Episode 358 New York Islanders prospect Josh Kotai.

Intro

Like the tunes? I like the tunes, but there's a a sound that kinda drives Kevin Woodley crazy. It's InGoal Radio, the podcast presented by The Hockey Shop Source for Sports Langley, the hockeyshop.com. Daren Millard, Kevin Woodley, and David Hutchison. And Hutch, give it give us an idea.

You were just doing something, fidgeting, and Woody stopped with the preamble and said, what's that noise? What was the noise?

Goalie Podcast. That was my swish blade style divot repair tool even though I can't hit a golf ball high enough to cause a divot. I happen to find this on

It was your fidget tool.

I'm always fidgeting.

Yeah. And Woody, like, out of nowhere, what's that noise?

Well, we were about to hit record. I thought he was, like, snapping his fingers like the west side story guy, but, like, truth is he was doing this little switch switchblade comb.

I

can't snap that.

Then you guys started talking about switchblade combs, and we had stories and hilarity ensued, and now I might have the hiccups. I laugh so much.

Can you snap your fingers, Hutch? Give me a little like, with a beat, like West Side Story beat.

I guess I probably could.

We'll get him to sing too.

How many people have just signed off the podcast at this point?

Oh, they're they're loving it. Get to see a different side of of David Hutchison today. Oh, we got the

podcast can be renamed a 100% show tunes now.

It's it's never 100% hockey. I make sure that it's always watered down to, like, 93% just because we get the other stuff going in with John Shannon and company. Great conversation with our buddy, Steven a couple of weeks ago. That was really cool. And he always gives me stuff that I forward to Woody, and Woody's like, I didn't know that.

Yeah. He and then I sent him a text message, and I'm like, quit saving the good stuff for them.

Fun stuff over there. Better stuff with goaltending happening over on InGoal Radio, the podcast presented by the Hockey Shop Source for Sports Langley with Gear Segment coming up in just a little Visual Edge ProReads, Stanley Cup champion, Brandon Bussey.

Back to back. Yep. Not back to back Stanley Cup champions, but back to back ProReads for Brandon Bussey we had to celebrate. Funny enough, it's a ProRead from his first game and first win in the National Hockey League. So a big save from the game that started it all.

A little momentum built off of that. Stop It Goal Tending, the app, parent segment talking draft. National Hockey League draft week, all kinds of other

PWHL as well.

Entry level opportunities coming up for people. So you're gonna dip your toe into that water.

Just gonna talk a little bit about having some perspective as I like to do.

And Josh Cotay, who was never drafted, Islander prospect, is going to be our Sense Arena feature interview.

Yeah. And this is this is a good one. Like, I like You're giddy. There are so many oh, literally, literally He's watching me from his family. Like, on the ice, out in Abbotsford, my neck of the woods, they're they're from the Lower Mainland, Vancouver area, suburb of Vancouver.

Dad has been the practice goalie with the Abbotsford Canucks and the American Hockey League and for the past year with the Vancouver Canucks as well. E bugged for Abbotsford. Younger brother Nick is also a goalie. He's got a brother who is playing NCAA hockey as a forward, so they got one shooter and three goalies in the family. And when you hear this background story in terms of dad being coming back to the position late and being self taught and then teaching his sons and you hear wait, Daren.

Josh catches full right like Brandon Bussey, but both his brother and his dad catch left. And so what you gotta hear you you this will be the most un I guarantee you, folks, I'm not gonna give it away, but I promise you right now, the most unbelievable, unlikely origin story of a right catch goalie that we have ever heard. This is even more than Andrey Vasilevsky

That's my comparison.

With his left. This this

because he's a right catch who taught himself how to Caught left catch left.

Because he couldn't get the gear. I'm telling you, this story from Josh easily trumps Andrei Vasilevskiy catching with the improper hand.

No way. No way that that over overdoes Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Woody guaranteed. Right now, mark it down. I'll take the money. Whoever wants to bet, here we go. This is the greatest

I haven't heard the interview, but but it doesn't it doesn't top Vasilevskiy.

You lose. Okay. You just wait. I will I promise.

How about I arbitrate that? I'll decide who's buying. Have you heard the interview yet? Excellent. I have not.

Alright.

Well, Josh is still in the green room. How am I supposed to have listened to it?

No. That's good. You can decide whether I'm right nothing against Josh. Josh Kotai. C k o t a I, if you're looking him up on on DB.

Nothing against Josh, but a two time Stanley Cup champion, Vizner Trophy winner who transitioned from catching right handed to catching left handed. That's a large high bar.

And he will clear it easily. There's my guarantee. I don't make a lot of guarantees on this shit, but trust me folks.

It's and it's just a really good story doesn't beat Vasilevsky. What are you putting on the table here?

I mean, what? Do I have to get, a tattoo or something? Because you know I've Yes.

A tattoo of Daren on your arm. Visible everywhere. Not one you can hide under your short sleeves.

Right in the bicep.

We'll we'll do a a tattoo of Daren in silhouette playing goal maybe somewhere. Yeah. Okay.

Nah. He's gonna

That's how confident I am. I will get a Millard playing goal silhouette tattoo if I lose this.

I want something on your mask that you that reminds you of me every time before you play.

Okay. My quote you

bet she

just quote on there? My my I I I love that you let me off the hook with the tattoo because my wife probably wouldn't have been a big fan of that one.

My quote what's what's John's? Even John Garrett in his prime wouldn't have stopped that one.

That's right.

Mine is desperation breeds brilliance. That's that's my invention.

And I and

I'm allowed and I'm allowed to just put it on my next mass wrap as opposed to tattooing it on my arm. You could have been immortalized on my left arm with Ken Drag.

You don't need that.

That's the opportunity you passed on.

I don't think anybody needs to have me and Ken in the same category on whatever limb that that it is. We've got our Gear Segment. What's happening?

Just just so you know, I put you on the

flabby part that on the bottom of the arm.

Gear

If it's The jiggly part.

If it's somebody's talking about getting a tattoo on their belly the other day and and it was a Guinness, like a pint of Guinness tattoo. Like that, first of all, would not look good on my belly and two, it would be two pints.

It's a

good pun though. It's a good pun.

Yeah. Is a good It's

a beer belly.

Yes. Think that's the way it came about, the the story. What's happening with our friends over at InGoal and the Hockey Shop Source for Sports Langley, thehockeyshop.com?

Well, we have got new gear coming. We we we keep saying this. I know I sound a little repetitive here, but it's that time of year. It's just a constant flow of new equipment. As a matter of fact, there's been so much coming in over the past couple of months that we are behind with our storytelling in terms of bringing it to you.

We're starting to get into the second price point stuff. We talked about it last week with the CCM tax line. Obviously, we'd already done the tax pro line. We did it with the second or the sort of price point and a half down, not a full drop on the true line with catalyst. They've got everything in store right now.

It is jam packed full of new gear, sale prices on old gear. There's no better time. Maybe beat the rush, folks. Like, you know, it's June. We're getting into July.

Maybe you wanna see if that your kid grows an inch or two this summer and you wanna hold off. They've got the inventory to cover you in August if you wanna go in and get your gear that late, but I'd suggest beating the crowds because they've got all kinds of new equipment on the store, racks, on the shelves, and in the overflow warehouse as well as, like I said, for the beer leaguers out there or maybe not for anyone, discounts on previous lines. This week, we're gonna look at the Bauer Fuse chest protector. Now I should also mention, as we look at the men's chest protector, I see that Bauer we teased this a little bit after the event we did with Bauer at The Hockey Shop. Kristen Campbell, they've they've they've sort of made it official.

There's going to be a women's edition chest protector, women's specific chest protector under the Bauer fuse line as well as pants, I believe, and that should be in store as well. So that's coming into the store. All kinds of new stuff. Make sure you check it out. You got any questions about new gear, looking for sale prices, just looking to see what's new, check out the hockeyshop.com or give Cam and his crew a call.

And this week, one of those new pieces of equipment, one that's very popular already amongst the buyers at The Hockey Shop Source for Sports, the Bauer Fuse chest protector. I'm I haven't worn it myself, so let's let Cam explain what's new, what's different, how it fits, how it feels, and whether it's for you.

We're back at The Hockey Shop Source for Sports where Cam would like to talk about the Bauer fuse, but I'd like to talk about his not so starring role in off campus and the fact that you can actually get off campus jersey online exclusively from the hockeyshop.com. I didn't even tell him to plug that. Like

I'm just so proud

of you, Cam. Like, it's such a big moment for you. Hi, Jackie. When you think of all the goals you've given up in your life and nobody cared, this one people watched. So I'm happy for you.

Now let's get back to something else people wanna know more about. Yes. The Bauer Fuse chest protector, brand new supreme line. Lot of cool features. I'm you haven't seen it myself until, like, Cam pulled it off the rack thirty seconds ago.

So I'm gonna lean heavily on him to inform you about what's new besides, as he said, a colorway and style profile that is frankly worthy of his off campus appearance. So refining some overall fit and features of the shadow chest protector itself. Okay. Let's go over it. This is a very favorite unit of mine.

Something I actually personally wear myself to as well. Did you wear it during your appearance? I was wearing a shadow chest. There you go. Yeah.

But so I will be moving into the fuse chest very, very shortly. So let's go over a couple of improvements that they have made starting with the arms. A little bit of reinforcement has gone into the stock arm. So extended the actual overall, like, elbow plate itself to just a little bit better coverage, especially when you flex that side of that elbow so you're Flex. Not Flex.

So like that. Attaboy. There we go. Perfect. So your elbow is now getting that a little bit more of that coverage and not poking out past that pad.

