one thing we do with our testers.

Like, honestly, especially right now with so many different things. I could send testers out head to toe new gear, but it really defeats the purpose. So if you're trying one of our new chest protectors that we have in or or pants, we don't want you wearing six different things. We want you to feel comfortable in the rest of your game. So I used it and the low kick point is noticeable.

I don't wanna say it's lost on me. It might have been lost on me by the time I put it into play yesterday a little bit just because I was so fatigued that I was not getting out and handling pucks by the end of the day. A couple of my puck attempt, puck handling attempts went for goals, so, made some mistakes with it. You could you can feel that little low flex, that low kick. I just don't know that I had the, I am not a great shooter of pucks to start with, and I wasn't having a great day handling it behind the net.

But you can definitely sort of just getting it on the ice and playing around with it in the brief couple of minutes we had before each game started. You can you can really feel the flex point is quite different. It's not in the shaft. It's down, you know, a lower midpoint, on the paddle, and you can feel how it just sort of releases it lower. So with a little practice, a little more, evolution in my puck handling skills, I can see how it's just that sort of that quick snap.

It's just gonna elevate it really quickly, get it past that first four

ten.

See, we gotta get you set up. The one thing I do like, because one thing I did a lot of yesterday in my fatigue was drop my stick. It's really easy to pick it up with that new, ASG and the contoured handle as well as, you know, I may not have done well once the puck got on my stick, but that ASG contoured shaft definitely makes it easier to get yourself into a puck handling position.

Back to the cardiac cup. I can't promise this will be the last time I look back on it, but, how many games in did you forego the the warm up?

There were basic outside of we got five minutes in the first game, and then and then the only time you had a chance for a warm up after that was if there was a gap in like, the next one started right away, and there might be a couple of minutes in between. So you didn't take any shots in between games? Because, Daren, I was busy quick changing my pads on the ice. Okay. Come on.

You got got that back stick. Thank god for No. I know. I you know what, Daren? I had the I had the Covert QR, and I had the new CCM Tacks, which by the way and thanks to CCM because the model they sent us came with they have new customization opt in options with the Tacks Pro stick.

Minimum to order. That's all you gotta do is order two. They sent me one with a trigger grip, and I am loving it.

Oh, it's it's the best thing. Love it. You I if if you have the option, I would never go past the

trigger be going to it full time after this. So I so that was I like, this was this was this was I didn't need a warm up stick, but because of the gear testing, the demo day I turned yesterday into and let me tell you, teammates look at you sideways because some guys really take this seriously, and I'm walking in with

There had to be some good chirps going on.

Three sets of equipment. I'm gonna keep going back to my car, coming back. The worst part though was after when I could barely walk and everything hurt, I had to make all those multiple trips back to the car to take it back. But it meant I had three really good sticks on the bench.

How many of your guys thought that there was a different goalie in net game to game because you had different gear on?

I did not change my jersey or my mask, so I was probably safe. Also, they could they could see that nobody else sucked quite as badly as I did. That's wrong. That's not right.

Visual Edge ProReads brought to us by our friends over at Vizual Edge.

Listen. Much like our feature interview this week with Adam Gajan, this week's ProReads is a guy who loves the game and loves to talk about the game and is very great at sharing insights with all of us. It is Eric Comrie of the Winnipeg Jets. I can't wait to get to that. But first, it is presented by our friends over at Vizual Edge.

Do you want the puck to look like a beach ball? Oh, hold on a sec. Sorry, Hutch. I had this and I just clicked on the wrong button. So three, two, one.

Want the puck to look like a beach ball? Every goalie has that night here and there where the puck looks huge. You're ahead of every play. You feel calm, patient, in total control. Then there are the nights where you're a half step late.

You see it, but you don't really see it. You're reaching, you're guessing, you're fighting it. I'm raising my hand as I read that. That's not that your technique, it's your eyes and your 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 to train improvement. Three fifteen minute sessions a week, on your laptop or tablet, laying on the couch, sitting at the kitchen table, maybe with your morning coffee. Easy to do, it's what NHL goalies use to make the game slow down when it matters most. And remember, if you use the code InGoal, I n g o a l, all caps, you get 10% off. If you're an InGoal premium member, log in to the website, go to the latest ProReads or any ProReads on the site, and you will get a member exclusive discount code to give you double the discount on a subscription to Vizual Edge.

To be honest with you folks, if you're thinking about Vizual Edge, the subscription to InGoal will pay for itself with that discount. So check it out now. See the puck better. Make more saves. All as a member of InGoal Magazine and save money too.

So this week's I don't want it. This is a tough one, Daren. I'm gonna ask you a question about this week's ProReads from Eric Comrie, and he talks about how him and Connor Hellebuyck talk about these types of plays. Three on one coming down the wing. Doesn't matter which wing, Daren.

Pass goes to the middle, high in the zone off a three on one rough. Where is that pass most likely headed next?

Off the guy's forehand.

Okay. Handedness plays a role. Eric Comrie has a bit of a cheat code, like I said, that he's discussed with with Connor Hellebuyck. They talk about this all the time. That goes beyond just which hand he is.

I don't wanna give it away. I wanna make everybody go back and read the ProRead.

Well, this sucks today, and you guys won't tell me anything.

Sorry, Daren, but I'm pretty sure you have a subscription log in because it is it like and according to them, now I haven't gone through every three on one this year. Actually, I should do that. I could actually go through thanks to my friend over at Clearside Analytics. I could click on three on ones and watch every one this season and see how often this happens. But Eric and Connor are pretty sure that there is a you know, obviously, you're looking for other cues.

And, Daren, you picked a great one. Handedness is part of it. But they're pretty sure they figured out where that next pass goes 99% of the time, and they played it

for Does the guy that hasn't touched the puck yet get the puck? Because they

I'm not giving anything away, Daren.

Wanna know.

It's like a two on o. Do you you always pass on the

two on o. Oh, we didn't score in a key two on o in the cardiac cup last night, and I knew it the whole time he was going down. I'm like, pass early, pass early, pass early, or don't pass. Goalie Yeah. Goalie cheated it, loaded up, and we slammed it into his pads.

Was killing me.

It brings up the question though, guys. These amazing tips we get for ProReads, situations that NHL guys expect to happen, I wonder how often they translate for us beer leaguers because the players aren't quite as smart or quite as structured and, you gotta be careful.

My skate too?

Yeah. You gotta be careful what you're listening to.

Played with my guy.

It's fascinating because it informs how I watch the NHL game. Not sure it informs how I'd be playing beer league.

Well, here's the funny part. Beer league is obviously a different thing, but I you we know this on two on o's. Right? Like, of course, you're loading up for the pass on the two on o. And then when the guy shoots and inevitably scores, which our guy would have done too because the I I could see the goalie cheating from the other side of the ice.

