Jean-Francois Berube: Making a Three-Goalie System Work in the NHL (Ep. 367)

Intro

Welcome back to the InGoal Radio Podcast. If you're hearing my voice, that means that our normal host, Daren Millard, is off this week on assignment as he likes to say, which means it's just me and Hutch, which means you get to listen to too much of me, but hopefully more of Hutch as we bring you episode three sixty seven featuring long time NHL goaltending coach, long time pro, JF Berube, who's now working with the Anaheim Junior Ducks and a fantastic interview that I guarantee is gonna be worth your time to stick around right to the end for, not just because he has some really interesting thoughts on how he uses this podcast as a development tool as a goaltending coach, but we've got stories from his career, some of his influences, some some great names in the goalie coaching world that influenced him, his role as a mentor. As Jet Greaves told us, he was an invaluable mentor to him during their time together with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Great advice on managing three goalies, something he had to do as the third goalie going months between starts with the New York Islanders. Never ideal, but I thought that was an interesting part of the conversation as we head into a season where we expect to see three goalies more often, whether it's teams choosing or just with the practice goalie.

And, obviously, I've been advocating for that Hutch for a while, the idea of a practice goalie. We've had NHL goalie voices join in on my side of the discussion, but I gotta I gotta ask. As it becomes closer to reality, whether it's with a practice goalie worth worth three actual NHL goalies, have I been a little too dismissive of the downside? Because not everybody loves it. Jake Allen wasn't a fan in Montreal.

We've heard from NHL general managers that aren't fans of it. So I'm curious. I the idea of three goalies and two nets, I understand that math doesn't work. Am I am I being a little too dismissive of the downside of three goaltenders here?

I think that you will hear a lot of people focus on the downside. I think it's very common in hockey to focus on the downside. Interestingly, at least around here, you're starting to see some of that creep up in junior hockey because there's a couple of prominent junior leagues in British Columbia that broke away from Hockey Canada. As a result, when you need somebody to come in and fill fill in, you can't just pull a guy from the local minor hockey team. And so a lot of teams will carry three goaltenders for that reason.

And so at all levels, I think it's pretty common, especially for the guys who are the regulars on the team to be upset at the concept of three goaltenders. I think it will play into what I'm gonna talk about in the parent segment this week though, Woody. Oh. It's a mindset thing I really think. Do you choose to be bothered by this or do you choose to see the advantage in this?

Because the theoretical advantages to this that you've brought up many times, I think people really need to embrace. The that idea that it's a little bit easier on the body. That idea that you can take five or six really good reps and then get out of the net and and and recover and be ready to go. Because that's how the game is played. I mean, we do not get ready for an NHL game where you're facing seventy, eighty, 90 shots and never get to get out of the net.

Physiologically, I don't think that's the proper training for a goaltender. So I'm certainly in favor of it, certainly in favor of us at least exploring it, but I understand that a lot of people will see it as a downside.

People don't like change especially in the National Hockey League.

Oh, def people just don't like change.

Well, I I you know, we we had Brad Fogal last week talk about how they use three with you know, again, in the PWHL, him with Toronto and around the league. Like, that's as you said with the junior leagues, when you don't have an affiliate you can call up from, you sort of need to have a third goaltender. So I think there are lessons to be learned from those who have been forced into it in terms of how to best manage it. And I thought that JF Berube in our feature interview, which is coming presented by NHL Sense Arena a little later on here, did a really good job of breaking down how he would handle it if he was in that role now. And and it's interesting because obviously he's transitioned into goalie coaching now as well.

So, yeah, make sure you tune into that. I think there's gonna be a lot of voices. I think it's gonna be important not just for the goalies, parent segment from Hutch, but NHL goalies, NHL goalie coaches to listen to those who have managed this before because there is a newness to it, and there are best practices. Maybe not as established as other things, but, you know, based on experiences of others, I do think you can sort of come up with some ways to make sure it's it is a positive and that the downside I wonder if I'm missing becomes something that you can easily overcome and by the end of year, it's not even a consideration. So it'll be interesting to see how that goes.

The downside might indeed be that mindset, Woody. Just the fact that it will get your guys shifted into that negative mindset of thinking that they're automatically in a difficult situation that's to their disadvantage rather than embracing the positivity of it.

Good point. Well, one thing I wanna get into because a little little news around the league before we get into the meat of Episode 367 of the InGoal Radio Podcast presented, I should remind you, by our friends over at the Hockey Shop Source for Sports. We've got some news from around the league, including a couple that that that might affect whether teams have three goaltenders. In Edmonton, they won't have three to start. Frederik Andersen gonna miss the start of the training camp, probably the start of the season by the sounds of it, which, you know, beyond the three goalie discussion brings me to where does Devon Levi rank on your, quote, unquote, top goalie stories going into '26, '27?

Like, is that something that we think is going to be a big story obviously heading in or hoping to be a positive story by the time we're done with it?

Well, and speaking of mindset, can Devon Levi get past his new head coach's mindset that small goalies can't play? I think that's gonna be the fascinating story to follow.

Or that small goalies need to play aggressive.

Does he feel that way? Because wasn't he at the center of that time in Toronto where you couldn't scout a goaltender under six foot three?

I think it was six foot two. I don't know if it was tied to him, but for sure, it's no secret that he does not love small goaltenders. It's also no secret that historically, and I think we should say historically, in the past, Mike Babcock has preferred his goaltenders to be aggressive and outside their crease. Although that's a battle that sure. Yeah.

He went through with Frederik Andersen when he they were in Toronto, a battle that ultimately was won by the goaltending people that pointed out how it wasn't working having him outside of his crease. And, obviously, Freddie, a guy who plays deeper and has had success doing it that way. I'm just I'm I'm I'm fascinated to see I think this is gonna be a big story, obviously, heading into the season. I got a hunch it's gonna end up being a really good story for Devon Levi. Obviously biased here because we've gotten to know him and are huge fans.

So, that's one of the stories around. The other one, a really good story. One I wanna get a little more into with the athlete himself of trying to connect is news out of the New York Islanders sort of off season skates that Semyon Varlamov will be a full participant in training camp preseason, expected to get into some preseason games and expected to be a part of their 26/27 campaign after missing almost two seasons, almost two full seasons having surgery on both knees. Now here's where I'm not sure of the specifics, because some reports have been that both sides were replaced. And that to me seems unbelievable to have two knee replacements and come back to the NHL.

And maybe I'm just biased because I'm 52 years old, soon to be 53, Hutch, and I need a knee replacement. And the idea of playing goal has sort of been cast aside by my surgeon. So the idea that somebody could come back from two and actually play in the NHL, obviously, he's in a little better shape than I am, but the point stands. I I sort of want clarity on just what are we talking like a full replacement? And for those who are like, when I hear replacement, the one I'm looking at and the one I think of most commonly is they literally saw off your shinbone below the knee and your thigh bone above the knee, insert two metal rods and a fake knee in between.

And it's significant. It has unpredictable, like, inconsistent outputs in terms of the results. I was talking I don't wanna say his name, because we didn't talk about me discussing it publicly, but I was talking with a an American Hockey League goalie coach who played in the NHL for a long time that had knee replacement this summer, and it did not go well. And it's been a miserable existence ever since. So the idea of somebody again, what is reportedly being two full replacements for Semyen Varlamov for two replacements.

I don't know if it's full. Coming back and playing this year, like, somewhat like just what an incredible story. You know, hand him the award for perseverance right now at the end of the season. That's remarkable.

Yeah. If he comes back, that's gonna be an incredible story. We'll all have our eyes on it. Let's not forget medical technology changes all the time. So what might have seemed impossible ten years ago, maybe it's, different now.

I can imagine that you will be watching this story very carefully and taking it to your doctor. See, he can do it so I can surely do it once a week in beer league.

My hunch is that maybe the guys in the NHL have access to better surgery and with all due respect to my guy, perhaps better surgeons. Oh, careful. I

hope he's not

listening Let's get back to him. Probably just the procedure itself. Let's be honest. Let's just put the the the root fault at the blame of the athlete. If anybody's gonna persevere through it, it's a guy like Semyon Varlamov, whereas I will just retire, put my feet up, and start drinking in a chair.

You you can imagine being in like, again, to foreshadow the parent segment here, it really, goaltending when you've been doing it that many years becomes such a part of your identity. And it would be very, very difficult to walk away, no matter how bad those knees are without really giving it a shot, wouldn't it?