It's almost I don't wanna use the word mechanical

because people you have it like It's not. But they call it an annotation. An amp amp amp. I know. I like it.

They're amp arm. So I like it. Carvex composite all the way throughout. So Protective. And you can actually see that called out on the side along with that amp calling out the actual mechanism itself.

This is quite flexible, like, right out of the box and really gives you a lot of speed of emotion. Having a mechanical fit, like we go back to the Warrior days. Like people were critical of it, but the reality was there was no break in required. Exactly. So change the way that that tricep pad wraps around the back.

A little more protector. It's thick, but it's better than nothing. Yes. So the old piece used to, like, fold in quite easily right under, especially when you put in the arm. This has a little bit more flare to it.

And there is

some protection on that outer layer for sure. Correct. 100%. You still have that same adjustable Velcro. Like the adjustability.

Exactly. So that also creates a lot of freedom of motion. And it's important for Cam because he does a lot of swimming in the crease. Exactly. Hey, whatever you gotta do, keep the buck out of the net.

So changed their actual segmentation of their upper shoulder caps as well. Okay. Some problems with it folding in off of the old chest protector because this piece was segmented. So now this is one solid piece now. So it creates a little bit of a wraparound better for that shoulder cap, better overall fit.

Presents pretty well too. Exactly. It's a nice wide presentation. Exactly. Okay.

Oh, shoulder floaters. Segmented. Correct. Allow you to sort of, again, turn a taper and wrap it over top. Nice and adjustable.

And you have that Velcro option if you wish to pop the suspenders over top and secure them down. Personally speaking, you don't wear suspenders like I do. It's very stylish. They see that. Yes.

Great call outs. You're star now, Cam, if that'll matter. I know. Fairly. K.

The actual chest plate, DTC foam makes its return. A good absorption quality too as well. I noticed it's quite easy to catch that rebound right off that chest and be able to crave it rather than it shooting out and flying out all over. I'd imagine sort of like this it's a very protective unit. We've talked about the reinforcement in the arms, but it as you sort of it feels almost like a they could be.

Like, there's a sort of flexibility to it that allows it to sort of sit over top of you and wrap around you a little bit. And, again, when you have that,

it's a little easier to

cradle pucks versus things that are super rigid Correct. And tend to lead to more bounces off the chest. Correct. Correct. So the word, like, frumpy, like, always gets tossed around when it comes to chest.

Frumpy. A frumpy chest unit. So we're gonna coin that a little bit more here too as well. So when a chest vector tends to Frumpy? Fluff around on you a little bit.

And even when it hangs off the wall, it can come to that frumpiness. That's a made up word, Cam. Yeah. Well, we're we're gonna use it as a actual chest word itself. Yeah.

Trust me. You're gonna look at a chess now and you're gonna be like, that's a frumpy unit. I will never I can promise you folks, I will never be on this moment right now ever again in my life use the word frumpy. I'm gonna get him to do it. Don't you worry.

But finishing off moving into the bottom of the chest as well. So another piece that makes a difference. This I do like. So this kinda creates their hybrid tuck system itself. So a lot of areas to tie the chest down and separate it so you can actually put some actual foam.

One layer inside and one layer outside if you like. Love it. Pour the whole thing. Lots of areas to actually tie down the laces off of your pant. Adjustability, adjustability.

Correct. Again, that ability to dial it in right off of the bat is always great. Lot of foam around the outside here too, like really soft, so much protective as comfort, but extra layers too in terms of, yeah, not just protecting you from pucks, but maybe absorbing a few between the arm and the body helps sort of eat a few. Exactly. So still the same adjustment system that you've seen on the back end of the shadow chest.

Same button, backplate, create that good hang of the chest itself. You also have that pro tie down feature, which is great. Elastic in the back. Geez. Do I?

No. I don't. Because I use suspenders. Right. Okay.

What's the benefit other than like pro surf? So if you do want the chest to kind of pull up on you a little bit and like haul down, so it's a very different feel. And again, try it if you like it. That's why the option's there. So it creates that tug at the back of your pants.

Suspenders do a little bit, but can also change the way that it sits on your shoulder. So this is a personal preference territory. Hey. It's there. Try it.

If you don't like it, then don't use it. I learned I actually see, I learned something there. I'm glad I asked. This is why we come to Cam with our questions. If you have questions about the Bauer Fuse Supreme Chest, are there

custom options that you used to do about it?

Or if you would like to order yourself a custom fuse chest. What kind of custom options are we talking, Cam? So say you wanted to beef up the shoulders. Say you wanted to beef up the forearm. Say you wanted to beef up the bicep.

Say you didn't like this color and you want it all white for some reason. You have that option because you can order custom. Not just for superstars like yourself. Exactly. Or change the arms, mismatch, body, different different arms.

Have we Different sized arms as well. Have we told them where they can get more information about this? We should. (604) 589-8299 or 1805677790. Or check us out at the hockeyshop.com.

Excellent, Cam. I have to say that was well done. I, however, am a little disappointed that you've let your stardom go to your head and now think you can make up words. We're gonna have a little chat off camera about that, but good job with the chest protector. It's alright.

I'm gonna fuse your face to a blocker one day.

So where would the the fuse chest protector fit into the the lineup?

You know what? We're sorta into the supreme line versus the vapor line with this one, But it's funny. Like, some of Bauer's best chest protectors when they go on, like, there's it it's it's got a really nice presentation. It's a pretty large looking. It presents big.

But some of them when they go on, they just feel like hoodies. Like, it's really sort of got that soft and and it's not an overly stiff unit. Like, it's got mobility out of the box. And this you know, I did put it on. It sort of has a bit of that feel.

So, I'd suggest if you have an opportunity to go check it out, compare it to the other ones. You know, I've had actually a few pro goalies are heading into their first year pro asking about different chest protector options lately. We do get those calls, and we've gone through the past where we'll take some of these chesties, put them side by side, and sort of measure just how far out they go around the shoulders. And so if you get a chance to sort of compare it, let us know what you think in terms of size, presentation, fit, and feel because I have guys at the highest levels and and and in junior asking these very same questions.

Do you ever get a response like, feels like butter?

That was our that was our that was our I feel like you're segueing me. Yeah. That's scary. Stick sticking his hand into the warm loaf of butter to warm up his glove.

And you know what? He topped off the career pretty well with an election into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He will be inducted next November and opportunity here for a couple of goaltenders to be part of the class of 2026.

Do I get on my soapbox and say that he should have been a first ballot hall of famer election

last I am

happy. I'm happy that we have two. I still think Kerry should have been a first ballot hall of famer, but I'm glad he gets in. He has gone to the dark side, folks. When it comes to weekly skates, he plays out as a forward.

So if he's in that hall of fame game, he'll be trying to snipe. I'll be curious to see where Pecca goes on this one. Not sure if he's playing any goal these days or if he's out and we saw him score a goal as a goalie. Maybe he'll be out there trying to score goals in the game. But, you know, not just two of the greats in terms of their careers, but two of the really great people in the game that we've gotten to know here over the years in InGoal Magazine.

As a matter of fact, mister Hutchison here, as soon as the news broke, within an hour, had an incredible story up on ingoalmag.com outlining all the different articles that we have posted over the years featuring both Carey and Peck. And a lot of Peck's stuff was sort of advice and tips that he shared as well as some interviews. But with Carey, we were blessed to get on the ice with him in the summer through the Eli Wilson Goaltending camps several times. We did a webinar, like a one hour webinar with him during the pandemic. We have, like, seven or eight technical pieces of him explaining little tips on from how he holds the stick on the post to butterfly movement keys, like, just you name it, plus seven ProReads, all kinds of features.

There were over 40 articles linked from this main article that Hutch put together. So I saw Devin Levi sort of quote tweet, I guess, on what he put it on IG story. I'm one of the old, so everything is a quote tweet for me. But he he posted on his story, sort of reposted the Price Hall of Fame induction, and he just put a goat at the top. And so if you're looking for technical advice, breakdowns, how to play the position from a guy who we once referred to as a human how to DVD back when DVDs were actually being used.

When it comes to the position, we've got it for you at ingoalmag.com. So congratulations to Carrie. Congratulations to Becca, And thank you, mister Hutchison, for putting together such a great piece highlighting all the material they've shared with us over the years.

So Carrie Price Pekka Rinne. Hutch, give me a thought, the first thought that comes to your mind when you think of Carey Price, Pecarene.

Pecarene, I think Finnish baseball. Kevin Woodley wrote

That's a ball up.

Yeah. Kevin Woodley wrote that one up for us, one time, developing those great glove skills from playing a sport other than hockey, reinforcing it by being an all around athlete. So, and then with Carey Price, just remember the first time we got to meet him at, Eli Wilson's camp. And, as we've said here before, we tend to learn over the years that, all these guys in the NHL are regular people and we're pretty relaxed around all of them. But when Carey walked in fresh off that heart trophy victory, it was a bit of a showstopper for us as well.

Got a little fanboyish. But then after that, I remember the next year, he just walked up to us like, long lost friends. Hey, guys. How are doing? How's the family?

And, just that he can make you feel so at ease and so so relaxed was was a wonderful thing. So very fortunate to have spent a little bit of time with him.

Rene, I would think he could glove everything. Like, to your pespasolo. Pespasolo? Is that what you call it?

Pesopolo. Pesopolo. Pesopolo? Pesopolo.

He he could catch anything. On the ice, above his head, across his body, anything. He he could catch anything. And for Kerry, it was just he was so smooth. He was, like, one of the the the first perfectly suited goaltenders that just glided around the crease.