If they shoot and hold it on a two on o at anything other than pro level, you're like, who holds like, and you get scored on, you're immediately chirping. Who takes a shot on a two one o?

Selfish. I'm screaming at the guy.

And you say, but NHL, wasn't it Alex Lyon who told us a couple of his pro Reads? I knew this guy would do this because if he went back to the bench having done that Yep. He's gonna to the bench. Yeah.

Exactly. Yeah. So psychology plays a role in here. So folks, there's some great insights as well. I don't wanna forget.

Eric also goes on, like I said, real student of the game, talks a lot about the importance of playing inside the post to him. Again, not for everyone. Everybody has different, but this is a trend we're seeing in the NHL, sort of a more contained style. He talks about how him and Hellebuyck focus on this and how he works on it on a daily basis in practice. So our ProReads this week with Eric Comrie is more than just a ProReads.

It's a ProTips as well. There is so much great information in there. If you're not a subscriber to InGoal Magazine premium already, make sure you go check it out at ingoalmag.com. Get a subscription. Check out the ProReads and save money on Vizual Edge.

I have a split strategy on two and o. So if it's beer league, I'm I'm playing the pass. I'm cheating the pass knowing they're gonna pass. If it's higher level, I'm guarding against the pass back because I'm pretty sure that they're gonna throw it back and forth on me. So that's that's my strategy on on with better players.

And on my skates with better players, that's where I find they most often hold and shoot. Mhmm.

Yeah. I don't cheat as much, but I'm also very conscious of that, pass back. Stop It Goaltending U the app, presenting our parent segment as, Hutch gets to give us some life lessons.

Before we get to Hutch, though, we gotta talk about our friends over at Stop It Goaltending U the app. Do you want twenty five years of NHL goalie coaching experience at your fingertips? That's what you get 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 a staff at Stop It Goaltending that includes a long list of veteran NCAA coaches. It's all delivered in easy to digest chunks, including five short daily primers, weekly style analysis and breakdown videos, and drills that you can take onto the ice with your team and coach.

Plus, you get included an InGoal Magazine subscription. So check it out now at the App Store or Google Play and get the best of both worlds to make you a better goaltender with a subscription to the Stop It Goaltending U app and a subscription to InGoal Magazine. Hutch.

Parent Playbook

This week, guys, I got a great question from one of our listeners. He is a goalie coach whose son just carried his 10U team to a championship as the only goalie in his age group for the organization. And now it's time to move up to 12U, but he's got a fork in the road. On the b team, where he'd be the only goalie, he, of course, gets the maximum number of reps. On the a team, where he'd be in a tandem, and in dad's words, have to fight for starts.

He's asking, is there more value in playing a 100% of the games at a lower level or embrace the a team challenge and teach them the mental toughness of competing for a starting role? Now before I answer, I wanna pick at one phrase because I wanna make sure we're talking about the right thing here. The phrase is fight for starts. And I wanna be clear here, I am not picking at dad. He's a goalie coach.

He's just using the language the organization uses, the language the hockey world throws around. That's not the problem. The problem is what the language signals about how a lot of organizations are approaching 12 year old, 11 year old goaltenders. So let me rant up here for a minute and then I'll get to the actual answer because this dad has set up the right question. I do wanna do the question justice.

We have built a culture where 11 and 12 year old goalies are asked to carry the emotional weight of junior style competition for a crease. Coaches talk about earning your starts at age 11 like it's some sacred developmental right.

But this is what drives me crazy about where minor hockey has landed on this. We have built a culture where 11 and 12 year old goalies are asked to carry the emotional weight of junior style competition for a crease. Coaches talk about earning your starts at age 11 like it's some sacred developmental right. Parents hear it. They repeat it.

They internalize it. It's garbage. I don't buy it. The pressure and pain of fighting for starts at higher levels does not need to be rehearsed at age 11. That is not where resilience comes from.

A 19 year old goalie who handles getting pulled, getting traded, getting sent down. That kid was not forged on an 11 year old bench. That's not the mechanism. Resilience comes from involved parents who expose their kids to a wide variety of life experiences and from a kid knowing in his bones that mom and dad are there no matter what. That's the foundation.

The kids who burn out by 15 aren't the ones who played too much at the lower level. They're the ones who learned too early that hockey wasn't something they got to do. It was something they had to constantly earn every practice, every game, every start. So when an organization tells an 11 year old that he's gotta fight for starts, my pushback isn't at the dad. It's at the organization for framing it that way in the first place.

Junior hockey's hard, but you don't prepare a kid for hard by making his childhood hard. You prepare him by being the soft place he lands when it does get harder. K. Rant over. Let me get to the actual question because this dad named the tension perfectly.

He says, and I quote, as a parent, my instinct is to want him on the ice as much as possible. As a coach, I know the reality of higher level hockey involves splitting time and earning your spot. That's the whole thing right there. Every one of us who works in this game and has kids in it feels it constantly. And I wanna validate his coach brain because it's not wrong.

There's a difference between learning to share a net and fighting for starts. One builds a teammate, the other introduces a pressure dynamic that 12 year olds don't need.

Sharing a net is a real skill. Being part of a tandem, pushing each other, supporting each other, handling the nights where you're not starting with grace. That is part of being a goalie at a higher level and at some point, his son does need to earn it. But here's the distinction that unlocks this decision. There's a difference between learning to share a net and fighting for starts.

One builds a teammate, the other introduces a pressure dynamic that 12 year olds don't need. So the real question isn't tandem or no tandem. It's what kind of tandem is the a team actually gonna be? And here's how I'd work through it. First, ask your son what he wants.

He's old enough to have a real opinion. His answer doesn't settle it, but, of course, it's gotta be in the mix. Second, press the a team coach hard. Is this a real fifty fifty tandem, or is one kid the starter and the other plays Tuesday nights? A real tandem with a coach who rotates fairly and communicates, awesome environment.

A fake tandem where your kid's the 1B and knows it, worst of both worlds, no reps, no confidence, no identity. Ask about goalie coaching. Ask about practice structure. Ask whether the a team will be competitive or whether your kid's facing 45 shots a night behind a stretch roster. And then weigh the b team honestly as well.

Maximum reps at 11 builds pattern recognition, compete habits, and confidence that are very hard to manufacture later. A kid who spends a year as the clear guy winning games, making big saves and pressure moments, that's real. But check that there's goalie support at that level too, so it's not a year of grooving bad habits. So here's where I'd lean. If the a team coach can look you in the eye and commit to a real even tandem with genuine goalie support, take it.

If the answer is vague or if you're reading between the lines that your kid is the 1B, take the B team in a heartbeat. Workhorse year, let him be the guy. Tandem experience can come next year. There is no developmental cliff he's falling off by waiting twelve months. And one last thing here, dad to dad, your son won a championship at 10 U as the only goalie in his age group.