Yeah. And hey, listen. This is big news for the Islanders as well. Because in addition to obviously being a really good goaltender before he got hurt and the and obviously the quality of person and perseverance required to come back from this, like, Varlamov was part of one of the best tandems in the NHL alongside Sorokin, and we saw what happened to Sorokin last year. This is a guy who was lapping the field for the Vezina Trophy at the midway point, but fell off a cliff down the stretch.

The Islanders end end up outside of the playoffs in part as a result of him playing 18 of 19 down the stretch as they were chasing a playoff spot. The performance fell off. You know, cost him arguably the Vezina Trophy. He was still a finalist, but the numbers fell off to the degree where, you know, you could suggest he shouldn't have been. Like, that's how significant it was in the final weeks of the season.

It just looked like a different guy. And so having a healthy Varlamov, you know, they vault if indeed, Varlamov is able to play any amount of games and anywhere near the level he played before. Like, they quickly become one of the best handlers in the National Hockey League again. And the more you get out of Varlamov, probably the the better you get out of Ilya Sorokin when he's in the net.

Yeah. No question. It's gonna be a fascinating story of usage patterns across the league this year. Just going back to your three goaltenders, what's that gonna do for a number of games played by a lot of these guys, and how's that gonna affect people's endurance throughout the season? We've got a really fascinating year ahead of us on so many levels.

Couple more news items to get to. Chris Driedger, our old friend, signs a PTO here in Vancouver. Hoping to connect with Chris real soon after spending a year in Russia in the KHL. Obviously, a guy who speaking of major knee injuries, like, if you wanna talk to a guy about coming back from significant ones, the knee injury he suffered, I think it was in the gold medal game of the world championships with Canada where he basically, like, completely blew out one, if not both, where they got caught underneath him. Missed significant time at a time when he was just sort of seemed to be peaking and finding his game at the highest level in the National Hockey League was Seattle.

Really curious to see how he looks and how he's feeling and to talk to him coming back here in Vancouver and to see where that leads because, obviously, we speak of three goaltenders and some questions in the news about whether Thatcher Demko is gonna be ready for the start of training camp. Doesn't sound like it, although there's been no commitment from Ryan Johnson here in Vancouver. And lastly, in Columbus, we touched on this a bit, but Elvis Merzlikins having shoulder surgery, no timeline yet, but I gotta think, just given the nature of shoulder surgery and the recovery from it typically, that their team might be looking for a goaltender, which brings me to my other question for you, Hutch. How does Connor Ingram not have a deal yet given the regular season that he had last year? Led all unrestricted free agents in performance relative to environment adjusted say percentage, and yet here we are in September 6 and he doesn't have a contract.

That one has me scratching my head, and I do wonder if a place like Columbus will ultimately be where he lands.

Know you're a massive fan of him. One of the bugbears for me in hockey all the time is narrative and how everybody attaches a narrative to people and then it's really hard to get off of that. And I think different people in the league have a particular impression of who Connor Ingram is as a goaltender. And, no matter how your stats play out, I think that's gonna be tough for him as a result of that.

The other person, of course, that, I don't even know if he's looking for work, but I know he was on the ice not very long ago up in Kelowna is our old friend James Reimer. And I think that would be an interesting one for Columbus because then you've got the Wiley veteran who's had got so much experience to come in there and support Jet Greaves. I think that would be a really interesting tandem if he got the opportunity and, hey, he's performed really well in a lot of different roles recently.

Add Cam Talbot to the list still unsigned

Yes.

After 100%. A really good career as well. So, be interesting to see where this goes where this all sort of goes. We could get into the Connor Hellebuyck because where he ends up is ultimately gonna play a role in sort of what musical chairs result from that. I got an interesting I got an interesting sorta list of odds from one of the betting companies this week

on Gosh.

Odds on teams where Connor Hellebuyck will be traded to. And I was a little surprised to see that the team with the lowest odds, in other words, that they figured was the most likely was the Colorado Avalanche Oh, yeah. Yeah. By the Buffalo Sabres Look. And the New Jersey Devils.

Those are all fun stories, but but the only reason betting companies put out odds is to direct the betting. It's not because they think that's the most likely thing to happen. It's because they think that's how people will respond to the odds, cause they wanna even out the money. So not into the whole betting thing myself. Grumble, grumble, grumble.

Man, you are old and miserable. Let me tell you what

There's too much of it in the game right now. Come on.

Where where do you think all the longest odds are where? Jeopardy music.

Well, teams have already got established goaltending.

Nope. Canadian teams. Oh. Yeah. Of course.

Teams, regardless of established goal tending, are actually lower than the teams like the Rangers and the Lightning who, as you said, clearly have established number ones. One odd that I found I one one odds that I I I might have scratched my you know, if I was a betting man, I might have rubbed my chin a little bit. The San Jose Sharks at 22 to one. I get the Devils at six to one because, technically, you know, Jake Allen, despite being a top six goaltender in performance last year, not everyone views him as a as a can't miss, you know, pure number one. San Jose, another team with a lot of upside, and obviously, Yaroslav Askarov, but the numbers, the results haven't been there to the same degree.

To see them in the bottom half of the league at 22 to one despite not having a proven number one, that might be one that I'd consider placing a bet on.

I think I brought that up last week. San Jose is, an interesting place to for a Connor to go. I I could see that one happening. That's high on my list actually.

And yet the odds companies disagree with us. I don't care if you've said they're just trying to get bets or they're just not up to date. Play along, Hutch, or I'm gonna make you do the reads.

It's okay.

Come on.

Well, we're not reading for a gambling company, so the heck with them.

Yeah. I that that's true. Although we do get, I feel like, three emails a week asking us for partnership with gambling companies. So for the parents that listen to this podcast and the people on InGoalmag that send it, just so you know, yeah, we've turned down a fair amount of money over the years because because we don't wanna add that to our website or our show. But I did find these odds interesting, so I had to share.

I thought it'd make for an interesting little back and forth. Hutch wasn't having it.

I just

So we better get

I want Woody's odds.

To our Gear Segment.

I just want Woody's odds. That's all. I believe those more than a gambling company anyway.

Gear

Yeah. I don't know where this goes. I have I have no I have no guess here. No guess at all. Let's get to our Gear Segment brought to us by our friends over at the Hockey Shop Source for Sports.

We're gonna get into the True 5x6, which not only is a lower price point, it's actually the lowest price point that they have at the Hockey Shop Source for Sports. The pads are the cheapest in store. You can get the entire set for $1,100. This creates Canadian. Interesting questions.

At what level can I play in this gear? Does is it suitable for my child at this age or that age? What skill of shooters he's facing? All answers that you can get by reaching out to our friends at the Hockey Shop Source for Sports. Well, they will give you honest answers, and and it may be the lowest price point, the mid price point, the highest price point.

If you wanna know what gear is gonna work for you or your child, their game in terms of how they play, the style, and how that gear is gonna perform for them, with them, or work against them, as well as the quality required for the level they are playing, and you want an honest answer on it, Not just a bunch of guys who are gonna point your right to the pro stuff and charge you the most money every single time. I've seen it countless times when I'm over at the Hockey Shop Source for Sports, not just from Cam, but from his entire staff where they don't wanna sell you a pro pad that's too heavy and too stiff for your young goalie because they know it's not what will work best for him. So honest answers about whether the gear we're gonna review today is for you or will work for your child, get that at the hockeyshop.com, in Langley, at The Hockey Shop Source for Sports. Call them. It's not just Cam.

It's his entire crew. They've all got the answers for you. So now as I've I've sort of teased that, cheapest gear they've got in the store at the senior sizing level, the True 5x6. Let's find out how it fits, how it feels, and and what what you're not getting and getting for the lowest price point they've got. Welcome back to the Hockey Shop Source

for Sports. Have I'm dribbling. Look. It's actually dribbling. So it's got a soft boot.

That would be the true Catalyst 5X6 has a soft boot that Cam can evidently dribble. I don't know why we would care. We would care more about what's over my shoulder which is the Source for Sports exclusive colorways available. And this one too. From that one too.

Also Source exclusive colorways. On what is True's lowest price point gear and cam, I'm gonna be honest, haven't always been impressed with their lower price point stuff but this stuff is pretty good. There's maybe not the exact same pro level stuff but there's some fit and feel and features that feel that way.

Yes. Okay. So let's walk through them.

Start with the pad.

Well, we already found out that it has a really soft boot so that's a good

Cam can Dribble the pad. Dribble the pad. Alright. Sure why any of that matters

but there we go. Weave. Weave slide surface.

Just so same as no Diamond Glide, same as the 7X6.

That's So

it's gonna slide a little better, wear a little faster.