He made it look easy, and so many goalies, like, when for for, like, an entire generation, when we would ask young goalies, you know, who's your guy growing up? Who'd your who'd watch? You Who'd you start to model your game off when you got to that time in your in your young career where you're actually looking more carefully at how guys did it? And, like, Carey was the default answer for most of them. But to Hutch's point, I I think what I remember the most is how good he was with the kids.

This was before he was a dad himself. And I remember both Hutch and I being parents at the time, obviously, but but still younger kids watching Kerry walk into that room with all these young kids the first time and just sort of looking at each other after and being like, man, he's gonna be, like, such a good dad when he gets the opportunity. Like, he's good as hell. He's, like, tying kids' skates and just engaging them on their level. Like, just there was no there was zero pretense to him in that environment.

It was it was really cool to see. So, and you're right. Like, the article about Pesapolo was sort of inspired by I remember Pica Renee's first sort of shot at the playoffs, like, first time he got into the playoffs. Like, it was against the Vancouver, like, or they met up with the Vancouver Canucks at one point. It might have been 2011.

And there was a line about, like, you know, or a hashtag on social media, things in Pekka's glove. Like, he was catching everything. Like, just you know, it'd be like Jimmy Hoffa's in Pecorino's glove, like, things like that. And he the way it wasn't just about having a great glove hand. It was about the way he controlled the game using it.

And you mentioned the pucks along the ice. He would catch pucks down in front of his pads, and that may seem like a small thing, but you I remember talking to fellow hockey hall of famer, Shay Weber, who was with the predators at the time about how key that was. So as a defenseman, you got your back turned to the forwards as the puck comes in on your goalie. And instead of having to go find it off his pads and worry about where all the attackers are, you've just got a nice controlled defensive zone face off because he's gloved it, he's controlled it, and he's eliminated so much of that chaos. So I'm with you.

Pecca's glove and who he was as a person as well as kind as they came and just the whole package for for Carey Price. Interesting enough, if you look at the numbers, obviously played fewer games a little bit for Carey, but identical career nine seventeen save percentages and pretty close on the wins list as well.

We look forward to the induction ceremony in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto in 2026 in November. Visual Edge ProReads, Brandon Bussey's coming up. What's happening with Visual Edge?

Do you mean I don't get to get on my we're not gonna give me an opportunity to get on my soapbox and absolutely rip the Hockey Hall of Fame for not putting a goaltender in there? We're just gonna save that

one for next this conversation.

It'll take an entire hour, so I'm willing to take a deep breath from that little soapbox. Francois Lair, Mitch Korn, Benoit Lair, get them in there. Let's go

for Why

do you nominate them?

Because I don't think I'm of that power.

Anybody can nominate. Anybody can nominate. It gets the discussion started. Nominate them. Really?

Yes. Anybody can nominate somebody You could. For the Hockey Hall of Fame. You just have to

put I haven't been told that

I haven't been told the knowledge.

Okay. So instead of bitching about it, I have to actually

This is on you.

What you're telling me.

Valliquette wants to do it too. If you and Valliquette got together, I think you could pen a pretty good article.

But oh, we've penned several articles. They're all up at ingoalmag.com. I do think that I know I have talked to people that say it's been discussed, and they've been regarded as assistant coaches, and there's no assistant coaches in the Hockey Hall of Fame. So if I if it takes an official nomination to help change the minds, great. We're on it.

K. Now deep breath because I'm gonna try and zoom out. I'm gonna I'm gonna try and use my divergence to pull away from the topic, the shiny object that has caught my attention, and see the entire landscape. That's what Visual Edge does for me. It allows me to converge on the puck and then diverge and read the play.

Parent Playbook

Do you 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. You feel patient.

You're in total control. Like, Daren Millard at a Vegas practice. 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. Like, Woody, at every skate. That's not your technique. It's not my technique.

My technique's good. It's your eyes and your brain not processing the play fast enough. My brain is definitely not fast enough. Visual Edge fixes that. Clearly, I need to get on it more.

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. It's what NHL goal is used to make the game slow down when it matters most. And remember, the code InGoal, I n g o a l, just like Daren Millard's hat that you can't see him wearing because you're listening to a podcast right now, all caps, gets you 10% off a subscription to Vizual Edge. And if you're already a subscriber to InGoal Magazine, just go to any ProReads to find your exclusive code to get double that discount 20% off a subscription to Visual Edge.

And, of course, this week's ProReads, back to back Stanley Cup champion, change the cup final in my opinion, Brandon Bussey with a breakdown on a double slot line play. So across and back against the San Jose Sharks in his first start in the National Hockey League and his first win, the one that started it all way back in October. Daren, if you see on a power play, bit of a rush chance, zone entry, a you got a you got a guy standing net front in front of you as the puck is zipped from the top of one circle across to the face off circle on the other side. You're coming across. You beat that play.

Are you squaring up on him, or what's the thought process?

Probably halfway

Jeopardy music.

Because I'm worried that he's gonna go back. There we go. There we go. Which which Busy did in game six, like, I I perfectly it went off the crossbar, but he he was he was there to make sure that Jack Eichel had to pick a corner. It was an unbelievable play.

And that's I think, honestly, I think that's one of the things that separates Brandon Bussey is his ability to anticipate and then not just sort of technique the game. You know, he talks about it in this ProReads. Because you're right. He doesn't fully square up on the first guy, and then he explains why and walks through some of the thought process behind it, why he sees that as a double slot line. I mean, I've already called it a double slot line, we know the pass is going back across.

I gave that part away. But Busty explains the why as he has through all of his ProReads so far with us, and I do think it's a separator for him. There's a little bit of unpredictability in his game because he doesn't do the same thing every time based on his reads. It's not cookie cutter. And so he walks us through some of that on this rush chants in terms of his depth decision, in terms of paddle down and the way he uses that, and just explains the hows and whys.

So it's the last of our four from our sit down in early March. We're hoping. He's got a busy summer. I think there's a stag this week and a wedding next week and all kinds of stuff going on for mister Bussey this summer. So I you know, congratulations to him not just on the cup, but on the pending nuptials.

One of the great guys in the game, we've got four in the can. You can watch them all at InGoal Magazine, ingoalmag.com, including our latest edition, and we hope to catch up with him, maybe not in the near future, but down the road to add to that list of ProReads. There are almost 40 goalies in our ProReads section, over 350 videos of them breaking down footage. Make sure you go check it out at ingoalmag.com.

So the parent segment this week, talking about drafts, not just the National Hockey League draft, which is headed towards Buffalo this weekend, but drafts for goaltenders. That's brought to you by Stop It Goal Tending U, the app.

You know who knows all about drafts and goaltenders getting drafted? Brian Decord. Do you wanna have twenty five years of NHL goalie coaching experience at your fingertips? Wanna tap into the goalie parenting expertise that helped Joey Decord reach the NHL? That's what you get with a subscription to Stop It Goal Tending U the app.

All the knowledge from Brian Decord has been an NHL goalie coach, scouted director, as well as all the insights and expertise from his staff at Stop It Goal Tending, which includes a long list of veteran NCAA and pro coaches. All delivered in easy to digest chunks, including five short daily primers, weekly style analysis, and breakdown videos, and drills you can take onto the ice with your team and coach this summer. Plus, you get a subscription to InGoal Magazine as well. It's all included. So check it out now at the App Store or Google Play and get the best of both worlds in goaltending with a subscription to Stop It Goal Tending U, the app, and a subscription to InGoal Magazine.

Hutch.

Gentlemen, this week, the hockey world is turning its attention to Buffalo where a few 100 teenagers are going to wait to hear their names called at the NHL draft. And just last week at the PWHL held their own draft over in Detroit, a whole new class of young women taking the first real step into pro careers. Draft season is one of the best stretches on the calendar. The hugs, the families, the kid pulling on the jersey, it's really, really cool to see. But I wanna talk about what it quietly does to some goalie parents because it does something to almost all of us and most of us don't even see it happening.

You watch a 17 or 18 year old kid go in the first or second round and without meaning to, you glance over at your own kid and and the math starts. Where should they be now? Is 13 too late to be, at a certain level? Should they have made a certain team last year? Is he or she behind?

I want you to catch that the moment it starts and shut it down because the draft is just about the worst measuring stick you could ever hold up to your goalie and it's the worst one for goalies in particular. Here's why. The draft of course is just a snapshot. It's a few 100 kids judged on one weekend by people pretty much guessing about the future. And of every position on the ice, goalie is the one that few people can predict.

Teams know this. It's why they so often wait on goalies, why some of the best ones in the world get passed over again and again on draft day. The guessing is just harder in our position and everyone in the room knows it. If Packer in, hall of fame, seventh round pick. There you go.

If you want proof that the timeline is a lie, look at the trophy that just got handed out a week ago. The goalie we've been talking about already here was standing in the crease when Carolina won the Stanley Cup, and he was never drafted at all. Not as a teenager, not ever. This isn't ancient history. Just last fall, he signed with a team that couldn't find any room for him, got put on waivers, and watched a bunch of clubs pass on him before Carolina finally took a shot.

That was eight months before he was stopping everything in the building with a cup on the line. Nobody drafted that storyline. Nobody projected it. It happened the way most goalie careers actually happen, sideways, out of order, through a door, nobody saw coming. And here's the part I love because it's ours.

Years ago when he was still rookie in the American League, at that that same goal, he sat down with us on the InGoal Radio Podcast long before any of this when he was just an undrafted kid who'd aged out a junior without much to show for it. And here's how he talked about that moment. He said, I could have been in a lot worse places as an age out who hadn't proven anything. And from that point on, I've just kinda carried that mindset throughout. That's it.