That kid already knows how to compete. He's got the foundation. Don't let an organization convince you it needs to be stress tested at 12. Ask your son what he wants. Press the a team coach on what the tandem actually looks like, and then trust that the mental toughness piece will come from you, not from sitting on a bench.

Great email. Thank you. As always, we love hearing from everybody. parents@ingoalmag.com.

Any play off that, Woody?

I mean, I've given similar advice, but nowhere near as nuanced or as well thought out as Hutch to friends whose kids play the position. Especially in those early years, I'll remember that was because they're similar ages to my my daughters and was staring at a, you know, a four, which is like the fourth tier of triple a hockey up here or house decision? And my thought process was twofold. One, at a four, is there two goalies? And the answer was yes.

So half your time was spent sitting on the bench. Two, other than getting the tracksuit is a four and and, you know, being able to say you're on a on a rep team, is it really that much better than house? And the answer was sort of not so sure. And my advice was to put him in a spot where he get to play, where if there was another goal, he could go play out. I mean, at at those ages, and and he did.

And funny enough, despite being all of five foot ten, this young man is is is now playing, college hockey. So, you know, to Hutch's point, like, these decisions need to be made not with a path towards pro in mind and and some of the the things that that we get thrown at us. They they need to be made with the with the kids in mind and what's the best thing for them. And sometimes the answers end up coming back the same. The chance to play, the chance to develop at a really young age rather than spending half your time on the bench and getting a track suit and being able to say your rep.

You know? The answers will will will vary for different kids and different parents, but thinking about it in the terms that Hutch laid out makes a ton of sense.

Adam Gajan, with us this week on the NHL Sense Arena feature interview. Before we get to Adam and his great story, and, there's a lot in this, discussion, let's check-in on our friends at NHL Sense Arena.

Yeah. Thank you to NHL Sense Arena for bringing us this week's feature interview as they always do. And if you're a goalie and you're not in NHL Sense Arena, here's your nudge. They run goalie competitions like this all the time. Right now, they've got the twenty twenty six Stanley Cup playoff goalie competition.

Tendrils, you're chasing a leaderboard, there are gift cards and free months of Sense Arena on the line. First place, a $500 gift card so you can buy yourself some new gear. Second place, $2.50. Here's the thing. Your top score is what counts, not a cumulative score.

So even if you're hearing this with just a couple days left, you can jump in, grind out a run, and land on that leaderboard. But here's the bigger point. In January, they ran the Pavel Barber Canadian challenge. Now it's the Stanley Cup playoffs. There'll be another one in the summer and the fall and into next season.

Grab Sense Arena today, and you're in the mix for every leaderboard, every prize, every competition. Plus, they're always updating NHL Sense Arena, and the newest drop is genuinely fun. You can now face roller hockey shots from Nasher with a few surprise moves thrown in to wreck your reactions. Mom and dad, if you don't know who the heck that is, ask your kids. And if you do know who that is, you must be as cool as Kevin Woodley.

I know who it is. I actually do.

Better reps, real stakes, all off season long, NHL Sense Arena. Grab it today, and, of course, use the code I g m 50 to save even more.

Woody, you're so cool.

Alright. You know what? I didn't actually have to look that one up. I barely know who he is, but I know who he is. I do know enough to know that I would not wanna stop shots from him in real life because it would be humiliating.

But in virtual reality, I can do it in in my basement. And thanks to not telling Hutch in advance, no one will see.

Woody has a life goal, I think, Daren. Nasher has come in to shoot on goalies. Woody wants to be in the player version of NHL Sense Arena. Shoot on goaltending celebrity, Woodley. I can I

can I can

hear already what the promo for that would be like? Build your confidence as a shooter, as a scorer.

This Pete Fry, if you're listening and you're coming out with a player's module, we've got an idea.

Listen, folks. We could have just run the Adam Gajan interview as the promo for NHL Sense Arena, and he talks about how he's planning on using it this summer and how important a tool it can be for goalies that don't have access to regular ice. So, just one of many things that Adam gets into in this interview. There's so much here. His experience at the Olympics, the adjustments he made in his game to go from struggling in his first year of NCAA to excelling this most recent season and ultimately signing with the Chicago Blackhawks and getting into and stopping 33 of 36 in his first ever pro game in the American Hockey League.

So, Adam's been on the podcast before with Hutch. Early second round pick 2023, I believe, the first goalie drafted that year. Just a fantastic young man with a real passion for the position, and it shines through. Thankfully for us, willing to share the experiences and the learning he's gone through directly with our audience. You're gonna love this interview.

I did enjoy doing it, and I know everybody's gonna take something out of this that they can either add to their game or just a lesson that will help them along the way.

Enjoy our NHL Sense Arena feature interview with Adam Gajan on InGoal Radio, the podcast.

Feature Interview - Adam Gajan

Really excited to welcome back to the InGoal Radio Podcast and excited to say an InGoal Radio Podcast listener, freshly signed with the Chicago Blackhawks coming off his NCAA season, Adam Gajan. Adam, how are you?

I'm really good.

As we were just talking about off air, tough when your season ends earlier than you want. The final four going on right now, the frozen four going on right now. You wanna be there, but nice consolation prize when you sign a first pro contract. How excited are you to take this next step with the Chicago Blackhawks?

Yeah. I've been really excited. As I as I told you before, I wish it was two weeks later and I was in Vegas right now, but, you know, there are only four teams that can be there. Unfortunately, it didn't happen for us. But, yeah, I'm I'm really excited to move to pro hockey and, be down with school because I'm not a big fan of school, so really excited to play pro.

What was that experience? What like, walk me through your, you know, your last couple of years at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Okay. We don't have to do from a school perspective, but walk me through walk me through from the hockey perspective. Because the last time we talked to you, you know, it was was coming out of the draft and hadn't started college yet.

What's what's what's it been like from a the development of your game from a learning standpoint on the ice?

Yeah. I mean, obviously, like, coming to college from juniors, like, it's different hockey. Right? Like, everyone's older, faster, bigger. I feel like I made a huge improvement, like, when you compare my first and second year, not just, you know, like, looking at the stats, but even, how my how my game is.

You know? I'm I feel really, really comfortable where I'm heading. There's still so much water ahead, but I think especially last summer with my goal coach back in Slovakia, we did so much work, and I think that helped me just play a lot more calmer, reading the game better, and you know, kinda don't be overplayers like before. You know? And, you know, I'm very athletic goalie, and I'm just trying to use it when I need to, not all the time.

So I think this year was was huge about it.

Okay. So Peter Kossa, I believe, is your goalie coach back in Slovakia. Is it do I have that still the right person?

I work with him as well. He was my goalie coach at the World Juniors, but every day I work with Duu0161an Volk. He was my goalie coach before I came to USA. So he was my goalie coach in my team four and six years ago. So I'm really close with him.