That's over to the back of the pad. Still there's similar knee stack that we've seen kind of in previous models.

Yeah. A little loose, not doesn't have that fixed relationship to the face like some other brands but Change. Similar to pro. FRS system gone. Okay.

So this is the first time at 7X6 we had FRS. Yes. At 5X6 we no longer have FRS but we've it got a last

model very similar ish to it. Okay. Just simple two elastic cast straps, velcro, either side to give you that kind of wraparound fit. Okay. So profile of the pad.

Very. Still thinned out, Similar styling to obviously what they've done in the past. Core, soft. But

Some goalies want that.

At this price point, that's kind of what we're looking for. Yeah. What I actually noticed here even more so than what the 7X6 pad is, is actually the top still a little feels a little bit stiffer. So that we noticed that that 7X6 kind of broke a little bit. Almost not quite a double break by any means but this seems just a little bit more rigid at the top.

Just something I just noticed, that's all. Overall fit feel wise, again this is designed more for that recreational goaltender in mind. Okay. Kind of a little bit more of an entry level pad, entry level materials in that sense, but you still are getting a lot of good finishing on the pad overall. So again, seeing that we've even how the pads constructed, getting that sugar up in the knee and stuff like that, there's usually things that we don't find at that entry level price point.

It really adds to the richness of the overall feel and fit of the gear.

Glove is a 590? Here we go. I jumped the gun. I jumped the gun. He's got more features to show us on the pad.

Just well, we already talked about how soft the boot is. It's their flat angle. In particular, it's not angled or anything steep like that so it's kind of almost like 90 degree on your overall skate. Pro laces. Again something we've seen kind of in the past.

Great overall fit. Feels good.

Alright. You don't you don't get there no in either the 7X6 or 5X6 if we didn't talk about this. You're not getting well, you're also not getting the And

you do not get the PCS toe bridge.

PCS toe bridge. So which some people don't want the PCS toe bridge. So there you Glove, 590 break? 590 break. Okay.

Not quite I mean, still pretty good closure, not quite the same feel on the inside as the 7x5, so I'm guessing there's a little less padding.

But it's still actually quite thick for what it is. Like padding density wise to me, doesn't feel too too far off from that seven x club for sure. Okay. Are you able to close it? Yeah.

It works. Again, what you're shopping for at this price point is something that's functional, it's gonna get you out on the ice and it's gonna last.

No problem no problem closing it out of the box. Doesn't open super big but like yeah.

Again, some break in required but at least it's not break in is usually the closure not necessarily Six the

15 blocker?

True blocker. You're familiar with this?

Yeah. Board feels a little is it thicker or

Yeah. It's thicker because they're using just a

Softer density foam probably.

Exactly, that's correct. So that's where that kind of changes. Out of materials though, you're still getting skin with their high quality like d leather so that's

one We thing that we did this, obviously no off angle in here but we did this with the 7x5 where you can open up that cuff because obviously you're seeing it right now, I'm having a little trouble getting it over top but just open up that cuff and look at how much easier that is. So a lot of adjustability in there as well. So overall, a really good sort of looking and according to some early testing feeling product from True at the lowest price point. As matter of fact, maybe the lowest price point in the store for this level For new gear. For new gear.

So some exciting things. If you've got questions folks about, you know, maybe who it's for, what level I'm playing, can I get away with this, maybe the pads, maybe not the gloves, depending on the velocity of shots you're facing? Where can they ask you that question, Cameron?

(604) 589-8299 or 1-800-567-7790 or the hockeyshop.com.

Where they can email you or anybody on your team. Right?

That's correct.

Alright. Okay. Check it out folks. This is this is new from True and we're impressed. I gotta be honest.

I was impressed. Would I wear it out to any of my skates? No. But they've all well, the the majority of them have guys that play junior or college. They're better than me, and I'm not stepping into I actually would probably wear the pads.

I was gonna ask you, would you wear the pads in the blocker maybe?

Yeah. I I honestly think having had them on in like, I was really impressed, and I haven't been all that impressed. We've we've put credit where it's due. Bauer, CCM certainly following suit on second price points really stepping up. The 5x glove closed better than the 7x6, to be honest with you.

When we we did both reviews at the same time of the True product, hadn't been as impressed with their lower price point options up to this point, but this one sort of had a lot of people buzzing. It was it was really impressive. The glove closed nicely. I I feel like you would feel pucks through those pads, just the the the material at my level.

Feel or they hurt?

More than you would. Yeah. Feel or hurt. I'm soft. Let's be honest.

No. No. I'm just Yeah. I actually meant that to say that there's a difference. Some guys like to feel pucks.

Yeah. You you could probably wear it for a short period of time. I would imagine the breakdown. And and again, that's just the reality. We'll be sure.

Again, it's a really good question. Maybe you gotta take a set out. They don't typically have demo sets in the lower price points. I'd be curious to see how it felt on the ice, but it certainly was impressive in the store. And so kudos to True on the 5x6 line.

Yep.

Can I just ask you a question about the glove when you said that you thought that it closed better than

Probably because it had less less material?

Okay. But but what I mean by that, and and you're probably quite right about that, Woody. But I think quite often people expect a glove to look like to feel like a year old broken in glove the second you take it off the shelf. And and kudos to the guys who put up videos on the internet showing how they break in gloves and modify gloves so that they close better. But I don't know that that's necessarily how we should be evaluating a glove.

Does it open and close like butter right off the off the shelf? I I really wanna know what it's gonna be like couple of weeks down the road after after some use.

I think that's a question that depends on the age. Right? Like, because because are the smaller kids with the little hands even strong enough to break it in properly themselves? And I think a lot of these these secondary sort of It's a good point. Markets for guys that are redoing the gloves.

Interestingly enough, we had a great question sort of sent to us. Was that at info@InGoalmag.com? We had a reader question about the break on a True glove and it appearing to sort of have two break points as a sort of one single line, and we talked about we replied, talked about sort of the what we call the popsicle stick break, like that piece that runs through the middle. And the and obviously, the theory is your hand wraps around it, like you would make a fist closing around something as opposed to just a single seam and which would kind of be more of a pinch than a than a fist. And I fully understand all of that.

But interestingly enough, from what I have been told, a lot of the guys who are taking gloves and making them close better are removing those pieces. And again, for a young kid, great. You want them to be able to open and close that glove as easily and as quickly as possible, and that's gonna increase their enjoyment of the game. You don't want them out there feeling like they can't close and catch a glove and catch a puck.

Yep. Great

point. As we go up in in age and level, I have a little question about liability and exposure if you're removing pieces out of the palm if you happen to be facing shots that are at a pro velocity. So it's a really interesting time for gloves and glove break in. Part of my curiosity about that comes from an NHL goaltender whose company didn't quite build his glove the way that he was used to. Stuff happens.

You have manufacturing changes. You have different people putting together gloves. He had a very specific presence. They missed I believe it was the ordering of the layer or they missed a layer, and he ended up with a hand injury in training camp. And so the word liability got tossed around a little bit on that one.

You know, I'm sure it would never happen, but the talk of legal responsibility got thrown around a little bit on the time when NHL goalies making, you know, millions and millions of dollars and billion dollar franchises counting on them staying healthy and getting injured because the glove wasn't put together the way they expected or were used to. So which makes me wonder about the liability of taking them apart and removing. Mhmm. Not that anybody's it's just an interesting time for glove closure. And I do think that the reason I don't know how we got here from the five x six line because nobody's taking that and wearing it against an NHL shooter.

But though it closed so nicely, probably in part because there were fewer layers. Like, what makes it stiff? To your point about a glove requiring some break in, what makes it stiffer or harder to close is usually more material in the palm along and around that break line to prevent the chance of the edge of a puck catching a seam where there's no protection.

Yeah. I know

you're Like, it's there to help you.

You're quite right. Although, I would add to the parents who grab the gloves off the shelf and check them out. How tightly you do up the back of that glove has a drastic effect on how easy it is to close. In other words, if you tighten it right down as tight as you can, it will be very hard to close the glove. So be careful what you're doing when you're judging gloves.

That's obviously an aside. I

think you need to explain that a little more. I think I I know what you're talking about. Mhmm. But the difference between are you talking about tightening it up on the back of the hand with the internals or talking about the externals? The

externals. The internals.

The internals

with your hand. The internals mostly move with your hand. So I think you're I I wouldn't, you know, I wouldn't bet my house on that. I'd have to look at every model to really know the answer. But in general, the internals move with the hand.

So I think you're okay to snug those down, but it's the external

So you're talking about like the Velcro on the outside that attaches

the visuals.