Brandon Bussey. That's the whole thing. He wasn't counting what he'd missed. He was counting the chance in front of him and he carried it all the way to the top. And that's the thing about development, it's not a straight line.

And it's really not a straight line for goalies. The kid who looks two years ahead at 13 is not guaranteed a single thing and the kid who looks step behind right now has not lost anything. They might just be a year from a growth spurt or from the mental side catching up to the physical, which for a lot of goalies is the whole ball game. The position rewards patience more than almost any other and patience is the one thing draft season tries to talk you out of. So here's what I'd ask you to do this week.

A lot of you are gonna sit down and watch the draft with your kid. Do it. It's a great night to share. Let them dream as big as they want. Picture their name getting called.

Picture the jersey. That dream is fuel and it's theirs to have. But that's their job. Your job's different. Your job is to make sure you don't come away from that night quietly recalibrating where your kid's supposed to be.

They don't need you carrying a stopwatch. The only clock that has ever mattered is their own, and it's running exactly on time even on the nights it doesn't feel like it.

Feature Interview - Josh Kotai

There's times where I wonder if it's almost better to go undrafted as a goaltender than to be put into a situation where you only have that option of the team that you are picked.

Yeah. I've heard a lot of people say that. It certainly is a bit of a pick me up, you know. Oh, if you weren't drafted, at least you've got 32 places you could go now and instead of just one. I mean, the kid who gets drafted gets opportunities more than others.

Right? Like the, the development coach shows up with their junior team and spend some time with them and they get invited to development camps for lots of little perks to support your confidence and help you develop as a goaltender. But it's also true that lots of kids get drafted and don't ever sign a contract and don't ever make it. They got to have a really cool experience along the way. I mean, I think I'd be lying if I said I'd rather not be drafted, but there certainly are some perks.

There certainly doesn't mean it's the end of the road. You definitely have a lot of teams looking for you. Where it is interesting is if you're someone like, well, Cooper Black who had on the show not long ago, who was somebody a lot of teams wanted when he was coming out of college and there it's really nice because then you get to get wined and dined as if you're experiencing your first ever free agency and get to find out what that development plan is for you. But, yeah, a lot of ways to look at it, guess, Daren.

You and I don't have to

worry about it, Daren. We're not getting drafted.

I don't either.

I think my my mental did actually catch up to my physical this year and now they're both a mess.

That's not the direction we were talking about. Not free fall, Woody.

I don't think your mental's there yet.

Still working But on

but that's a compliment to your physical.

Specimen, my friend. Specimen. Elite.

It's just a it's a it's a long climb to get to that same level as as your physical.

That climb down, it's a low bar.

You wanna you wanna attach a rope to you. We've got our NHL sensorina feature interview, Josh Cotai. Look him up, folks. Before before you get into listening to the interview, k o t a I, Good kid. I I wish I I had his physical.

62175. Looks like he could he could tread water in a test tube. He's so skinny.

Haven't heard that one before.

I've never heard that one before.

He could hula hoop a Cheerio.

No. But he's he I did there's no lack of power. I watched him skate. There's definitely no lack of power, and he and he's they're working. Let me tell you.

Dad sets a pretty high we're gonna get into this. Gonna let Hutch talk about NHL censoring it, but his dad sets an incredibly high bar from the training perspective. Like, the way he keeps up at at age 52 or 53 might be just a little older than me as a practice goalie in the NHL, Daren. You've been there doing the skills work. He keeps up with it.

So definitely not an issue

for This young

is part of the story, and we'll have to get to that in a minute. But first, Hutch.

First, we gotta talk about our friends at NHL Sense Arena. This week's future interview is brought by NHL Sense Arena, the off ice training tool that builds the part of a goalie's game that you just can't drill enough on the ice and that's your reads. They've just dropped something built for the summer grind. It's the new monthly summer training packs, a focus set of objectives you work through each month. So instead of aimless reps in the off season, you've got a plan, you've got a path, and you've got a way to actually track your progress.

They've just, well, it it is June now and we're in the middle of their elite campus prep phase built around exactly what coaches are looking for at summer camps and showcases. For goalies, that means tracking, reads, reactions, positioning, work through a structured progression of drills. And here's the part that's really cool that shooters and these drills are pulled from real d one programs like Boston University, Boston College, Yukon, Quinnipiac. You're reading real college caliber shots in your headset in the summer wherever you are. Every pack comes with a goalie checklist that you can print or keep on your phone plus weekly emails to keep you on track.

If you complete every objective in June, you're gonna earn an exclusive reward but only during the challenge window. And if you miss it, you got July coming up too. Oh, they're also giving away a stick right now. You get your entries by doing the elite campus prep and you can get more entries by using their goalie advancement program, which is another great way to follow your preparation through. Right now, it's off season pricing with an annual plan at $399, a savings of over $549 on the ultimate hockey training tool.

And there's more to be saved, of course, as always, when you use the code I g m 50 at checkout. So head over to censorina.com and start checking off your first objectives today.

All three Cote brothers played in the Saskatchewan Junior League. That's cool.

There's all trust me, Daren. I I left the arena smiling from the inside out after watching them all on the ice together, and there was there was at least one NHL and a couple American League guys out there playing with them. Skills session and then a three on three tournament semifinals final. Just the the passion, it's gonna come through in Josh's interview. It comes through anytime you get a chance to talk to his dad who had to answer your question from earlier, did play, but as a kid and then left the game and then came back to it as an adult and was self taught on the modern aspects of the game.

Josh gets into that a bit too and then taught both of his kids. Like, this is just if you're around them on the ice, you can't help but smile. There is such a passion and joy, not just for the game, but for the position amongst the goalies. It was a real treat for me, and I think this is gonna be a real treat for our audience listening to Josh sort of explain those roots and how it all came to be for him with the New York Islanders, including why he's the only one in the family amongst the goalies that catches with his right hand in hockey despite catching a baseball with his left hand and throwing with his right.

Oh, you didn't mention that before. That's weird.

Uh-huh. Oh, that's no different than Andre Vasileski. I'm telling you, Daren, wait, I'm we're cutting this off. Right to the interview, folks, tell us at the end. You tell us if I was right.

This is the best full right origin story we've ever heard. Josh Really excited to welcome to the InGoal Radio Podcast today. Josh Cotai, we're out here in Abbotsford where I just I gotta say, like, New York Islanders are signing recently coming off an incredible college career, got a taste of the American Hockey League at the end of the season after signing with the Islanders. We're gonna get into all that. But I just watched a pro skate out here in Abbotsford, so not far from home for me, my neck of the woods, that included you in Goal, your younger brother, Nick InGoal, your dad, Alex InGoal, who also happens to be the Canucks practice goalie these days and has been an e bug in the American League for Abbotsford, and the lone shooter of the family, Riley, who's playing NCAA right now as well.

I've got that right?

Yeah. Yeah. You do. It's funny just because we're such a hockey family, and growing up, it's been all four of us together throughout our whole journey. These are my brother's crews and my dad as well.

He kinda picked up hockey as an adult, and so getting to kinda train with him, learn from him a little little bit too. He's just a student of the game, and he's been my coach all throughout growing up. So it's, yeah, it's still cool to be able to train with all of

them still. Now normally, like, so many of the goalie origin stories that we it's either gear or quite often, a younger brother throwing a net because everybody else was out. This is the first time where I've seen three goalies and only one shooter. Did, like, did Riley have to be a shooter because somebody had to somebody had to shoot the pucks on you guys?

Yeah. He liked scoring goals for sure a lot more than me or Nick. But I think for me, it was just I saw my dad start playing goalie, and he was a goalie when he was a kid as well. But I saw him play it, and I was like, I wanna do what dad does. I I loved the gear as well.

I think back then, he had I forget what brand, but it was a custom star set as well. You know? So I was like, oh, this is so cool. I wanna be a goalie. And then whenever I got the chance, like, on ice or whatever, I was always trying to throw on our street hockey pads and just practice stopping pucks.

And then Nick kinda followed suit as well, but Riley was kinda the outlier. He didn't quite get the goalie, didn't quite get the hips moving quite right. And so he was just like, you know, I I wanna score goals. And so he was our goal scorer, and it's worked out well because now we got, you know, the shooters and and we got all the goalies. So So I've never really had a chance to die, and

I actually it's funny because I think he wanted to make sure he gave you your your time here, but I I wouldn't mind actually asking him him a few of these questions. You're telling me he came back to the game late? Yeah. As an adult playing goal, and now he's playing because I've watched him at Canucks practices. He hangs.

Like, he hangs. He more than hangs out there. That's remarkable. Do you know, like, how long he was away and when he came back to it?

Yeah. So he got taken out by his parents when he was, I don't know, 10 or 12, something like that. He's from a small town, Kitimat, in Northern BC. So, yeah, he really just was a goalie when he was young, and then he picked up tennis because that was the sport that he could kinda do himself. Yeah.

And then played kinda kinda just amateurishly and then throughout his adult years. And then I guess the story is that there weren't a lot of tennis players to play with. So he's like, I'm gonna pick up hockey again. And I was goalie. I wanna play goalie again.

And so that was kinda around the time that I was growing up. I was probably, like, eight years old around that point. Okay. And I had I had been playing tennis as well. So it was very much a whole shift for the family.

Yeah. So I grew up with a tennis racket in my hand. And then I dad made the switch, and I was like, oh, this is so cool. I wanna do that.

I love it. I love it. Now I'm curious. Do you do you still play tennis? Because tennis as as an sort of cross training off season sport for goalies, I mean, one of the greatest of all time, Henrik Lundqvist, swore by it.