I work with him really closely. So

K. We wanna

make in summer.

Wanna make sure we give the plugs the right way. So when you talk about we know how talented you are and how athletic you can be. When you talk about not using it as much and being calmer, I think we people that have watched your game probably can see it, but what's the process to getting there? Because it's one thing to say it and to want to do it, but how did you you know, how do you how do you sort of refine that part of your game, that part

of your style?

I think you're just realizing that you don't have to do as much as you think, that if you are in the right spot, puck will just hit you most of the time and you don't have to move as much as you think you do. So I think just like in summer, we watched so much video just watching NHL clips and just trying to read the game, reading the rush. So the goal coach played the clip as the team is getting into the zone and then just put something else on. I had to remember if the players were lefty righty, it was free on two, or if there was passing options, they're just trying to read the game. And I think that also helped me then.

Actually, it was hard because I haven't played game for six months, right? Couch break is really long, but I was trying to think about it. Then we started playing and right away I felt like my reads were so much better than at the end of the last season. So just with that way, I never really worked much on reading the game. And I think last year was the first time I actually started working on it, and I think it helped me so much.

Oh, I love that. So you actually like, you you were basically studying NHL film and and not just watching it, but sort of having little quizzes as you went. Like, it it actually kinda feels like the way we do ProReads. We show little screenshots and we'll say, hey. What information are you looking for here?

It sounds like you went through that with with your coach last summer.

Yeah. I I mean, I always look at your priorities and, you know, like listen to your podcast. As I said, it's I think it's great to to hear from pro goalies, you know, not just NHL goalies, but even goalies playing in Europe or other college goalies. Right? Like everyone, knows something else and you can learn something from every goal on any level.

But I feel like just doing it pretty much every other day, a lot of clips just help me actually start thinking about it. Then like I said, practice is different, right? Because you have a lot less information there. But then coming to the game, was like, wow, I'm surprised how much easier the game feels right now. And I know there is still way to go that it can be even a lot easier than it goes this year.

Right? So I think I'll try to keep doing the same thing this summer, and hopefully next year is even better.

It sounds like that's some great advice for young kids listening right now. Like, we we hear a lot about, you know, hey. Kids don't watch enough hockey. They don't read the game, but you're going through it. You're doing it in a very purposeful manner.

I love that.

Yeah. And even just, like, watching the game, like, you can just watch the game as a fan, but you can also watch the game as a goalie. Right? And it's like, I think I do both. Like, I have times that I'm like, okay.

Like, I'm just gonna watch hockey game. Yeah. And then I'm like, okay. Like, doesn't matter if who's the goalie because, again, like, I'm a huge fan of, you know, guys like Vasilevskiy or Bobrovsky. But even on his, like, Connor Hellebuyck, like, he's super calming that I'm like, I can learn so much from him.

So there let's say I'm watching game as a fan for ten minutes, and I'm like, okay. I'm going to focus on a goalie for the next ten. Right? So I think there are two sides how you can watch the game.

Well, and even when you're watching as a fan, you're probably still picking things up. You may not be focusing

as much. Yeah. For sure. For sure.

You talk about, you know, how many times you're in position and the puck's coming at you. You know, that we always hear sort of let it come, let it come as a phrase. It really easy to say, sometimes hard do. Do you think just studying the game made it easier, or were there other elements of having that patience to sort of let the game come to you that you worked on or focused on in different ways?

I think reading the game was the biggest thing.

Okay.

And then I think just like I started playing a lot deeper. Like last year, let's say that the there was rush coming to my zone and the players were on the red line and I was already out of my crease. Now the play is almost at the blue line. I'm still kind of was on the goal line, just kind of still looking where the players are. I'm like, Oh, like when you watch the video, most of the time that the player that enters the zone of the puck is not the guy who actually scores.

Right? So that's why when you realize it, you are like, okay, I don't really need to be worried about the guy with the puck so much, and you can look at what the other options are and just take more time. So I think just like first, read is the most important, then just be confident like, okay, if that guy shoots it, it's easy save, but look at what are bigger threats, and they will help him make those higher saves look a lot easier.

Is that something you worked on in the summer? Because that's a trend for sure that we're seeing at all levels, especially the NHL. Like that old out early in retreat, we now see guys maybe halfway up their crease, like you said, sometimes on the goal line, sometimes maybe toes on the edge of the crease. Yeah. Waiting in that puck until that puck is in the zone and quite often waiting for that first pass before they make their move and step out because they know if they're out early and that pass comes early, it's just so much further to travel.

Yeah. I think that was by far the biggest thing we've worked on on the ice all summer. I feel like for the first, maybe almost two months, we didn't do anything else than rushes, because I feel like that was the biggest thing we wanted to improve. Right? And I feel like you always have to work on your skating and all the other stuff, but I think I was really good at it.

And I think I wasn't great in reading the game and having that patience and be just more relaxed in my stance. So literally three times a week, all we did for our everyday was just rushes and just being calm and feeling comfortable. Right? And like I said, it's not like in a game, but then when I started playing after six months, I was like, oh, like, the game actually feels a lot easier. I have more time.

You can and you're seeing things when you're d like, you know, I've had guys say that when they're way out there, you know, you sort of lose things on your peripheral when you're sitting back watching it. It's almost like having driving a car, you you have this huge field of vision in front of you?

Yeah. For sure. And, like, now I feel like even if we are in our old zone and, like, I'm you know, we turn it over and there is rush coming in. The puck is so far from me. I'm already looking at what the options are.

I was never really doing that before. Right? So I feel like this year I made a huge step in that. I mean, for sure it can be still so much better. Like there are times I get still just like focus on attack.

But I think like when I compare it to my first year in college, like it's it's a huge improvement.

Oh, and it must be nice. It must be nice to do all that work and then have it translate.

Yeah, for sure. Sometimes you do things and you don't see the result right away. And I think that was probably case maybe in the past years for me that things weren't going the best, but I feel like I was getting better and I was on the right path. But I feel like this year, I don't feel like my numbers were perfect or great, but I feel like they're for sure better than the year before. But especially the way I was playing, was so much more happy about than the year before.

And that's what matters most. Right? Can't can't pay too

much

attention to the numbers, especially in today's game. It's changing so fast. That that I'm curious because we know how good a skater you are, how well you move, how athletic you can be. But you mentioned stance and being in a more relaxed stance and letting it come to you. Did you find from a fatigue standpoint that you had more energy through games doing it this way?

Oh, I never really talked about it before on an interview or podcast about this about goals, right? So my first year of college, I asked and never felt forced in that. I don't know what it was. I was just overheating like crazy. It was so much harder for me to breathe.

So I changed a lot of stuff, but I think the part of it was also in my brain that I wanted to be always so fast and stop everything. And now, like I said, it's probably not just about that, but I think my mindset just being more relaxed, I think that for sure helped me. Because like I said, the first year of college, was like, What is happening with me? I'm 20 years old and I don't know how much longer I can play hockey if I will feel like that. And this year, I mean, I felt great in it.

