Casey DeSmith Pro Reads 4
With Casey DeSmith
Net Drives and Importance of Proper Post Alignment
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Casey DeSmith been one of the best backups and value contracts in the NHL since signing with the Dallas Stars before two seasons ago. He’s also a goalie who thinks his way through a game at a high level and was kind enough to sit down with InGoal after a morning skate earlier this season to share some of the tactical and technical cues that allow him to play so well in this Pro Reads video breakdown session.
THE SEQUENCE
DeSmith is facing a Seattle Kraken power play that has just passed the puck from the point down near the goal line to Jordan Eberle:
At this point, is Eberle your primary focus if you are DeSmith?
What factors determine that?
Is a reverse-VH on the post the right move? Why?
What other threats do you need to consider?
What matters when it comes to managing any pass options?
The Save
Now watch the save below and ask yourself those same questions:
Did any of your answers change after seeing the pass go to Eeli Tolvanen in the slot?
Even knowing now that pass is coming, could DeSmith have played Eberle any different from so close? Perhaps more important, what about the way DeSmith sets up on Eberle gives him a chance to make that push and save on Tolvanen?
THE PRO READ
Now let’s hear from DeSmith on how he saw and managed this in-tight chance:
DeSmith's exact words on what he was reading from Eberle at the goal line — and the specific habit he was accounting for — are in the breakdown below.
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- DeSmith breaks down his save on a Seattle Kraken power play, tracking a pass from the point down to Jordan Eberle near the goal line before a quick cross-slot feed to Eeli Tolvanen.
- DeSmith recognized the point man as a pass-only threat — not a shooting threat — allowing him to commit to the post earlier and set up his angle on Eberle.
- His positioning on Eberle near the post, shaped by pre-scouting Eberle's tendency to walk out and jam short side or attempt a wraparound, is what gave him the push and range to stop Tolvanen's slot shot.
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