You're moving your feet, your eye hand, you're engaging, lateral. Do you something you still swear by for that?

Yeah. It's definitely hasn't like, I haven't played as much the last couple years, but I still love to go out and do it on a nice day like it is today. You know, I'd love to go, you know, hit hit some balls, and it's it's cool to be able to do it with my brothers as well. So

Okay. You know, the the other part of this, if you all play tech, the other part is I'd be curious what hand you play tennis with because both you your younger brother Nick and your dad catch left, and you are a full right. Are you are you just naturally left handed,

or how did that evolve? I'm not sure. I think I'm a little bit ambidextrous because I'll yeah. So I catch right with for hockey, but then I throw right for baseball, so I'd have to catch with my left hand.

Oh, yeah. Okay. So so okay. So now I'm really curious because dad's got gear. Dad's catching with the left hand.

Dad's your inspiration. You catch a baseball with

the left hand, but you're catching hockey with your right. How did this come to pass? I don't exactly know a whole lot. I don't remember a whole lot. So I

It may also makes it tougher for him for hand me downs too, by the way.

Oh, yeah. He was not very happy that I decided to be a full right goalie. That definitely cost a few more dollars from the bank account. But I think, like, we would play hockey in our garage growing up as little kids. And I think we were watching the Texas stars play the Abbotsford heat.

And Christopher Nielstorpe was the goalie at that time, and he gave me one of his sticks. And, obviously, he's a full right goalie. And so I thought that was the coolest thing ever. I got my first, like, stick from a pro goalie, and I was like, oh, I wanna play like him. And so I think I just started in the garage just playing like him, and then I would take my dad's gloves, and I would put them on backwards.

So I'd have the left handed glove in my right hand. It was the most awkward thing ever. This might be the best origin story I've ever heard. Yeah. So it's crazy to think about now, but it was just like, you know, you're fantasizing as a little kid, you know, being this goalie and, you know, winning Stanley Cups and all that.

And so

I absolutely Christopher, I believe, is coaching now back in Sweden, and I I believe I have a contact, and I absolutely now have to reach out and let him know that there's an Islander signed prospect goaltender that catches right strictly because he gave him a stick. That's a great story.

Yeah. I I think it's from him. That's what I remember at least. I don't know if We're going with it,

by the way.

Oh, yeah.

We can go go with it

for sure. Okay. So when your dad's your coach growing up, he's your inspiration. You know, when did when do you go from just playing for love of it to he's clearly a student of the game to get to the level he plays at right now. As an old man myself, I'm very impressed.

And maybe a little bit jealous if I if I'm honest here, Josh. But, like, where did the instruction come from? Where did the development come from? Did you have other goalie coaches? When did it become something where you're just in the garage trying right catching because of Yeah.

Milsthorpe stick to, hey. This is this is something I could do for a while.

Yeah. So I think it happened around age, like, nine or 10. We like, we had always we're Canadian. Right? So we're playing road hockey anyways.

But for us as kids, it was like we had to beg our parents to put us in hockey. And we're like, please, please, we promise we'll love it. You know? We really wanna do this. So one spring, it was a Christmas gift for spring, like, floor hockey lessons.

And then from that, it became the they called it pawn hockey, but it's just like intro to hockey once a week here, actually, at Summit Center. And we just went out. We'd do, like, fifteen minutes of, like, skating stuff, and then we'd play scrimmage. And the age group was, like, six to 10. I'm, like, 10 years old at that point.

But all three of us were on a team, and it was it was so cool there. But I think after that year, I played my first year of minor hockey, and I was like, okay, dad. I wanna be a goalie. And he's like, okay, son. Sure.

We'll go get you some gear. Some of it was secondhand, whatever it was. But I was like, okay. Here we are. And then my dad's like, hey.

I'll coach you. You know? So that summer, I remember doing, like, stick and puck skates. And we just would work on your shuffle, your t push, and all that. And so Now where was he learning from?

So like I said before, like, he learned tennis from himself Right. Like, from watching Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer, no back jokes. So just imitation and watching Watching, and learning, teaching himself. Like, he had, you know, a coach for tennis and stuff, but for hockey, we didn't really have anyone to go off of. So I think around that time, like, they started there was, like, YouTube videos that started coming out more about coaching and stuff, and so he would learn.

And then as a coach through our minor hockey days, like, he had to do lessons as well to learn how to coach. And through that, he was learning, and then he was passing that along to us. And it's just been a continuous cycle from there.

Did you have any other goalie coaches, or was it just dad? Because sometimes that can be, like, that can

be a difficult thing. Not everyone has that type of relationship like you guys all clearly do with their father. Yeah. It's it's not easy. It's hard to separate the dad from coach relationship, and that is a struggle that, you know, we sometimes have, but that's, you know, how it is.

I wouldn't want it any other way just because of the bond that we've built over hockey, over coaching, and whatnot. But I've had coaches throughout, like, my years growing up as I went into midget and juniors and stuff, and they've all been great, and I've loved each and every one of them. But at the end of the day, it's like, okay, coming back home for the summer, training in with dad, and you get to you know, he'll rent ice for us, and we'll do just skating or whatever it is. And it's personalized to, you know, each of us as as we need it.

You mentioned stick and puck. You mentioned they're just skating. Mhmm. So we tend to I think a lot of goalies, young goalies, and a lot of parents, when they think of training, they wanna see, like, all this did like, they think of Instagram, like, dynamic and guys moving everywhere and crazy stuff and shots. But it sounds like you guys have really rooted you, and I'm watching you play, and I noticed how well you move, how well Nick moves, how well your dad moves.

It sounds like you guys have really dialed in. And a lesson we've had at InGoal from a lot of goalies over the years, skating, skating, skating.

Yeah. It is. You can look at all the fancy drills you want, but at the end of the day, it's like being excellent at the basics is what will get you far. And even even now, still, it's like, okay, you know, I get to go play pro hockey now, but I'm still working on my t pushes from 45 to 45, just working on my stance every summer. It's just those things that you can get lost in during a season, and you don't really get time to fine tune those.

And so taking time during the summer to do that has been helpful for me at least.

Okay. So you mentioned stance. We see a lot of guys there's that evolution. Stereotypically, there's an evolution in the game towards a higher taller what I noticed, like, you you definitely have a narrow you're comfortable with your feet underneath you despite being taller. Not huge, but taller.

You seem really comfortable moving and playing and even into safe situations without getting too wide. Does that come from the skating? Am I seeing that correctly? I've only watched you the once here. It was a three on three tournament with, like, I don't know, Tampa Bay Lightning's, you know, gauge can Gonzalez shooting at you.

So Yeah. I've

never been a tall goalie. Growing up, I had a pretty consistent growth spurt. Okay. So I was never like, oh, boom. Now I'm six feet, you know, and then grow the last couple inches.

It was like, oh, it took me till the last year, my juniors, to kind of reach my full height. So being really good at skating has been huge with that. I used to be, like, super wide, though. And, like, I had to feel like I was wide and to be able to get engaged and feel like I'm ready for a shot. And so it's taken a lot of years to be able to just trust myself and be patient on my feet and know that, hey.

I can get anywhere. I'm big enough. I'm strong enough. I'm fast enough, and I can do it. So that's that's a tough thing to

do because that I mean, the instinct is to think that that wide and dug in and active and engaged. Like, that's like that's how people think of ready and alert type of mechanics. And yet, you know, to quote a guy that we do a lot with, Ian Clark, tension is the enemy of goaltending. Right? So as you get locked in, finding that balance and being comfortable narrow, advice for other people that are trying to go through that right now.

How'd you you said it took a while. How'd you get there? Was there anything that just clicked at any point?

No. It it was for me, it was just repetition with that. It was also I feel like I'm a pretty visual person as well. And so seeing pictures of myself, like, dad will take pictures of me from different areas on the ice, and it's like, okay. What stance do you actually need to, like, cover the most amount of net?

And it's a lot of times more narrower than I even feel like I need. So it was that. It was we would take bungee cords tie them to the corners of the net and just move a stick around, you know? Just those those things that get you to that slow it down, and you're just working on those super basic things. And then you build trust in that, and you're like, okay.

Hey. I'm gonna be okay.

So I love it. I love it. I the bungee cords, now you got me really smiling. I pick you guys have your own little family lab almost for goaltending.

I mean, we've been watching a lot of your stuff for many years.

So We'll take that. We'll take that. Appreciate that. As you move from sort of out of minor hockey, started, I believe, in Aldergrove Yeah. With the p PJ.

Yeah. So junior B. And then, like, you that's like, when you look at the hockey DB, it's a little confusing Mhmm. Because we're also in pandemic time. Like, the BCHL's in there, but I don't see games.

Walk me through your junior career, including a stop briefly in Vermont.

Yeah. It's been a very unorthodox path for sure. You mentioned COVID. That was a big reason for a lot of it. For me, I was playing u 18, and we were just going into playoffs.

And I was gonna be the starter when that It's

a big year to have it all shut down.

Yeah. It was. And I was like, okay. Here's here's my opportunity. I had been splitting most of the year, ended the regular season with back to back shutouts.

I was like, okay. You know, this is it. We're gonna get an opportunity to be BCHL and We're gonna whole world unplugged.

And then boom.

Yeah. It shuts down, and you're like, oh, what am I gonna do now? And I had an so things open up a little bit. I had an opportunity to go to Merit, And I was like, you know, this is an in in the BCHL, but it's also, like, they were struggling at the time too. So I was like, okay.

What do I wanna do? And it was my dad that said, hey. I had an opportunity with Chillock, and they're like, hey. We've got our goalies for this year, but next year, you know, we wanna we wanna potentially have a look at you. So I was like, okay.