So it was huge difference. I think just my mindset and being calm and think the game like, oh, it's a lot easier than I think. I think that for sure helped me.

I was going to say, like, I mean, it's it's the one position in sports. I actually just wrote a column on this for the NHL playoffs for nhl.com. It's the one position in sports where you can't just try harder.

Yeah. And that's always hard. Right? When things are not going well

Yeah. You wanna work harder.

Exactly. And sometimes that's not the right answer. Yeah. I mean, just figure out stuff and just I know that when you'll talk in a couple of years, I'll be so much better than I am right now. I feel like I'm pretty good goal right now, but there is still so much more room for improvement, which is great.

Right? Because I can get on that level. So

I love that you're excited about it too. Like, you I I remember listening to the first interview as my business partner, David Hutchison, that talked to you three years ago after the draft, and you seem to be a real passionate student of the position. So the idea that it's constantly changing and there's constantly room to improve, like, seems like you're genuinely excited about that. Have you thought about are there any things in particular this summer that you wanna work on, or is it just sort of continuing down the same path of last summer?

I feel pretty similar. I just got to Rockford a week ago, and they have great goalie coach, Matt Smith. So just working with him, I mean, literally last five days, I feel like I did more work with him than since I got drafted in last three years in season. He's been great to me. Obviously, it's tough because it's four of us, four goalies when I came up, but I've been working with him a lot.

I feel like the biggest things will be just try to be more relaxed and bigger in my stance, right? That's what we focus on right now. He's so much into details, which I think will help me so much. And I said it last week when I did some interview, was like, especially people in Slovakia, I sign and they think like, Oh, I'm going to NHL next year. I'm going to be earning million dollars.

I'm like, No, that's not the case. There's still far away to go to make it to the NHL as a full time goalie. But like I said, I know I'm not even close to where I can be as a goalie, so it's kind of exciting that I'm already at this level, but I can be still so much better when I figure some stuff out. So there is still so much more to ahead.

And you've got some great people to work with. You mentioned Matt Smith. Not a guy that we've had had the pleasure of talking to on the podcast, but a lot of the goalies he works with in the off season we have, you know, guys like Jet Greaves, just rave about the work he does. And and, obviously, you know, even before he started working for Rockford, it seemed like every goalie coming out of Ontario and having success worked with Matt Smith. So how do you go into I'm guessing because you're drafted, you've probably had some interaction with him, but, you know, what's it like now you're on the ice, you're working with him every day, sort of almost like building a new relationship.

Any advice for other goalies to, know, how best to approach that? It sounds like you bring a real open mind to it.

Yeah. I I already knew him a little bit from last couple of dev camps, but it's just for a week. Right? Like, you kinda or with him on the ice for a week. It was great.

I feel like, especially for me. Last year, I was the only one skating and because players are not skating at the Blackhawks Dev Camps. So last year, it was only me. The year before, it was two of us. So last year, it was just me on the ice with four coaches.

Right? So it was great for me and like all the focus was about my game. So we had so much time, but it was still only four skates or something like that. So now I feel like, you know, there are a couple more weeks in AHL season, then I'll go back home more with my goalie coach, but I feel like coming back next year and working with him every day, I think that was probably the biggest reason why I was like, okay. Like, I really wanna sign because I wanted to work with Matt Smith.

I think that will help my game so much.

Anything any little things in particular you can talk about? I mean, know you're just you're just there. This has just happened. It's all real fast. We talk about he's such a detailed guy, and I've heard that too.

Really into sort of the mechanics of movement and things like that. And I know if you had some exposure to some sort of some of the new thoughts on that. Is there any anything in particular you can you can share?

Like I said, mainly, there wasn't so much time. But like I said, the the biggest thing is just, like, being more relaxed and bigger in my stance.

So like a little more narrow?

Luukkonen Yeah. A little more narrow with my feet, but the biggest thing was my upper body. I feel like my hands, I'm almost with my glove almost covering my shoulder. So just maybe playing with changing my glove positioning, but what's comfortable for me. Right?

Right. Yep. Then I think big thing, I also hate, I will I feel like this season I was just, Okay, let's play. But in summer, I was thinking about it a lot. I feel like when the shot is released, your brain needs a little bit of time to pick it up and react.

And I feel like my first thought after shot is really easy is that I got to move fast and I have little pre movement with my glove. Like, let's say the shot is coming low and I still like this kind of movement. Like a little You know, kind

of like Like a little primer.

Yeah. Like, kind of towards my body, and then I react, you know, no matter where the shot is going. So we're just kinda, like, playing with that, like, if changing glove positioning will help with that. But then I also think that the biggest thing would be just, like, my brain, right? Be confident, Okay, I need to move less than what I think I have to, and I have more time than what I think to make the save.

So just leave my hands where they are and just make the save, wait for the puck. I think that was the biggest thing. I mean, he already mentioned a lot more stuff, but like I said, I've been here for a week. So I think that's great. Next year will be great for me to work with him.

And I guess that's the thing. Right? Like, now the summer is the time to think about it. Right? And as you said, once you get back, once the game starts, you can still work on things in season, but a lot of it is just feeling comfortable, feeling confident, and going out and playing.

Any tricks that you had this year to go from, you know, thinking about the the game and processing it and just when it starts, maybe turning that off and just going out and playing on instinct, that that balance between those two worlds?

Yeah. I feel like especially, like, at a younger age, like, you always wanna get better, right, and, like, try new things in practice and what might help your game. But then when it's time to play, it's just time to play. Right? So I feel like that this year, you know, like, my biggest focus was just playing the games.

And I always try to, in the morning, write some things down, like what I want to work on. But mainly for me, like I said, my biggest focus was just be big, be relaxed, just have my shoulders up because very often I make myself a lot smaller than I actually am. Just those little things because I was like, Yeah, I'm not going to change a lot in season. So just focus on what's most important, like be big, be relaxed, read the game, just those little things.

So if you don't mind me asking, you said writing things down. Are you a guy that we know a lot of goalies right up to the NHL that keep journals that want to think they write it down. So then they see when things are going well, they can look back and see what they were doing and maybe the other way too. Are you are you an active journaler? Is that something you do on a regular basis?

Or

So I actually I heard about it a lot, but I was never doing it in my life.

Okay.

And they always make us do it at a dev camp, I mean, last few years, but I always was doing it at dev camp with mental coaches and stuff like that. But then I kind of stopped doing it. But this year I was like, okay, let's try doing it. I started doing it at the Last Dev Camp, as I said, and then I just kept doing it till now. Another great thing for me, the goalie that came this year to the team, Cole Sheffield, he's working with Pete Fry.