Yeah. It is a little tough. It is a little tough, but I think it's a really good point because I've actually started doing this on a few of my gloves where there's options to sort of tighten or loosen those last attachments. And what he's talking about is that the sort of the last things you attach after sticking your hand in the glove, like the backhand protection. If you tighten that up too much, think about it, it restricts the ability to close because it's pulling

It's pulling on the outside.

The backhand into that open motion, like that open glove position. And so anything that resists that is gonna resist closure. It's a great call out by Mr Hutchison. I like it. The kind of reason we make you the parents segment guy.

It's one of the things I like about gear and I think people have to be very careful before they rush to judgment. You know, I heard one guy I won't mention the the specific piece of gear, but a pro said to me, yep. Worst pad I ever tried because it did this. And I just said, I wish we could have Woody out on the ice with you right now because he'd know about four things to adjust on the pad that would make it feel completely different for you. And, so I that's another reason to talk to, you know, guys like Cam and his team.

If you can flag Woody down at a at a local rink, he's a great guy to talk to because I've seen NHL goalies ask him for, his advice on how to how to wear their pads and and other pieces of equipment. It really is crucial to how you evaluate something.

We've definitely changed a few strapping setups over the years right up to the National Hockey League level based on some of those conversations. So I appreciate the, the hat tip there and I will give myself a self like, my old friend Jason Botchford, who we miss dearly in this market used to call it the back patting machine. There you myself a a pat

from the shoulder injury, Woody. You're old enough as it is. So.

Parent Playbook

That's that's true. Well, speaking of old and wise, let's go to the parent segment. And, of course, it's brought to you by somebody who, like us, is old and wiser. And if you would like his experience, twenty five years plus of NHL goalie coaching experience at your fingertips. If you would like to tap into the goalie parenting expertise that helped Joey Daccord reach the National Hockey League.

That what you get with a subscription to Stop It Goaltending U the app. All the knowledge from Brian Daccord has been an NHL goalie coach, scout and director, as well as all the insights and expertise from his staff at Stop It, which includes a long list of veteran NCAA and minor 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. Plus you get an InGoal premium subscription included. So check it out now at the App Store or Google Play and get the best of both worlds. With a subscription to Stop It Goaltending U the app and a subscription to InGoal Magazine included in it.

This week, am talking about mindset as a superpower. I sat down actually to plan a segment on routines. Of course, routines are fantastic. They're they're there to support us. But there's a line when a routine stops becoming a support for you and as we know it becomes a superstition.

And sometimes, maybe a goalie will end up playing poorly simply because something got in the way of that superstition or or that ritual. As I was writing it though, I realized the interesting part isn't really the routine, it's the mindset beneath it. So that's where we're gonna go today. It's really easy as a parent or as a coach to say, don't be a slave to your routine. Don't let it throw you when something breaks.

You know, like there's no chicken at home for the standard pregame meal or mom can't get out of work in time to get to the rink as early as you'd like or gosh, maybe even your favorite socks have been stolen by the family dog. Whatever it is, everyone agrees with the advice, but agreeing with it and actually having the mindset to handle it are two very different things. And one word of encouragement from a parent, from a coach, or a podcast doesn't suddenly build your mindset. So that got me thinking about something that I've always done with the athletes I've coached and including our own son. You might even call it a routine of mine.

I remind them routinely that their mindset is their superpower. Not once, as often as I can. And especially whenever something happens that gives me some evidence to point at because here's the difference. It's one thing to say, don't let a break in your routine derail you. It's another thing though to be able to say, I'm really impressed with how mentally strong you are.

You never get upset when we can't get to the rink at the perfect time. It's the same idea, but one is an instruction, do this. The other is evidence, I see you doing this. It's a not so subtle reframe and I think it's a very powerful one because the more someone hears things said about who they are, especially when there's evidence to back those things up, the more those things start to stick. And that's how an identity gets built.

An identity is a lot sturdier than a piece of advice. Our good friend Pete Fry talks about affirmations. He has his goalies look in the mirror every night and say something that builds that identity. I am a great goalie. He's the one I remember most because, let's be honest, it feels a little silly.

But it works well enough that he has goalies doing it all the way up to the National Hockey League. As a parent and as a coach, I think we get to play that same role, but from the outside. Confidence can absolutely start with saying I'm a great goalie, but I think it really grows when there's evidence behind it. And I'm not talking about empty praise here. You don't just tell your goalie they're mentally tough because you want them to be mentally tough.

You gotta catch them proving it. Then you make sure they know you noticed. Maybe they give up a tough goal and instead of falling apart, they settle in and make three big saves. That's your opportunity. I was so impressed tonight.

That goal had to be frustrating and you obviously didn't let it get to you. You got right back to work. That ability is really one of your superpowers. Now, maybe they don't get the start they wanted and they're generally happy for their goalie partner this season. Well, point it out.

Maybe a coach says something that they don't agree with, but instead of arguing or sulking, they listen and get back to work. Point it out. Maybe the pregame routine gets completely blown up and they shrug their shoulders and go out and play. Point it out. You're collecting the evidence, and I'll go looking for those opportunities proactively as well.

So if I hear something like, oh, the ice is terrible out there. I might come back with, that's awesome. You're mentally strong enough to handle it and that tells you something else. You've got an advantage because the guy at the other end is probably upset about it. Now, the bad ice isn't something happening to them, it's an opportunity.

And I think that's ultimately what we're trying to build. Not a goalie who never gets frustrated, not a goalie who doesn't care when things go wrong, not some robot who's completely unaffected by everything around them, but a goalie who knows they can handle it. And the more evidence they collect that says, I'm good at handling this stuff, the stronger that belief or that identity becomes. That's my playbook for this week. Watch for the moments your goalies handle something well and tell them what you saw, not what they should do, but what they already did.

Give them the evidence over and over again until eventually they don't need you to tell them anymore. They already know my mindset is my superpower.

That's great advice. I'm starting to realize that what's the opposite of a superpower? Is my mindset my arch nemesis?

There you go.

Is is my mindset my Lex Luther because I do none of those things in a positive environment? Especially when we started talking about the ice conditions. They don't have the proper pegs. They won't let me put in the proper pegs. Oh, the nets are so beat up at the bottom, my proper pegs don't fit.

Pegs are on all the wrong things.

The peg's a great example.

It is because it's frustrating when you don't get them.

But yeah. But if so what? You kick the net off by doing something perfectly legal, that's not a goal. Now, if the referee calls it a goal in that situation, maybe it's okay to get a little upset because you don't know what's gonna happen down at the other end of the ice because sometimes that's random chance, but, that's one of the toughest situations ever. Watched it, happen about a dozen times last night in fact.

Okay. Hold on a second here. I'm just writing this down. Hutch says it's okay to maybe be a little upset.... Snap show Woody is alright if they only have crappy pegs dot dot dot.....

No. No. No. No. If if then the referee allows a goal that should not be allowed.

Dot dot dot. Note to self, snap tastic with officials is going to be just fine, says Hutch.

Occasionally, yes. I'm just looking for I'm looking for

permissions to for my Lex Luther mindset to come through to the forefront here, Mr Hutchison.

Whatever you think, Lex. Yeah.

And I can't do that one because I still have my hair and Lex is yeah. That doesn't work for me. It's one of the few thing one of the few things I still have going for me. No. We haven't done yet. We haven't talked about ProReads this week.

We have not talked

about ProReads. On this week's ProReads? Do you remember the lessons of this week's Pro? I'm putting you on the spot, Hutch.

Gosh. It's been a while since we put that one up. That was at the beginning of the week. Dustin

Wolf. Plays behind the net. And I I think

That's right.

It's interesting.

That's right. We've had a couple along those lines that were a

little bit folks. One of the nice things. Theme developing. And and Eric Comrie, we've been going back and forth for those following along that might be going, hey, what's going on here? I'm seeing a lot of Eric Comrie and Dustin Wolf in my ProReads feeds over the last six weeks.

Absolutely, you are. We're saving the new ones for the new year. We're trying to get through all of our previously recorded ones before we kick into '26, '27, especially for guys like Eric Comrie that are with a new team now. It'll look a little weird showing off his Winnipeg Jet's stuff now that he's the San Jose Shark. But in recent weeks, I've really liked the way they tied together because both have been talking about pop passes in place from below the goal line.