I went to their extended main camp and things they sent me to Aldergrove with one of their development coaches, and they're like, hey. We'll keep tabs on you. You know? I went for their extended main camp, whatever it was, until they were waiting to get approval for games. Then I went to Aldergrove, and it was pretty much practices that whole year.

I played, you know, three games, but that's just nothing. So for me, it was really just trying to find purpose in every day, in every practice. I got, like, a phone holder, and I suction cupped it to the back of the glass, and I would record my practices. And then I would watch it back. I would, you know, do shooting in the garage with Riley and work on little things like that, reading the shots, all those different things.

So for me, it was just using that time where people maybe got a bit lazy, maybe we're just like, oh, we don't know when, using that as a chance to grow and to pass some people. And I think that was kinda where things started to take off for me. And then the next year comes and there's we're still dealing with COVID. So I was like, okay. I got three games last year, and I just didn't trust that we would have a full season again.

I was just like, you know, what happens when the next wave comes and they shut it all down? Like, I want a chance to play games. And that led to the opportunity in Vermont.

That was a long way from home, by the way.

It is. It is a long way from home. It was my first time away from home too for a full year. So there was a lot of struggles with that, but it it ended up working out alright. So yeah.

So it's just a junior league in Vermont? Because I'm not familiar. Yeah. So it's I think it's it was tier three junior, so below the null at that time. And, yeah, it was pretty much just I signed late August or something.

It was like, hey. Come here literally in a couple days. I'll just pack up and head on out and see a mom and dad and, you know, enjoy the junior life.

And so you go from Vermont. Now the next year, you come back west, but not all the way west, the SJ. Yep. The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. That decision, that path, which ultimately leads you to Augustana and an NCAA opportunity, but you win a championship in the SJ.

You post some incredible numbers. The decision to come back, walk me through that, but then also, like, the growth. Like, how had your game grown? And was there anything that year that clicked more than any others, or was it just a continuous process?

It was it was a continuous process for sure. Getting like, I got dropped from the EHL to the HLP, and I had fine numbers in the EHL, but they knew that I wasn't gonna be coming back, and so they wanted to give another goalie, you know, the net and stuff. And so I was like, okay. Whatever. I played in the lower level, and I was like, it was slow hockey for me.

But through that, I realized like, hey, these are the numbers that you actually need to post to be able to move up levels. And that was that was a click for me into the next level of what I needed my game to be. And that summer, like, I worked hard and tried out for BCHL teams still. Didn't end up getting picked for anything. And so I got told that, hey, this team in Battleford is gonna be good this year.

It's a great opportunity, great town with a great coach, Braden Klamosko. And I was like, alright. You know, we'll go see what it is and make the most of it. And I remember my mom drove me out the full fifteen hour drive, whatever it was, and she stayed there with me till the end of the training camp. And then she's like, alright, son, you know, go go be the best goalie in the SGHL.

At that time, I'm like, are you sure? Like, I don't even know what my spot is on this team. I didn't end up playing the first game either. So I was just like, okay. You know?

Let's go make the most of it.

And And by the end of the year, you were the best goalie in the SGAHL, the goalie of the year.

Yeah. I know. So some pretty cool insight from mom there. But

They know best. They always do. Another, like, two years where you're away away from dad, you come back in the summer, you work with him. Different voices, anything you change, revolve in your game. You know, I don't even know if you would've had a goalie coach in the EHL, but I'm guessing in Saskatchewan, you probably would've had some touches.

It was honestly more in the EHL. Really? Because we were in Burlington, Vermont, which is the same town as UVM hockey. So we had the d one coach come out, Drew Michaels, and he came and worked with us and stuff. But in Battleford, they just had one of their older goal ex goalies from one of their championship years, and he came out a few times during the year and worked on with us.

But other than that, it was pretty much just self teaching. It was was nice to have Live Barn too at that point because I could go back and watch practice. I'd watch practice with my dad. Even like this is crazy. I would put an AirPod in and have my phone on the bench and be on a call with my dad.

He would watch my practice and give me live feedback. That's cool. That's really cool. It's I haven't heard of anyone else doing it. And that was the one year where I could do it because of the arena camera and, you know, in Cisco.

And you didn't really have anyone else to help you there?

Exactly. Yeah. It's not like

you were stepping on toes.

No. Not at all. And my coach was extremely fine with that. He's like, you know, whatever's gonna make you better, whatever's, you know, gonna keep you playing well, sure. Do it.

You know, I'm not gonna mess with anything. So

I gotta ask you. You talked about using the Live Barn video. I'm not sure I've heard that a whole bunch either of your own practices. Mhmm. You talked about putting you know, during COVID, throwing the iPad on a suction cup and filming yourself in your practice so you could watch them.

Advice for other goalies on how to watch yourself? Like, did you have to learn, you know, sort of how to self evaluate? You're almost as much as your dad's a part of it, you're almost becoming your own goalie coach as well.

Yeah. That was the biggest thing was learning how to feel my body in the moment. And what I mean by that is, like, I drop down or I don't come up with a save. Oh, why did that happen? Oh, I reached before I reacted, you know, or I fell on my butt.

I my shoulders weren't forward. I wasn't tracking down with my nose. Just those different things I learned to become more aware of, and from that, I could self diagnose, and I could kind of correct myself during practice. And then

So you would you you would remember how it felt, and now you're seeing what it looked like too? Like, it's Yeah. Being able to blend those two things is a big part of it?

Yeah. And I think that's just a part of, like, mental reps. I think Pete Fry meant

I was gonna say you you wait. As soon as you said a save I didn't come up with, I was gonna ask if there was

a mental coach involved. Yeah. I haven't worked with Pete Fry directly, but You're

a disciple through other you've seen his stuff, obviously.

Yes. Seen his stuff on Instagram. I think me and my dad went to a seminar in Burnaby. That we co produced, dude. That's right.

Now I it's all coming back to me. I've been hit

in the head too many times, Josh, so I remember you guys a bit. There we go.

Yep. Yeah. So we were there with the Starz gloves doing that seminar.

Was that the first one with John Stevenson too?

I think so.

Where he also taught us taught everyone how to juggle in one day and a whole bunch of things. Wow.

Concentration grids.

Concentration grids. You're you are an OG InGoal guy.

Oh, yeah. For sure. We have been. Yeah. So it's just been like that's just part of the continual growth and, like, looking for things to help make us better.

Okay. So Augustana, how did the opportunity come about? And walk me through the process. First year, 13 games. Second year, 31.

Last year, played, I think, every game in in conference, 35. You're an all star. You've got all these awards, and you end up getting a contract with the New York Islanders. Walk me through your growth there. Is it again, is it you and dad?

But, also, is there another voice there, goalie coach wise, at that level?

Yeah. Definitely at college. It was pretty funny how it all came together. So in Battlefords, I was talking with a couple teams. We had our Saskatchewan versus Manitoba All Star Showcase.

And from that, I was talking with teams. That was in January. And then February comes around, and I hadn't even heard of Augustana. And I'm in Notre Dame, and this place is like a high school little town of, like, maybe a 100 people. And my coach, coach Rabbs, he drives up from North Dakota and comes to watch a game that I'm not even playing in.

And he didn't he didn't mention to my coach that he was coming or anything. So he sees me in warm ups for ten minutes, and I was like, okay, you know, comes talks to me after the game, I'm like, okay, I I don't really know, you know, what you are. You're a brand new program. Sounds kind of intriguing. But I was like, okay.

He offered me a scholarship, and I was like, alright. Thank you very much. It was my first one, and it ended up being my only one. And so from that and I've kinda learned along the way, like, go where you're wanted and go where the opportunity is. Don't I tried so much to play in the BCHL.

It's like, oh, I gotta play in the BCHL, Gotta play in the NHL, something like that. And, you know, little did I know, oh, come to Saskatchewan. You were wanted there. You had the opportunity. You took that opportunity and you ran with it.

Then come into Augustana. Okay. It was my only offer. I was in my nineteen year, so I could have played another year junior, but I was like, you know what? Let's get in here early.

You know, this is a brand new team. He didn't promise any playing time, but he promised everyone an equal opportunity. So I was like, you know what? That's what I've taken the last couple years. I will go and take that.

And that first year at Augie was interesting. We were practicing at our local sportsplex because our arena wasn't built yet. We didn't end up yeah. There's there's days where we're showing up to the to that rink. We're dressing in construction trailers outside, and there's maybe four feet of snow on either side as we're walking into the rink.

Well, you got used to that in Saskatchewan, the snow park.

Yes. But not necessarily dressing pretty much outside. So it's it was a pretty cool welcome to college moment there. And then we got our rink in January, but it was a interesting year because it was up and down. We had some we beat some pretty cool teams.

We beat Colorado College. We beat Denver in a shootout. So it was it was a fun year for us, but it was a lot of growing for me realizing like, hey, this this is a step up from from juniors, not only just like what it is to play a playoff game in juniors, but like more than that every single night. Every game means a whole lot more. And I was grateful for the opportunity to play 13 games.

Usually, that does not come easy as a freshman, but it gave me the opportunity to realize, hey. This is, you know, this is a step up, and I need to step it up as well. We had what? Me and another freshman coming back, and we had a senior that left. So for that, it was like, okay, this is, we had a freshman coming in as well.

So it would be two sophomores and a freshman. And I was like, okay. This summer, it's huge for me to be able to go and secure the starting spot. And going back to like watching video, I watched all 13 games I played probably four or five different times. Just What are you looking for?

I'm just looking for the plays. I'm re trying to read the plays notes.