So he was my old roommate. I think that also helped me a lot. He came from juniors, didn't play a single game this year, but as an example that you can also learn from other guys, not just from NHL guys, as I said. And he's been working with Pete Fry for a long time and I listened to podcasts that Pete Fry did review and a lot of work he does and I love it. So I think just he gave me some stuff for him and I tried to do it even more.

I think that also helped me.

Oh, nice. I love it. I love it. You, my friend, are a true student of the position. So you're our favorite type of goaltender to talk to.

I gotta ask, is this just who you are? Like, it's funny because you said, you know, you weren't a big fan of school necessarily. But, like, have you always had a curious mind when it comes to goaltending? And are there times where you have to be careful not to try to do too much or change too much as well and sort of dial in on who you are as a goaltender and not always look for the next thing? Is that a balancing act sometime?

I think that's not a huge thing that helped me be better this year.

Okay.

Because I've enjoyed doing way too much and people been telling me that for years. So I feel like that I wouldn't change it though because I think I did so much more work than most of the guys that it helped me to get on this level. But let's say even in juniors or my first year in college, I was standing in the ring almost eight or ten hours a day, just after every practice, doing more stuff. Come home, I do my eye workout, visual edge. Last year, I got into Sense Arena a little bit at the end of the season.

So all of stuff are great, but I feel like for me, I've been doing way too much that then when the game came, my mind probably was like, I don't want to say sick of hockey, but I've been at the ring the last four days for ten hours. Then we have two more games and stuff like that, so I maybe wasn't so sharp this year. I still feel like I was probably leaving the ring as the last guy, but I started doing a lot less things. And I think that also helped me just like, Okay, let's do the work. But I did so much work in last five years more than anyone else that I don't have to be at the ring ten hours a day, do Vizual Edge five times a week, the Sense Arena five times a week.

Like, it's okay to tone it down, you know? And I think that helped me so much this year just realizing it.

No. That's a I mean, we've heard that before too. I mean, I think of Thatcher Demko, you know, And we're guilty at InGoal. Right? We show all these little tools that guys use, and sometimes, you know, people will pick one up and then two up and then three up.

And next thing you know, you have eight things you're doing before a game starts, and you're consumed by it, and you're tired before the before the puck drops. So it's a great lesson. You mentioned both Vizual Edge and Sense Arena. I gotta ask because they're they're both companies that we've done work with. You obviously saw some benefits there.

So even though you scaled back, what were some of the benefits of using those products? Maybe start with Vizual Edge for us.

Yeah. So Vizual Edge, I also have a eye doctor in Czech that I studied work with two summers ago. I have more stuff that are not on the computer. Okay. But I've been using Vizual Edge maybe last five years.

I've been using it a lot, maybe even more than I should have, but I think it helped me. But this year, I use it, let's say, maybe every other week I did a session, but then before every game, before I went to rink, I did a game day thing.

And like I said, I've been using it a lot, maybe even more than I should have, but I think it helped me. But this year, I use it, let's say, maybe every other week I did a session, but then before every game, before I went to rink, I did a game day thing.

So like a one?

Yeah. So I've been using it mainly on a game day this year. And I think that just like, you know, again, like, gets your brain going, you know, before game.

So brain is my brain and the eyes, but it that's funny.

Yeah. We think of it visual edge

as the eyes, but, you know, we've heard guys talk about it. It's also there's a cognitive cognitive element. You're sort of warming up both at the same time.

Yeah. I think it kind of works together. Right? Like Brad and I. So I think it just go through like I said, I I use it always, like, before I go to ring.

So it's, two and half hours before the game. But, you know, I feel it's pretty good. Like, I always take a nap, do my visualizing and everything. And then the last thing I do before I go to rink is do Vizual Edge. So I think it just, like, gets me going before I even make it to the rink and start warming up for a game.

Okay. You already mentioned Sense Arena, NHL Sense Arena as well. We've talked about Pete Fry. He's now in NHL Sense Arena. You could do the you could do his visualizations.

Where does where does NHL again, I know you've backed off all your tools using them a little less, but is that still part of the routine even if it's less often and how do you use it?

So I started using it late last year. And actually I probably had the I use it once before the home games last year, because it was like two last home games of the season. I actually had maybe the best weekend of the season.

So I started using it late last year. And actually I probably had the I use it once before the home games last year, because it was like two last home games of the season. I actually had maybe the best weekend of the season. But like I said, this summer, I really changed my mindset. I barely use it this season, but I just talked to them.

Actually, they texted me after I signed. So need new subscription because I haven't been using it for a while, but I was like, yeah, especially I feel like my body will need rest from skating. So I think that will be good for me to just like, again, not really being on the ice so my body can rest, but see some pucks. And I feel like for young goal is like, last year I was doing it, we get off the ice and I do Sense Arena and to see more pucks. And this year, like I said, I changed my mindset.

Was like, Okay, I probably told me to do it. So I feel like for young goalies that maybe are not getting so much ice time, or maybe not getting goalie coaching or some good goalie drills, I think it's a great tool for them. Like, it's you can replace actually online session with anything, but it's the closest you can get.

I love it. I love it. Well, and the one

thing you're about to discover in the American Hockey League and in pro hockey that I've talked to a few guys about is traffic is crazy. It's never been harder to find pucks. It's never been more purposeful than it is now. And we've had a few guys talk about, you know, in that gap program, the goalie advancement program, they added the screen one. And so there's whole sessions in there that are just about, you know, seeing and and picking lanes and knowing what shoulder to be on as the puck moves around and finding pucks.

And I think that one in NHL sense arena, especially for the off season, because you don't have to be on the ice, and it's so hard to work on screens because nobody wants to shoot at teammates, and nobody wants to be the teammate getting hit by it. I feel like that's another good one you know, good area where it could be a tool in the off season to get used to finding pucks through all those bodies you're about to face in pro hockey.

Yeah. For sure. I feel like you can really work on screens a lot in off season because, like you said, the players don't really wanna get in front of it. You know? Yeah.

So I think, yeah, like, that'll be big. You know?

What time what and what is the plan? So you're you're in Rockford now. How does the rest of the summer look for you? What you talked about not being as consumed, not spending ten hours, not getting off the ice after two hours and doing another hour of of virtual reality, do you plan a break into this? Like, is it important you for you to get away for a little bit once you're done there?

Yeah. So probably right after I'm done in Rockford, I gotta fly home to go to national team and hopefully make the world championship team. So I'm hoping I'll be playing hockey till May, you know? So I still have a

Lots to go hopefully?

Yeah. A a lot more weeks to go, but then in the off season, like, yeah, I'll I'll take a few weeks off. I started golfing, which is not a big thing. Like, I feel like I never got excited about anything else than hockey almost. You know?