And it's been really interesting. Wolf is so honest, so forthright, not only about things he sees in his game that he thinks he could do differently, and there was an evolution in the way he handled this last year that he talks about. And so when he sees older videos prior to that evolution, he's like, I could do this differently. So it's been really interesting. I would highly recommend it in this most recent one, we linked back purposely in the preamble to the previous two to get people thinking about that evolution and thinking about whether that applies to their game.

But what I liked about this one on the Podcast because yeah. Hey. Listen. People have seen it. So they know that Dustin has talked a lot about trying to hold his feet more.

Talk about superpowers. That's one of his, not being on his knees. He's one of the fastest goalies in the league in either case, but that's just the what he's trying to work on on these particular plays. And we got into it this week on bang bang plays off of this in tight, and could there be an advantage to being down early rather than holding your feet because you don't get caught in transition? And there are a lot of goalie coaches out there that want you down because the last thing they want is for that puck to go underneath you because you're getting caught in transition, and that's a very real thing.

And so Wolf gets into it a little bit of back and forth. And, again, his preferences may not match your goalie coach's preferences. They may not match your game and your strengths, but that's part of the dialogue that we get every week at ProReads. The back and forth about how to read the game, how to think the game, and it really isn't meant to be do it like this guy. It's designed to get goalies and coaches and parents thinking about how they play the game and how these lessons from NHL guys do or in some cases do not apply to the way they do it.

And another great example from Wolf, another sort of great open dialogue with Wolf that we're sincerely grateful for, and we're also grateful. You talk about reading the game better? We're grateful for Vizual Edge who brings us ProReads each week at ingoalmag.com because they're all about seeing and processing the game better. Every goalie knows that feeling. We've all had those nights where the game slows down, your tracking puck's clean, your reading plays early, and nothing seems to surprise you.

Then there's the nights where you are reacting instead of anticipating, you are reaching, you are guessing, you are a split second behind. Most goal is to try and solve those nights by getting more reps on the ice. Vizual Edge takes a different approach by training the visual and cognitive skills that help you process the game faster. Things like tracking through traffic, picking up releases earlier, recognizing patterns, and making quicker decisions under pressure. From your laptop or tablet, get a personalized assessment to identify your visual strengths and weaknesses, and then a customized training plan to improve the weaknesses and accentuate the positives.

Three times a week, that's all it takes, plus an open gym and a game day mode to get your eyes and brain locked in for puck drop. That's what Jordan Binnington uses before every game. Reminder, go to visualedge.com and use the code InGoal, I n g o a l, for 10% off. Or if you're a subscriber because you like to read our ProReads and you wanna combine the best of both worlds, all InGoal Magazine subscribers get 20% off every order from Vizual Edge using a code that is only available at ingoalmag.com when you log in as a subscriber on every single ProReads. So make sure you go check it out.

I'm not sharing that code here. You gotta be a subscriber. Check out a ProReads. Go see these last few from Dustin Wolf, and you will get the updated code to save 20% off all your Vizual Edge orders. Okay.

Feature Interview - Jean-Francois Berube

Is it time for our featured guest?

Okay.

I think it's time. We've kept

think it's time

JF Berube waiting in the green room as Daren likes to say.

In the green room? I hope the snacks are good

too. And it's more of a like I feel this week because he's with the junior ducks. It's got to be more of a green and eggplant room for the old Anaheim Ducks colors. Oh. Yes.

This is a great interview. Before we get to it, and not just because I did it, because Berube is a real student of the game. This is a real pleasure and you're gonna love this one folks. But before we get to it, let's thank the people who bring it to you, our friends over at NHL Sense Arena where they've got even more new stuff coming this month.

They sure do. It is back to hockey month, and this week's feature interview, of course, is brought to you by NHL Sense Arena '26, that next generation hockey training platform. And for them, September well, for all of us, September is back to hockey month. Five weeks of what NHL Sense Arena is calling a stronger start. All month long, they're going to be rolling out new training, new challenges, and tips to help you shake off the summer rust and get your game ready for this season.

The season, of course, is right around the corner for lots of us or maybe even already started. It's time to get back into a routine and start building those game ready habits, and that's exactly what NHL Sense Arena is built for. Reps, reads, tracking, mental training, visual training right from home. They're also running huge giveaways on social all September, including a chance to win their ultimate back to hockey package. So go over and follow NHL Sense Arena on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok.

I didn't even know Woody. They've got a Discord channel too to go enter. NHL Sense Arena '26, the season starts here. And of course, when you go get your subscription, use the code IGM 50 to

get routine?

I did. That's why I

saw that. You can build a positive mindset. If NHL Sense Arena is part of your routine, but one day you put on the headset and it's like, dad's been using my NHL Sense Arena, and he forgot to plug it in, and its batteries are dead. And you Exactly.

It won't and it won't throw

you. Ready to go. You won't be quite as sharp because that's a really great way to warm up, but you could be mad at Hutch, but it'll be okay. It'll be okay. Listen.

Let's get to our let's get to our featured guest while he and your your dad in this case. Your dad

is build a mindset to be able to deal with it.

JF Berube played twelve years pro. Got time in the NHL with the Islanders, the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Chicago Blackhawks. He met a lot of great goalies, had a lot of great influences, goalie coaches along the way. Developed a lot of different thoughts about the game, about the position, and about the way he coaches it now with the Anaheim Junior Ducks.

It he he is truly you know, I've said it a couple times, but it'll come through so immediately in this interview and so obviously truly a student of the game. And and I'm grateful to say that he uses this podcast and InGoal Magazine as as one of the tools for expanding that thirst for knowledge about the position in the game. It was it was it was kinda nice to hear that, to be honest. Yeah. Let's just let's just get to it.

I'm talking too much. Let's get to JF Berube who was who was one of the a really great guest, one of the one of the better ones we've had in a while here, a real truly can't miss interview. Really excited to welcome to the InGoal Radio Podcast. Someone that I got to meet a little bit during his path in the NHL. Played twelve years pro, including NHL stints with the Islanders, the Blackhawks, the Blue Jackets, an American Hockey League championship with Manchester in 2015 as part of the Kings organization.

JF Berube now on to his coaching. How are you?

Good, Kevin. Thanks for having me on.

It's it's our pleasure. You've moved into coaching working with the Junior Ducks. So you're in SoCal, as a goaltending director, but also with Optimum Hockey Academy as a goalie coach as well?

Yeah. Exactly. So, right when I retired or I was deciding if I wanted to continue and keep grinding or just jump right into coaching, I think the timing was perfect because the the junior ducks were looking for a goalie director, and I was approached to kinda fill in that spot. So it didn't take too long for me to accept the position. And, actually, the one of the cofounder of Optimum Hockey is the one who kinda helped me out getting in front of the junior ducks, and he put a good word in for me.

So Alex Kim got me into that job, and so that's Optimum Hockey. That's how I I got the connection there too.

Okay. So twelve years playing professional hockey and right into coaching here pretty quick. You've only been, you know, sort of out of playing for a couple of years. Clearly a guy who has some passion for the position. What let let's start with the big picture.

What do you love about it?

Well, obviously, as any little kids that starts playing hockey, the gear drew me in. I was the younger brother in my family. I only have one sibling, so my older brother obviously needed a goalie whenever he practiced his shots. So he threw me in in the the gear on the street, and sure enough, all the the little kids in the neighborhood came out, and we we played hockey in the street, and that was the goalie. So I didn't really have a choice, but, I I loved it from day one.

And, I remember my parents were trying to play have me play defenseman, and I was always ending up in the goal. So they're like, there's nothing we can do with this kid. He's he wants to be a goalie. So but I don't know. I guess, like, just watching the the Habs, the Montreal Canadiens, you know, like, the just the history in in goal there.

A lot of good goalies came by, and, I was always, you know, drawn into the position.

I wanna get into that a little bit too because, obviously, you came up in Quebec, playing minor hockey there and grew up there. And now you're in SoCal. And we just got back from a USA hockey symposium and sorta the juxtaposition was sort of the the way they're coaching there versus up in Canada and how it's transitioned, but we'll save that for a little later. Who like, who were your guys growing up? Who were the guys that you modeled your game after or just grew up wanting to be?

And at what point did it hit a transition from the two between just watching hockey and being a fan and starting to maybe look a little closer at the goalies?

Yeah. Well, obviously, like, in the early two like, mid two thousands, early two thousands, like, we were fortunate having a lot of Quebec goaltenders in the NHL. So, of course, Jose Theodore was my first one, and then Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur, Marc-Andre Fleury. It all, I guess, all the the Quebec in the league were were really, like, who I was looking. They all had different styles, but one thing that stood out is their compete level.

They were all competitors, and I think that's something that kinda stuck with me. It's I just liked seeing Goal compete in net, and I just kind of modeled my game around them.