It's not just yourself. You're looking you're you're trying to connect the dots on the patterns as Mitch Korn would say.

Exactly. All the patterns that happen during the game, I'm I'm re I'm watching my positioning as I react to those patterns. And I'm like, okay. Am I am I reacting to that right? Am I reading what's happening correct?

And then from there, it's like, okay. Maybe I don't like my stance. Maybe okay. I need to be more balanced here. And then those sorts of things, like, I can go in turn and work on them in the off season.

Like I said, we rented ice. So it's like, okay. We have these skating sessions. Well, these are things that I wanna work on. So that was just a huge off season, and it led to a great sophomore year.

I was just gonna say, so sophomore year, nine thirty six, last year, nine thirty eight, and CCHA goalie of the year. Like, that's impressive. A couple things I wanted to ask you about, though. You talked about numbers earlier, and this is the number I need to have to hit this level. Mhmm.

There can be a danger or we hear some coaches worry about too much focusing on numbers because sometimes we can't control them. We're in a bad environment defensively, and there's only so much you can do. How'd you find that balance?

You're right that you you can't look at the numbers when you're in season. I know, like, in Battleford, I got caught, like, looking at, oh, my numbers are there. I need x amount of saves and only one goal or whatever, and I'll bump my numbers up. Right. Whatever.

And I noticed I would the more I was focusing on those and it happened later on as, like, you get a goalie of the month award or something like, you know, attention goes on to you, and you're like, this is new. And I'm like, okay. Well, I gotta just set that aside and focus on myself. And that was the biggest thing. Especially that year too, even in college, like, we I had to be on my game for us to, like, have a chance to win.

In juniors, we kinda we were done we dominated a lot so we could outscore some of my bad games, but I was still making 35 saves a night. So I had to learn that like, hey, these chances are gonna come. And the biggest thing for me was saying, I want the chances. I want the tough slot shots with a backdoor option.

Rather than worried about them coming. Embracing. Exactly. That was Feels like another peep fry thing,

by the way. Yeah. Totally. So so, yeah, it was it was learning to embrace the challenges, and that was what allowed me to take another step. K.

So the other part too, you don't get to nine thirty six, nine thirty eight NHL contracts unless you can just go

out and play. You clearly think about the game a lot, and you think deeply about your game. You pay a lot of attention to it. You do the work. How do you take that all that thinking, and then when the puck drops in on game night, just go out and play?

Probably an easier question to ask than it is to answer, but has that been part of the process for you?

Oh, definitely it has. I remember, like, my u my first year playing u 18, I was, what, 16 or something like that? First year midget. I didn't have a shutout the whole year because I couldn't I was always nervous until I let in a goal because I was worried, oh, I gotta be perfect. I gotta be perfect.

And I'm and I'm naturally a very perfectionist kind of person, and I think as goalies, we tend to be. And so that was a learning process for me too, is letting go of perfection. Still chasing it, but knowing that I'm never gonna get it. Even even in games that I have shutouts, like, I'm still not perfect. I mess up a pass or a rebound or something.

Right? Teammate bails you out. Like, you're not gonna have the perfect game.

The game in front of

us is just and increasingly so, just too far from perfect. Very much so. So, yeah, that was was a huge thing for me. And from there, I think the next start up step was taking the work I put in during the week. In college, it's nice because you just play on the weekends, and so you get a whole week leading up to that.

So I put in a lot of work, but what gave me peace at the end of the day was that, okay, I put in the work to be able to just go and play free. And that was something that I struggled with my first year of college was like, okay, you know, I gotta be perfect. I bet gotta be better. I gotta be better. And I wouldn't let that go.

And I credit my coach for recognizing that, recognizing the person that I was, and he's like, hey. Just find your happy medium. You don't have to go crazy. I'm not telling you to just drop all your training, you know, you're you're gonna go far just with your work ethic, but just relax and put trust in the in the work that you've put in. And I think that allowed me to loosen up and to to be able to play my best.

That's great advice. Now I I undersold you there. CCHA goalie of the year, but also CCHA player of the year. Like, you sort of got the MVP of the whole thing. NCAA West All American, second team, and a contract with the New York.

How did it come about with the Islanders? How did that opportunity come about? And were you, like, did you have other conversations? Was this something you were expecting? Or because at every other point in the road, like you said, there were not always a ton of opportunities.

I'm guessing by this point, you've got more than one.

Yeah. Definitely. And I think going backtracking a bit to sophomore year, like, I got a bunch of attention having those you know, having great numbers. Like, NHL teams are now talking, and you're like, holy crap. This is amazing.

Like, this is the first time you know, from a kid who's just dreaming about it to now feeling like, oh, wow. I'm I'm actually kinda here. Right? So it was that sophomore year was hard because I got engulfed in that a little bit, and I got worried, oh, who's watching my games? You know?

Am I Not in the moment anymore. You're thinking about results. Exactly. You're you start thinking about results, and that led, I think, to we got upset in our first round of playoffs. We had finished second, and we lost to the seventh seat.

And so that left a bit of a sour taste, but it was also a good learning lesson for me. And going back to, like, going taking your opportunities and going where you're wanted, like, I thought I was ready for pros after that year. I'm like, hey. I've had this great year. You know?

Richter, whatever, semifinals. Whatever it was, I'm like, hey. I'm I'm ready. I wanna take the next step. You know?

Let's keep keep this thing going. But the opportunities just didn't come. Was like, hey, teams aren't looking or you might get an ECHL contract. So I took that and I was like, okay. A little disappointed, but that gave me the motivation to want to go back the next year.

And I'm like, hey. I can go back. And if I can prove this back to back years that I can do the same and be better, then I know and I have confidence that I will get the opportunity. So coming into this past year, I had you know, I let my agent take care of all the teams and talking to all the teams. I'm like, hey, you know, if someone comes and watches me live and wants to talk, yeah, I'll talk to them after the game.

But after that, you know, let's leave things till the end of the year. Let's focus on the year, focus on, you know, what we wanna achieve, and we were hoping to make the national tournament. We're just one spot shy of that. So a bit of a bummer, but that was an area too where I grew, and I was like, okay. You know, I know teams are gonna watch, but it doesn't matter.

I'm just playing a game at the end of the day.

At every point where things haven't gone perfectly, to use your phrase, it feels like you've just taken a lesson away from it. Like, the word I'm looking for is growth or the phrase I'm looking for is growth mindset. It seems like to be a really big part of your approach.

Yeah. I think, especially when you start as kinda as late as I did untraditionally, like, that's where you have to take everything in and just be a sponge. And I was I've been super grateful for my dad too because he's just been a sponge as well. And we've been able to progress because of that. And I think that's been a huge credit is just having that open mindset.

And once you think that you're good or, you know, you you've made it, whatever making it means to you, that's when you stop growing. And so each day, it's just like, okay. For me, I try and be like, can I be better? Can I be a better self today in hockey, in my life, whatever it is? And so I think that attitude is what bright breeds success.

Last one, because I I wanna get like, you did sign. There were still time left on the clock,

so to speak. You got into a game in Bridgeport. Walk me through what that experience is like. I know Bridgeport because you'll be in Hamilton this year. So they were moving.

I know Corey Schneider very well. I know he was part time goalie coach, but I don't know if he was down there when you were there. They didn't have a full time guy with Sergei Nomov moving up. Who were who were you working with? Who was talking to you about your game?

What was that experience like?

Yeah. So Corey was still there right till the end of the year. And, you know, he took me in and he, you know, welcomed me into his house for Easter because that was my you know, one of the Easters away from home, he, you know, fed me. It was it was great to connect with such, like, a guy that I watched growing

up.

I was just gonna say, Canucks fan. Right?

Exactly. Yeah. Well, not in my case, but, like, watching the Canucks.

Right. Right. Right. Yeah. You guys have I I never did ask where the Dallas thing came from.

So that's my dad again. Okay. He was a big North Stars fan growing up in high school with Mike Medano, and he he loved the jerseys and the colors of jerseys and stuff. And so they moved to Dallas, and he, you know, just followed the team there. And so when we first and I say we as in my brothers, first got into hockey, our first kind of experience of it was watching the stars game six in 99 PVR to our TV and watching them win the Stanley Cup.

And we're like, oh my goodness. This is so cool.

Okay. So that's the origin there. But you did grow up watching Corey Schneider, and now he's your goalie coach and your first taste in the American Hockey League. And as good a person as there is, so I'm not surprised at all they invites you into his home for Easter. What was the experience like on the ice?

That's a pretty big jump. We've heard it from junior. What regardless, a lot of the guys think the jump from AHL to the NHL is the biggest one. Most guys tell us to jump from college or junior to the American League or to pro in general is the biggest jump. What were the what

did you notice? I definitely noticed the speed. I think it's a mix. It's a mix of your on ice ability, and it's a mix of your mental ability as well. On ice, yeah, definitely the shots came quicker.

The plays developed faster. They were able to get shots off in difficult scenarios. And it was for me, the first week was like an eye opener, and I was like, wow. This is quick. We had also we had been waiting around, waiting for the to see if we made the tournament or not back in college.

So we hadn't been practicing a whole lot, so it was kinda like getting back up to speed again, getting up to game speed. But my mentality was like, just wanted to go out there and make the best impression that I could. So it took yeah. I'd I'd say it took about a week to get used to the pace, but then from there, I was like, hey. I can hang with this.

You know, I've worked on my skating. I know that I am good enough to to be at this next level. And so that's where the mental part came in, and it was trusting myself. Like I said before, trusting that I am big enough, strong enough, fast enough to be able to get to places through good routing and strong pushes and reading the shots.