Like, I've been just thinking about hockey 20 fourseven for years. And last summer, I started golfing and I got a lot better in it. If you are decent in goal, golf is so much fun, right? So I'm actually really excited for this summer to to golf for the first time because last year, was just kinda picking it up. So

I love it. I love it. That's those are two good obsessions. And you know what? You know what?

There's some we always talk about the similarities because I think the golf swing, especially with modern coaching, they break down the biomechanics of it much like we do with goalies. And yet there's a lot of people that once they get out there, it's just you gotta be able to just swing. And also much like goaltending, you can't usually get away with just swinging harder.

Exactly. Like, now, actually, like, I mean, in Rockford, there is one one slower guy, and he never golfed before. We went last few days, and I'm kinda I mean, I'm not great, but, like, I'm kind of trying to teach him what I know. And that was the biggest thing I told him, You don't need to go so hard. Just relax and it'll be easier.

If you have a good contact and don't hit it so hard, the ball will go far and where you want it to go. So that's same as with goaltending, like, sometimes just relax, you know? So it's pretty similar in that way.

Yeah. Tension. Tension is the enemy. Right? We don't wanna be tense.

We wanna be relaxed and be able to to move in a in a relaxed manner. The I I almost forgot to congratulate. You're an Olympian. How cool is that experience? Like, you are an Olympic athlete.

Like, that's pretty cool. Did you did you get there in time? Were you able to take part in any of the ceremonies before or after, like, to to really embrace the full experience? And and what are your biggest takeaways from that being around it and and that experience?

Yeah. I mean, it was super cool. You know? Like, obviously, I didn't get to play a game, but before the season, that was one of my goals. You know?

And I was like, I'm the only college player in the Olympics. Like, it's really cool to just be part of it. Know? And yeah, I've been to opening ceremony just walking there with my country in front of 80,000 people with all the athletes. It was really cool.

I think the best part of Olympics for me was just seeing all the athletes, but for me, obviously, especially all the NHL players, just around you. Actually, the day after opening ceremony, I went to the gym in a village and I was stretching and there was Jeremy Swayman and Jake Oettinger right next to me. I was like, How cool is that? And I actually went to grab a dumbbell or something, and I was right there. And I just said I was like, hi.

I'm goalie from Slovakia. And I was like, oh, like I actually remember watching the world juniors in the green gear. So I thought that was really cool that top five goalie in the world knows who I am. And then I talked to him for a little bit. I actually skated with his goalie coach a few years ago, and I got on a bike and he jumped next to me.

So I talked to him for like twenty minutes. That was probably one of the coolest things for me, just have a conversation with one of the best goalies in the NHL and not just say hi to him or see him, but actually talk to him about you know, his transition from college to pro and, like, other stuff, you know, and just, like, kinda try to learn from him. So that was really cool.

Well, he's not just a top five goalie in the NHL. He's a he's one of the top people in the NHL, so I'm not surprised you guys had a great conversation. That just puts a huge smile on my face envisioning that and hearing you say that. That's exciting. Any other any other experiences that jump out?

Kind of hard to top that one.

Yeah. I mean, that was, like I said, like, that was the only time I actually talked to Sun for longer period of time and actually had longer conversations with them. But just, you you are on the ice. Like I was doing Scratch Skate one night and there was team kind of warming up right behind the glass, you know? Like, all those guys, like, it's just really cool.

Like every single day, you're getting food, there are those players next to you. Right? Like one day, was getting passed, and it was kind of held back right next to me. You know? And like just, you know, like kind of I told going coach, like, That's really cool.

And he was like, well, better get used to it. Right? But coming out of college, it's just really cool, you know, to see those players. So, yeah, that was great.

Oh, I love it. I love it. So hey. So, I mean, you talk about the green gear. What's have you got anything in the works for like, have you thought about equipment for next season?

Have you thought about style points? Do you try and keep a low profile when you're a first year pro, or do you or do you go for a little style points?

I don't know. I kinda went out in my gear for the Olympics. First, I thought I'll just keep it simple, and I was like, well, it's Olympics once in four years. Right? So I kinda I think I had pretty cool setup and some details that you can't even really see from far, know?

Okay.

But I feel like next year, I actually already made a gear and was going to order it more than a month ago with Bauer, but I didn't get NHL measured yet at any of the dev camps, so I had to wait with that. So that's why I don't have new gear right now. But I mean, I switched to Bauer a few years ago and they've been just unbelievable to me. So, yeah, I'll probably keep it pretty simple for next year.

But you always have the option with the digiprint. Right? You can do whatever you want with it.

Exactly. Feel like that. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like, you know, like my first year of college, I was like, okay, like I probably have You know, like in pro, you don't really do any crazy setups.

Right? But I'm like, I'm in college. I can kind of try, do something special and go crazy. I put logo on my pads and stuff like that. But this year, I just went all maroon and I love it.

Was simple but dark, so that was really cool. And then again, with the Olympics, was like, Should I just do normal design or should I do the E print? I was like, Let's try some E print, but keep it low key. Then I think just mounting is actually pretty similar than compared to what I had at a World Junior. It's just more special, I would say.

So I think next year, I will probably stay away from the E-print and just the normal season.

Like I said, I know you didn't get into a game, but do you, like, do you keep the gear? Where's the gear? Is that like I mean, it it's still your Olympic set. I mean, what a cool thing to be an Olympian. It's a short list.

It's a pretty special accomplishment, Adam. Do you keep that gear? Does it does it go on display somewhere back home? Or, you know, how do

you Oh, yeah. Yeah. I I have the gear. I'm planning on keeping it. I also have my world junior gears and and all of that.

And, you know, one day when I have my house, you know, I'm planning on having room with all those stuff, you know, jerseys, gears, things, and stuff like that. But right now it's just summer home. But yeah, like I said, one day when I have my own house and have more spare and jazz in my room right now, I'll for sure put it out and have pretty cool room of you know, jerseys, gear, and all that stuff. So

yeah. You're you're you're still young, so lots of time for that stuff. But I'm glad to hear you're you're keeping it and putting it away. Last couple questions. I know with Dan Ellis, who we're also a big fan of, you've had some exposure to Lyle Mast and some of the tracking stuff.

I show the goggles. I'm curious. We just had Carter Hart through town with Vegas talking about how he uses the track optic goggles. You mentioned you're using them. For those that are hearing me say this and don't know what I'm talking about, they basically are goggles you put on that block off the peripheral as well as the bottom vision.

I'd be curious your experiences with them, how you feel they've helped, and how you use them.

Yeah. I mean, I love them. I went to Kelowna last summer and I'm actually planning on going to see Lyle again this year. I got to talk to him what week would work the best. Yeah, then at least one introduced me to Lyle and I never heard about him before.

Went to Kona and yeah, I think, actually, I was there for a week, and I think it helped me so much, you know, just like picking up what what he thinks about a goaltending. And, I got the goggles, I mean, I've been using them a lot in summer and probably at least once a week in college. I feel like just having them on, you kind of realize that Again, it probably helps you realize that the net is smaller than anything and you don't have to move as much. You just see the pucks kind of coming in you, you know? So when your hands are in the right position, you barely have to move.