It's interesting. I I hadn't thought of that. You're right. Because they you're right. Like, they all just had that instinct of we all know that, like, obviously, Brodeur played very different from Patrick, like, almost opposite, and Flower blends the two, and I never thought about the compete.

What did any cons idea of where that might come from?

No. Well, obviously, like, the butterfly influence from Francois Allaire was really big and just I I don't know where it comes from, but they were just their their style was just fitting them. And they were just so different, but so much of the same too where, again, it's it was just the the way they compete. Like, you just saw it nowadays too. Like, it doesn't matter how technical you are.

If you don't compete, you'll get exposed and, you know, they they were all very successful goalies.

From a coaching's perspective now, I'm gonna ask you to put that hat on to answer the same question. Like, how do you like, when the kids come in now, can you coach that into them a little bit? Like, as much as some of it might be innate, how do you sort of bring it out of them?

Yeah. Well, it's fun because I I get to work with all sort of levels, AAA all the way down to B level goalies. So, again, the one thing that stands out between a AAA goalie and an A goalie, it's their their compete. You know? They they can all have good foundations.

Yeah. Well, it's fun because I I get to work with all sort of levels, AAA all the way down to B level goalies. So, again, the one thing that stands out between a AAA goalie and an A goalie, it's their their compete. You know? They they can all have good foundations.

But at some point, if you don't compete, you'll you'll get beat, and you're not gonna be as successful. So it's fun, though. At the end of the day, like, working with the foundations, is something that's very you know, as early as I I can get them, we can work a lot further than having a 14 year old goalie that doesn't have foundation, and I think it's there's a lot more work to be done. Just for an example, we had a goalie started in rec three years ago, and his first club year made the double a team. And now into his third year, he's on the triple a team.

So he's, you know, you just see the progress there from 12 years old to 14 years old where now he's a triple a goalie, I think speaks for itself. It's just, you know, the the hard work it takes, but also, like, the foundations as early as you can instill those, I think the better off they'll be down the road.

What and when you say foundations, I I think there's probably commonalities from every goalie coach, but what do you view as the as the most important foundations? And And I guess it maybe it it changes as they get older and they start to develop different aspects of it.

I think having good edges is one of the most important thing. The game is getting faster even on the younger levels. You know, kids are on the ice now, not only 12 12 a year, but two or three times a day on the ice sometimes. So it's, just having good feet, the foundations of being square, being on angle, knowing, you know, their hockey IQ, I think those are all foundations that they need to have a a younger age. And then you can work a lot easier with them into, like, tactics and just their structure and all that.

I think it it gets a lot easier as they get older. But, yeah, the foundations, I I I think, like, it it comes to habits too. Like, a goalie who has good habits typically will have good foundations because they pay attention to the little details. But, yeah, just being balanced square, having their feet set, making sure, you know, their posture is is good. Those are all little things that I I try to really put a lot of emphasis every practices.

Now those are things that I don't say easy to teach, but they're teachable. To go back to the compete part, can you teach that too? The way you structure drills beyond just telling them, hey, you gotta battle this. Are there things you can do in terms of how you set up a practice that sort of draws maybe a little bit more of it out of them?

Yeah. I I think that's that's a very good question because we see a lot of drills that are predictable.

Right.

So the goalie knows, you know, like, t push to the corner of your crease, you're gonna get a low shot, you're gonna do a stick rotation, and you recover here, and then you're gonna get a shot to the body. Right. You know? It's okay to start practice with that. I I always start practice with something that's predictable just to work on those habits and those fundamentals of stick rotations, good recoveries, early eyes, and that those kind of things.

And then we progress into more of a hockey IQ place in the in the practice where now you have to make reads. You know? Now you have to compete. And if you don't compete, you can be, your foundation can be sound, but you won't be able to make saves because you're gonna drop earlier. You're not gonna be able to see the backdoor play.

So I think it's important to just incorporate battle drills. You know? Every practices should have a battle drill in it where you're kinda trying to replicate a a power play situation because that's most of the time, the more scrambly plays will happen. So so that's how I can is try to structure my drills, but to go back to can you teach compete, the goalie has to have it first. Right.

So I think it's important to just incorporate battle drills. You know? Every practices should have a battle drill in it where you're kinda trying to replicate a a power play situation because that's most of the time, the more scrambly plays will happen. So so that's how I can is try to structure my drills, but to go back to can you teach compete, the goalie has to have it first. Right.

And then you can push them to, you know, bring that compete level up every single practice.

I love it. I love it. You got a favorite favorite battle drill? One that you love doing or maybe didn't love doing as a player, but now you see the value in it?

No. I I mean, I guess there's one that I've, I caught really late, James Jensen. I think that that drill comes from him. I'm not sure. PJ Musico too, I used to train with him towards the end of my career, and it it's just a a ten ten saves or three goals.

So the player would have one puck. Every shot he takes, if you save it, it's a save for you. So you need 10 save to win the game or the player needs three goals to win the game.

Yeah. Just I love it because because it adds a gameplay element that brings

out Yeah. Exactly.

Brings out compete. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. It brings the dog out of you for sure. And, I I forget all the drills, but I had Marco Marciano too and he he's the one who really taught me what hard work was. When I first had him in in, I think it was my second year junior, I started working with them, with the Montreal Juniors.

And he, like, he he I had I saw him. Me work. I left it all out there. He made me you know? Again, it's any drill can can be a compete drill.

You know, it's up to the goalie how hard he wants to work. So there you can really turn any structured drill into a compete drill.

IQ. You mentioned Reeds. Like, so not just having predictable drills where there isn't an element of of reading the play. That's part of Hockey IQ. Any anything else we can do more?

Obviously, we're biased at InGoal. We think our ProReads are a really great way to see how much information an NHL goal goalie is processing at real time. But at other levels, are there things kids need to do more of? Watch hockey, we hear that a lot. Like, where do you come out on the and another thing, can we help them get better with Hockey IQ?

Yeah. I I guess, like, the more you watch games, the more you recognize patterns. But at the same time, do you wanna ask a 12, 13, 14 year old to sit down and watch every single games? You know? I I don't think it's doable.

That's where, like, kinda having a a personal coach or a private coach and doing video and really pinpoint and it doesn't have to be long. It can be just five minutes, you know, of just again, like, just picking a goalie, picking a game, and then you're gonna talk about it. And what do you see? You know? Asking kids question.

What do you see? Because not every goalie's read the game the same way, and not every goalie will react the same way or play the the game the same way. So that's one thing. Like, overcoaching has became a real thing, and letting kids figuring it out on their own is super important because I see it all the time, like, in lessons, like or even in practices, some that sometimes when I'm out there, a kid will make a save, and then right away, their eyes are on me. It's like, why are looking at me?

Like, I have nothing to tell you. Would like, you know, they're just waiting for feedback. A lot of times, like, it's not so much me telling them what they need to do. It's more, hey. What did you see?

Like, how did you feel? Do you feel like your depth was a little low, or were you too aggressive? Like, how did you feel in that certain play? And then you open up that conversation. Well, I saw this.

I saw that. And then all of a sudden, you know, they start thinking, and I think that's important, just having them thinking the game. So then when the situations happen in real time, now they kind of seen it before.

That sounds like what how I've had it described to me a lot of, not everybody, but a lot of NHL co goalie coaching video sessions with goalies. Is that was there somebody that jumps out to you? You had so many goalie coaches over the years in terms of the way they did video that you really brought into that process you just described.

It it it's exactly that. It's like, yes, they're gonna give us their input. I I think Manny Legace was really good with me because he had a a very specific structure how he wanted me to play, But at the same time, we had a conversation, and we were able to adapt to each other and kind of, you know, find the right middle where it would fit my game. But, again, like, as a goalie coach, you're there to support your goalies. You're not there to make them a mold.

You know? You you want them to be a little bit that different. So, yeah, I I think too, like, I don't know how much it goes into pre scouting, but if you have, you know, in an organization, you have, you know, in your depth chart, you have five goalies and all the five goalies play the same way, I have a feeling that at some point teams are gonna figure in figure out a way to beat that system. Right? It's kinda like a team system.

Like, every team is gonna study it and try to figure out how how can we beat it. But if you have five goalies that kind of play a little different, they still have to have a structure. But if goalie a or goalie b is in, you know, you you kinda have to adapt towards that and not so predictable, I guess.

No. I like that.

I don't know if that makes sense.