Walk me through. What was what was your first game like?

So I didn't get to start. I was

just gonna say the numbers don't add up to a start here.

No. Varlimov came down to get a couple games.

I forgot about that whole the both knees. That's like and there's an inspiration as well. A guy who loves the game. I I like, clearly, you love the game. Your whole family loves the game, but there's a guy that loves

the game enough that he's still doing he could walk away at any point and through that much work is still persevering back. That had to be cool to be around. Oh, so cool. The, you know, couple the week or so that he was there, it was it was unreal to get to talk with him. He's such a nice guy as well.

And just seeing the work that he puts in the preparation before practice, after practice, before his game, after the game, it was just mind blowing to see because you're like, he's so detailed with there's a purpose behind everything, and he knows what he's doing. He knows what he needs to get himself ready. And just the fact of him coming back from double knee surgery is, you know, a testament to his hard work in itself. So So he started and you finished off? Is that the No.

So that came after my start. We we were playing in Lehigh, and it was just a high scoring crazy first period. And it ended up being, like, four two for Lehigh. And I got told to go in. I'm sitting at the far end in the Zamboni area.

And so, like, it's just kinda you're kinda wondering. You're like, am I going in? There hasn't been like, four goals is a lot, but it's four two, you know? It could still be close. And then sure enough, it's like, okay, you're going in.

Outro

And I'm waiting for the trainer to get my stick and stuff, and then I hop out onto the ice, and I couldn't feel my body. I was just like, oh my goodness. The lights are bright, everything. I was like, oh, boy. Okay.

Okay. Calm yourself down. Heart rate's jacked. It was it was unreal. And then sure enough, like, Lehigh was buzzing, and they came down, and thirty seconds in, first shot, first goal.

I'm like, it was a scramble play.

Yeah.

There was, like, screens and bounce off the wall, back out, you know, tap in. I'm just like, well, there we go. This is how we're starting. Alright. Can't go worse from here.

Now it's five two, and it's like, okay. Well, you know, the game's kinda out of reach a little bit, and we still have two periods to play, but who knows? So from there, I just re centered, and I was like, alright. You know, this is my opportunity. Just go and show yourself and go go have fun.

And stopped the next 10 shots that came my way, and we ended up losing seven to three with, like, two empty nets. But I enjoyed every minute of it. And the, you know, the coaches were impressed, and that was, you know, that was my goal.

I was just gonna say, I mean, numbers end up not that the numbers are the all end all be all, but the numbers end up being good by the end of it too. And you're now going into your first season not having to worry or think about that first moment anymore.

Yeah. Exactly. That was the biggest thing, and I was grateful, you know, to at least have that opportunity. You know, I'm not gonna start. It is what it is.

I can't be sour about that or anything. So I took what became, and now I'm like, okay, I got action in this, and there's things that I can learn from that as well, and things that I can grow from, and I'm gonna do that, and I'm gonna come back better and, you know, prove myself.

And then you come back to Abbotsford. You're back working with your dad and your brothers, and which is, again, just like I got a smile on my face the whole time watching you guys out there. And a fellow Southpaw wins the Stanley Cup. So things are going well.

Exactly. Yeah. And things have been great.

So rest of the summer, just skate here and and head back. Do you go I'm assuming you probably would go to development camp after the draft?

Yeah. I'll go to development camp and then back to New York for the start of the training camp and stuff. So First NHL training camp. Exactly. Yeah.

It's gonna be great. So I'm excited for it. It's gonna be a great opportunity and just gonna go there with all the confidence in the world. Josh, this

has been so fun. Thank you so much for taking the time. I look forward. I'm definitely getting back out here to watch you do some more skates. It's been a real pleasure.

Thank you. I can't I can't thank

you enough. Our audience is gonna love this interview. Yeah. No problem. Thanks, Kevin.

That was pretty cool. I didn't I didn't know, like, catches in baseball with one hand and catches in hockey with the other. Just that's just a big flex.

Come on. That's gotta be one of the best origin stories ever. Like, seriously? Like, I I, like, I I I I'm pretty sure that I'm linked in to Christopher Nilsthorpe. He's a goalie coach now, former Dallas Stars prospect.

He's a goalie coach now in Sweden, I believe. Full right. He's the one that gave young Josh Cotai the stick. Like, I have to find a way to message him and let him know that this this Islanders prospect is a full right goalie only because you gave him a stick, and he went into the garage and started playing with that hand, with that stick. Imagine being his dad, you got two goalies.

You're a goalie. You got three goalies in the family, but you gotta buy separate Keshe gloves for one because

he got

a going down. Yeah. Because he got a Christopher Nilstorm stick at some point.

You're thinking this this is just a fad. We'll we'll get through it.

So are you glad, Daren, that we didn't like, you didn't have to get a tattoo on your end of the bet here? Because I'm pretty sure I won this one. That is a better origin

story even Andre Maxwell. Can I call it a soft? Because the Vazelevsky part is I wanna dub. Wanna dub here. Well, because because he's won.

He's the the

top of the mountain. Okay. When Josh gets to the top of the mountain, then I win.

Then you win. Welcome to episode Ready. 5,000,222 of InGoal Radio Podcast. I wanna congratulate Woody on winning the bat.

Josh Cotay just went into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and Woody won his bet. I'm telling you, though, honestly, we need to get his dad, Alex, on the podcast as well. This this is a hall of fame family. Just like I said, like, I feel like I just can't even do it justice. I'm supposed to be a writer, I can't do justice the passion that they bring to the position.

It was just a really special day to just watch them on the ice and the way they interact and just just really neat, really neat.

And they have no idea how cool

it is. Coming up Father's Day. Right?

They're living.

Like That's just what they live. Yep. Absolutely. Now, folks, I know we're gonna get a few emails, not just about whether I was right or Daren was right on the greatest origin story. We're probably gonna get a few emails about that story in the SJHL of having an AirPod in the ear and dad watching Live Barn and doing some goalie coaching.

There was no goalie coach that year. It was the pandemic. Josh had no help, and he used Live Barn as a tool. How many kids like, forget the part of his dad being in his ear, and it was all coach approved as Josh explained, But how many kids use livebarm to watch their own practices and break down what they try and match what they're seeing on the video to how they felt on the ice during play?

More men's league people do it.

But there

Or or rec league players go back and do it

and go, I wanna see that goal I scored.

I see I hear that from the adult league.

Players at all lever levels do that. It's not just

Oh, really?

Yeah. I've seen a lot of junior hockey guys going

through their goals. Well, he's using it he's using it to study. And in the case of the live actual feed of the practice, he used it to to have his dad help him as a goalie coach. It was great. Now I gotta say this.

There are two things in this world that I never wanna see myself do on video. One is my golf swing. Two is me playing golf.

So I'm definitely never gonna be on live part. Eddie Lack

has a video of my golf that

out there and and and not expect us. It's there's one more.

Okay? It's

There's one more.

Easy. Easy. We're not gonna Yeah. Easy. Yeah.

Easy. Easy. Settle down here, Daren. Family program. Eddie Lack and speaking of family, Eddie Eddie Lack has a video of my golf swing at its worst, and he holds it over my head like a like a hostage tape or something.

It's just yeah. It's terrible.

Happens a lot to you.

Yeah. Me sucking? We're do the the Thankfully

Hutch has got the the pictures of you Falling down? Two bed stacks.

To a couple.

You know, that wasn't a two bed stack. That was that was just a collapse.

Well, I like I like this story. That is that is really neat. I just thought it was It is. Three kids from Abbotsford all played in the SJ. Like, that's that's random, but but they all did.

But then on top of it, the right hand, the left handed dad being a goalie coach, like, just and then coming back to the game as a goaltender, that just really neat story, perfectly situated. Like, this that's why InGoal exists in a lot of ways, to bring people stories like this.

And literally, literally, as soon as he he I I can't remember what line it was from the interview, and this was just last week. So clearly, I've taken pucks off the head since then. I think it might have been when he talked about a save he didn't make, and I was like, Pete Fry. And he's like, I never worked with Pete Fry, but you'll remember. And, of course, I didn't because I don't remember much because, again, too many fucks off the head.

Him and his dad were at our Pete Fry John Stevenson original webinar in Burnaby Hutch. Yes. So this is an InGoal story. Yeah. And because his dad had the Dallas Stars blocker glove doing the visualization in the room.

So, yeah, just like I said, this is there is an InGoal component to this story. Absolutely. We've been a part of their journey, and we're happy to be a part of their journey again today with Josh on the podcast.

That is awesome. There's got one game pro. Right?

Yes. Yes. Yeah. He played the played the game, got in, he talked to about it talked about it there at the end of the interview about getting in in a relief effort for Bridgeport, which is perfect. Right?

Yes. Because he didn't start, so he wasn't thinking about it. And now he knows what it's like, and he has the whole summer to prepare as opposed to just going in cold this season. It won't be Bridgeport. It'll be Hamilton.

He'll be in Canada. We're waiting to see who the goalie coach will be there. That hire pending, one of many topics we can bring up next week. I'll have some news on some changes around the league in terms of personnel and and some some goalie coaching and director switches that after we get through the draft, I'll be able to share

with rumblings. I was gonna throw that at you, but, look forward to that next week. Fun to be back with you guys. Thanks for being patient during this Stanley Cup final with this with the schedule. Love chat and goaltending.

Missed you like crazy as well. And the hat, I wish people could see the hat. It's beautiful with crease.

It's a good look.

And It's a good look.

For our friends over at the hockey shop, Source for Sports Langley, thehockeyshop.com. Thanks for listening to InGoal Radio, the podcast.