And also I feel like with movement, you know, and like, let's say, pass from top of the shoulder to the other side, like I feel like just, you know, kind of keeping your head down on the pug and it just helps, you know, have a better rotation, like just kind of brings your body connected to the other side. So I think, like, as I said before, I'm the goal that sometimes I kind of all over the place, you know? And I think that's the big reason why Daniel is wanting me to go to see Lyle because he thought that he can help me with that and I think it did. Gals are probably a big part of you know, wearing them just helps you be more connected and, you know, just have everything together and track the puck easier.

I I you said that so well. I love the word connected, and and it it it's interesting. I love that you picked up on that because a lot of people just focus on the tracking and the pucks, but it really does sort of help initiate that one piece connected movement a lot. So I love that you I love that you identified that as well.

Yeah. I think that was the biggest thing just like, you know, tracking the puck, but for me being connected because I allow to stretch even when I don't have to.

Well, and is it it must be nice knowing you've still got that in your back pocket. You just don't have to use it as often.

Yeah. That's, you know, one of other things that I, you know, talked to me, you know, like last few days, like, yeah, like, you can stretch and explode that not a lot of goalies can, but you you are using it a lot less than a year before, so it's a lot better, but still you don't have to use it as much as you are right now. So that's why I'm like, Oh, yeah, I know. I can see it when I watch video after, but in the moment, I get so stuck in a game that you know, if I will be able to, you know, read the game even better and relax, like, I know I can get there more connected than I am right now.

I love it. I love it. Last one. This is my I promise. I spent more time than I promised I would, but I love this conversation.

I'm smiling throughout, Adam. Back home, when you go back home in the summer in Slovakia, we've you're starting to hear a lot of buzz about Slovakian goaltenders and more NHL teams looking over there for some of that that skill and that athleticism that you spoke to. Where where you see the state of the position back home, some of the goalie coaches that you've been exposed to over the years, the job that Ju00e1n Lau0161u00e1k is doing with the program? Do you see some growth there?

Yeah. I I think you mentioned him. Ju00e1n Lau0161u00e1k, I think I mean, without him, I don't know what I would be. You know? He just helped me so much, just even getting to The USA and the work he's done with, I mean, not just him, but all the goalie coaching in Slovakia is unbelievable.

I hope that in few years, Slovakia will have more and more goalies in the NHL, you know, because now we have none, you know? But I think that Vaughn, he's doing with young kids, it's great. And he started When he started the project of those goalie games, know, like I was 14 years old. And those are the youngest kids that got to those camps. So I was in the age when everything started and we can see the results, I feel like, you know?

So the work he's doing, it's great. And there are so many great coaches. Already mentioned, Duu0161an Volk, that was my goal coach last year in Slovakia. I'm really close with him. I mean, this year I probably talked to him like almost every other day and actually I've been doing video with him after every weekend.

So every single game I played, I watch with him and he kind of helped me do some pre scout stuff. Then you mentioned Peter Kossa, going coach with world junior team, he's great. Duu0161an Szu00e1jarsku00fd, Dominik Guriu010d. I mean, I can say so many names. Right?

So I feel like

Is there a lot more than when you're is there a lot more of that and more support for young goalies than maybe there was when you were six, seven, eight? I know you started, like, skating at two when you were a goalie by seven and playing at four, five. Yeah. Is there just more support for the at a younger age now overall because of the work they're doing and more goalie coaching?

Yeah. I think for sure. Like, there are, like, so many good goalie coaching in Slovakia, and I feel like what Ju00e1n is doing and I think it's great for you know, not in every club or team or, you know, like, kids hockey is very different in Europe than, you know, in USA. Like we don't really have like, you know, high school hockey or anything like that. It's very different how it works.

I'm not going to start explaining that, but like there wasn't a lot of goal coaches in actually teams where kids are on the ice every day. Let's say when I was young, I had goalie skate once a week, or then there was our team that didn't even have a goalie coach. So once every couple months you go to that camp and you are skating with great goalie coaches, but then you come back and they don't really have a goalie coach or goalie coach doesn't really have time for you. And I think what is great that Jan is doing, he brings goalie coaches that are maybe younger or the goalies that are done after playing juniors, but want to stay in hockey. He brings them to those camps, and they're not maybe ready to be goalie coaches yet, but here he's helping them just work with those best goalie coaches in Slovakia and learn.

So then when the kids come back to their teams, they have a better goalie coach. And there are more goalie coaches and have more time for kids. So I think it's a long process. Like I said, it's kind of started when I was 14 years old, so seven years ago. So it's probably a lot better right now than when I was a kid.

That's great. That's awesome. That's how to do it. Right? If you want more good goalies, create more good goalie coaches.

Yeah. 100%.

Awesome. This is hey, Adam. This has been fantastic. I can't thank you enough for taking the time to to be back on with us on the InGoal Radio Podcast. It means a lot to us.

It means a lot to our audience. I know that they're gonna be listening along and smiling as widely as I was as you talked about all the things you've been working on and how your game has progressed. So many great takeaways. Thank you so much for spending the time. Best of luck the rest of the time in Rockford.

And with the national team heading into world championships, I can't wait to continue this conversation now that you're a pro over the next number of years.

Yeah. Thank you so much. Thanks for having me. It was fun.

Outro

Couple of nuggets in there.

Oh, just so many. Hey. Like, how about that? Like, how about just, like, you can hear it in his voice how excited he was to be in that gym and run into Swayman and Oettinger and have that conversation with Oettinger and, like, just be able to pick his brain and

What's up, guys? What's up?

I just I I like, I was smiling doing that interview. It's just You have to tell

him who you are, though.

Right? If you're Adam? Yeah. Yeah. Oh, well, I

mean Yeah. But he's not he's not dropping by saying, hey. I happen to be a goalie, and I really like you. It's like, I'm here at the Olympics with you, and I'm a goaltender for

Yeah.

Yeah. You know? It's your kind of colleagues. I understand why why he's fanboying there a little bit.

Well, they would know they would know who I mean, man, the the the world junior championships, that, you know, he had and and the attention that he got, back when he was wearing Brian's pads, those the the bright green pads at the world juniors, green the green and yellow trying to remember. Like, they'll know it. I guarantee you. Jake Oettinger is a he is a passionate goaltender person as well. He'll know who he was.

Those pads were like the the golf balls that, that I used. Are they green? They yellow? I don't know, but they're different than white. And that's that's where I where I know.

It's it's my ball over here. It's not yours. So get get the hell away.

For me, that's it. I was just gonna say, for me, that's easy. Mine's in the woods. You guys stay here. I'll go find it.

Yeah.