No. Pretty it does. And predictable is a word that's come up a couple times and we've talked about this, the ability to maybe give different looks every once in a while too to not play the sit like, it it's that fine line between having a system that you trust in, but maybe executing different things at different times so that the other side doesn't totally figure it out. Do you see value there? Do we see some see some goalies having success with?

You know, maybe it's not a reverse every time. Maybe every once in while there's an old we're seeing the VH come back a little bit.

Yeah. No. Exactly. Again, like, you want the goalies to play and to to just feel free and loose out there. You don't want them to be stuck in a mold and every time they they do a a move or positionally, they're a little off feel like, oh, shoot.

Coach wants me there. You know? I I gotta get uncomfortable and get there. And I think there's a fine line, though. Again, there needs to be a structure.

Right? And there needs to be kind of a plan of where you wanna play. But at the same time, you know, you want your goalies to be free and comfortable in the way they play, so they don't have to think the game too much.

Without naming names, I'm not asking for that, but did you ever run-in a situation where you got to a point where you thought you'd figured out your game or you knew what worked for you? And I mean, goalie coaches at the pro level can control your fate a lot of the times, whether you get to play, what games you get to play. Do you ever run into one where it's like they wanted you to do something that just did not fit for you personally, feel right, or make sense, and how you know, if for young goalies that might run into that, how would you advise handling it?

Yeah. I mean, there is times where I felt like I had to challenge myself, but I've always been someone who was really coachable. And I went in every team I went in. If I've, you know, spent a year or two years, with the team, I was always open minded to try something new, and I had a 100% trust into the goalie coach. Because at at the end of the day, the goalie coach is there to make you better.

Right? Like, the goalie coach is only as good as his goalies. So you have to trust the goalie coach, and a good goalie coach will not try to you know, if you're new on the team, they they won't try to do a one eighty with you and completely change your game. They'll try to complement your game. Right.

So I I was very fortunate. Everywhere I went, coaches were awesome with me, and I mean, you just Maybe

that's because of the mindset you brought to it. Maybe that's the advice there to bring that old mindset to every situation.

Yeah. Exactly. So, you know, to go to the second part of your question, my advice would be you can't be closed off with your idea of, you know, how you wanna play. Because, again, like, you have to think at the youth level, it's not so much about the the team system. But as you get older in junior and pro, the team has a system, and the goalie is involved in the system.

So, you know, sometime, like, the d might take care of the backdoor more, so now you can challenge a shooter more, you know, or, you know, you the the way the system is, you might have more backdoor plays. So now you have to be a little bit more conservative with your depth. So but at the youth level, again, it's just being open minded, trying it, and then having an open conversation with your coach. And communication is key, you know. If if you don't feel if you do something that doesn't feel right and you don't communicate it with the coach, your coach then thinks you're fine, or the coach will think, well, he doesn't wanna try, you know.

Well, if you don't have that conversation, it's hard to know, you know, what what's going on in the goalie's mind.

That's really good advice. The other part that you talked about systems, and it may not apply at every level down to younger kids, but, you know, as as the game becomes more and more hopefully structured in front of us, although it's become very unpredictable in terms of what these players can do with pucks these days, Learning a system, how important is that for goalies for how important was it for you in your career, and how do you go about doing it? Because I think at a certain point, there are only so many there are only so many systems and so many tweaks. Yeah. But I guess there's it's a two parter.

The importance of knowing where everyone's supposed to be and what they're trying to do within your defensive structure and how to go about it.

Yeah. Well, obviously, like, knowing what your d's are taking away is super important. Most of the system will come in onto the p k, like, knowing what your p k's taking away and, you know, learning and or the pre scout of the other team's power play. I think knowing their tendencies is super important. I was always at a goalie, though, that didn't like overthinking system.

I wanted to have an idea, but sometimes, like, I felt if I put too much thought into it, I would just if a broken play which broken plays happen, you know, 100% of the time, it's never happening exactly how it's supposed to happen. So sometimes if I was stuck too much on the system, I would kinda be behind plays because I'm like, well, they're not supposed to go there. You know? Right. So you don't want it to kinda slow you down, but at the same time, I think it's important to know the tendencies, that that they're doing.

I mean, most rushes will look the same. Three on twos, two on ones, you know, they're they're pretty similar. But, yeah, I think knowing what your PK is doing, what your defensemen are doing, and what the power play is on the team that you're playing is super important.

So you go you mentioned Marco Marciano playing month for the Montreal juniors in in the queue in QMJHL, Drafted by the Kings in 2009. I guess, first of all, before we get into transitioning to pro, what what are your memories of draft day?

In pro?

Yeah. Getting drafted into the NHL.

Yeah. So I I had an interesting yeah. So he was in Montreal.

Oh oh oh, wow. Okay. There you go. I should have known that.

Yeah. I I I was super fortunate. It was home. So I had conversations with my agent. You know, he was saying high high or low fours, beginning of five, fifth round, you know, should be pretty much a sweet spot.

And the day before, I think I had a meeting with, Minnesota, with the wild. So met with them, and I had a really good, conversation with them, and I thought that that's where I would go. So I kinda looked at the, the draft rankings and everything. I said, okay. They're I think it was bottom of the fifth, so I'm kind of getting ready for that.

So I was in the stands talking with my parent my my friends, I actually, and we're just talking, and all of a sudden, I I get a tap on my shoulder, and my agent is standing up. I'm like, kind of, what are you doing? You know? Where are we going? And he just say, just congrats, you just got drafted by the LA Kings.

So

So you didn't you didn't hear it, but

No. I didn't hear my name. And funny enough, I think the only game that I know that I met with the Kings after a game that they were there, I got pulled that game, I think, in the first period. Gave up like four four goals in the first, got pulled, and then sure enough, like, coach comes to see me and he's like, hey, Jeff. LA scout is outside the locker room.

He wants to talk to him. I'm like, oh gosh. Here we go. So yeah. But yeah.

It's funny enough, you know, the Kings, drafted me. It was Kim, Kim Dillabaugh was there at the time, and Billy Ranford was still there. Yeah. You know, they they saw something in me. So I and I would say, like, I don't wanna, you know, take too much time, but they they're the ones that really molded me into the goalie I became and showed me what it takes to perform at the pro level.

One advice I can give to the kids is their conditioning needs to be tip top. You know? It's kind of, always kind of a running joke. All goalies are out of shape, you know, when you do the testings and goalies are always at the bottom and but they really put a lot of emphasis in me getting into shape and making sure that I was ready for the long season. And, you know, and again, just the structure and the habits and the details they brought into my games really carried me for and probably the reason why I had a twelve twelve year career.

Yeah. We know we've known Kim for years, and obviously, Billy as well has been a guest in this podcast and that you could you couldn't start under better people, No.

Exactly. I was very fortunate.

You also start alongside because it because I'm thinking of, you know, the game changing. We've talked about that a lot. You're coming in to the LA system at a time when, at least in North America, the game kinda changed through Jonathan Quick and the way he played the post and sort of his version of the reverse at a time when pretty much only the Swedes were doing it. Right? So what was your do you remember your introduction to sort of that element of goaltending, and and was it through the Kings?

I don't think they put too much emphasis on the RVH at that point. And honestly, like, I can't I've never worked with a coach that really, you know, we've worked on that system. Don't don't I can't pinpoint where it started. But obviously, like, sealing the ice. Right?

And, you know, the big thing I remember with the Kings was, you know, on a wraparound, the only way you can get beat is on the ice. And then now Michigan came into play,

but Yeah. Back then, it wasn't an issue.

And just just the way Quick he was playing on his post, the way he was tracking the puck behind the net, I think that was something that was really big. Stick rotations was something that was really big, but the RVH was never really, a main focus. But, yeah, behind the net, like, the way left shoulder dominant, left side dominant Yep. Was something that was really big that makes a lot of sense, and that I'm coaching. I've kept with me my whole career, and I'm I'm very hard on it right now with the youth, club because everyone's trying to double seal.

It's like you can't ask a 12 year old, 14 year old to double seal. And even at the pro level, I don't I don't understand why a goalie would double seal. But, you know, everyone has their their way of doing things. But I think to me, like, the left shoulder dominant when tracking the puck behind the net makes a lot of sense and, just helps prevent goalies from getting injured injuries over using, you know, their hips. You see more and more goalies getting hip surgery.

So it's yeah. It it is, really hard on your hips to double seal.

Yeah. No. Hey. I I love that because the the left shoulder dominant is something that, we were blessed. Bill Ranford got on the ice with us a at a at a hockey event, up here at the Hockey Shop.

They had a, like, a a goalie event for the day, and he came out and explained it all to us. We had it on video and and talking to the goalies that go through there. Once they learn the system, they're comfortable from a goal prevention standpoint, but they just rave about how much better their body feels.

Yep. Yep. Exactly.

The run-in Manchester, Calder Cup champion. What was it? What are your like, when we talk about your career and key memories, where does that rank?

Yeah. I well, obviously, I'm I'm kind of biased because, I mean, it was my first team. I I didn't know any better. You know? Okay.

Manchester to me, it was truly Manj Vegas. Like, it was the best place in the American League. Yeah. So, you know, small little town in New Hampshire. We had a tight knit group.

You always hear this. Teams that win are very tight. As you know, they probably know there wasn't much to do in New Hampshire or in Manchester. So, you know, we we we had a lot of fun together, and that's I think the main thing. Like, guys showed up to their rank excited to go to their rank and compete.

And we we had Mike Stutters. I don't know if Yep. Have you heard much about him, but it was all compete. You know? And, again, that's the word that keeps coming back. But, like, the practices were really hard. But, again, the guys loved it. Like, we showed up to the rink, and guys were going at it at practice. So, you know, we played every puck until it was either in or frozen.

So, you know, just again, like, just practicing like you're gonna play. You know? It's it's cliche, but it it really did us well once we we got into games. I think we we were really in sync. And yeah.

I I I guess, like, we I mean, the the AHL format playoff format is it's dangerous. Right? The first round back then was a best of five. So you start at home two games and then you go away for three games.

So Right.

Or back then, I think we we played Portland, so we were fairly close. So we did two two and one. But if you split the first game, now you're going on the road for two more games. If you lose the net the third game, you're in a hole.

Yep.

So sure enough, we went to to all the way to five games, and we pulled it through, and then we swept every round after that until the final.

Incredible run. Incredible run. And and in an organization where they're winning at the high level too, like, what was it like to be was there something about the culture there? You talked about it in Manchester and and and the way to compete and the camaraderie. Did you see it at both levels?

You would have been up at different times and and around that team in training camp, like, you know, multiple cups, championship in the American League. Is that you it's not often you get get teams that win at both levels in a stretch like that.

No. Exactly. And we were fortunate because the year before 2014, that's the Kings second cup. So, you know, a bunch of us were Black Acing with them. So we got to see, you know, like, how tight they were.

Again, like, they they were a very tight knit group and just the grind they were going through. I I don't know how many game sevens they had, but just the grind and how deeped up they were, but they just stuck together. You know? It was it was a 22 man roster. You know?

Everyone was going. So it it was good for us to see it the year before, we won the Call the Cup in the American League, and we were fortunate too because we didn't lose too many players. You know? You see that in the American League. It's hard it gets hard sometimes with call ups and movements and all that.

So your lineup can be completely different from, you know, November to, like, January. It can be a lot different.

Yep.

So we were fortunate. We had pretty much same group of guys and not too many call ups, and that's one thing too that helped us being in Manchester to be a call up. Like, it had to be a significant injury Right. For someone to get called up all the way to LA. Yeah. Yeah. It's not just a one or two day call up. It's usually a week or so, you know?

So we had the, you know, the same group and just seeing, you know, the Stanley Cup having the chance to be on the ice and lift the cup and be around all that kind of was like, well, we gotta do that again. You know? So coming back to Mench, it it was you know, we we knew we were going for it.

Any and, like, being around, being a Black Ace in that cup run, is there like, what stands out to you? You talk about the camaraderie. Is there any personal memories that or anything that you picked up? Like, the goal the coaches are busy too. Right?

And their focus is obviously on winning a Stanley Cup, but were there things you were still you're still young in your pro career? Was there value to being around for practices? Sometimes you're just a target, but were were there's an opportunity to work on things?

Yeah. No. It it just seeing what it takes to be up there, you know? Like, just being yeah. Be like, being a pro, like, you hear that all the time.

Like, it's

it's It's a cliche, but it matters.

It's it's a cliche. It's a you know, what does that mean being a pro? Right? Well, showing up every day at the rink. You know?

Like, you're tired. Who cares? No one cares you're tired. You need to show up, and you need to put the right foot forward. So just showing up being a leader, everyone can be a leader, and that's the thing with the Kings.

Like, they were stacked with leaders. You know? Like, you look Mike Green, Kopitar, Brown, you know, I forget Quick E. Like, you know, I I I forget a lot of guys, but it's like you go down the lineup. It's like, every everyone can be a leader on that team.

Everyone was a leader. So it's, that was the same thing pretty much we had in mench. Like, when we we were there the the last two years I was there, it was exactly that too. So, again, the culture, you know, it starts from on top, from the management coaches, all the way down to, you know, the the stick guy, you know, the equipment guy, and the trainers, everyone was the culture there is they do it the right way.

Next season, you're with the Islanders. New voices, new teammates. That decision process, walk me through what that experience was like. And, you know, again, I know you're a real student of it. So who were some of the input who like, it's a whole new group of voices.

What'd you take away from that? Anything that stands out from in terms of your game, whether it's on or off the ice?

Obviously, go to the Islanders and, you know, a a goalie that I watched a lot as a young kid was, Jaroslav Halak. So going there and being around him and just seeing how he prepares and, you know, just his demeanor, someone who's really calm. He's pretty reserved, but also,

you Unless he's driving.

Yeah. Yeah.

May have What did you hear

about his driving?

I may have experienced that. We may have when he was spent I I I you will not find very many bigger fans of Jaroslav Halak than myself. Got to know him a little bit when he was the one year he was here in Vancouver and we shared a love for certain cars and he he he we we had a few conversations where I where where he explained to me just how fast his version of those vehicles went compared to mine. So I just I love that guy, but I I hear he likes it. I hear he likes the pedal on the right.

Yep. Yep. He he had some nice cars when I was there.

Yeah.

But, yeah, it's, you you know, just, again, being around of I I saw how the Kings were, but now seeing how the Islanders were, it's pretty very a lot of the same. You know? So now you kinda see the standards that it takes to be up there, and there's no days off in the NHL. You know? You you gotta show up.

If you don't show up, there's someone else that's there to show up for you. So and also the situation I was in, you know, being three goalies, I think I had to just give it all I had. And I didn't know when I was gonna play. I didn't know when I was gonna play. And it it was a tough situation, but a situation that was needed for me to understand that no one cares about your situation.

No one cares where you're at but yourself. You know? It Back

to yeah. Back to that being a pro thing.

Yeah. Exactly. So, you know, even though I didn't play for a month, I had to show up to the rink. I had to be on the ice thirty minutes before everyone and thirty minutes after everyone was gone. You know?

So sometimes that meant I was on the ice an hour and forty five, two hours. It didn't matter. Like, I I just had to be there. And my goal was and the mindset I had is my thirty minutes needs to be the same as my last thirty minutes on the ice. So, you know, I I wanted to just put myself in the best shape possible so when I I was asked to play, I I was ready.

And and and you when you did get a chance to play, you played well. Numbers looked really good. I didn't realize you were going a whole month between starts. I didn't pull that up, but it was you, Thomas Greiss, Jaroslav Halak. We now here we are flash forward to, more than a decade later or a decade later, and we hear a lot of teams talking about carrying three.

Everybody has to have a practice goal, but I think there's gonna be I don't know if it'll a widespread trend, but it's definitely the start of a trend. I think there's at least four or five teams that are are either planning to or considering it. We saw a few last year. If you had if you were to offer advice to the goalie coaches or the goalies that are a part of that rotation beyond the work rate, what would it be in terms of how best to manage it?

Well, communication is key. You know? You don't want any goalies to have doubts in their mind. I think if you, you know, you sit down with with all three goalies and whoever coaches, whoever has the decision of who plays what game, I think having communication is key. Because there was times, like I said, like, I I didn't know if I was gonna play.

Well, communication is key. You know? You don't want any goalies to have doubts in their mind. I think if you, you know, you sit down with with all three goalies and whoever coaches, whoever has the decision of who plays what game, I think having communication is key. Because there was times, like I said, like, I I didn't know if I was gonna play.

Like, I didn't know when my next game would be, and then all of a sudden, the next day, you're like, hey. You're in. It's like

And you've and you just left it all out there the day before

pro too. Right? Exactly. And it's impossible to tell a goalie, you need to be ready all the time. You know?

There's a reason why you have two goalies, you know, a starter and a backup. And the backup most of the time, at least in my own experience, I knew a week ahead what game I was playing most of the time. So that way I could prepare and kind of tweak my training a little bit so I don't I'm not gasped when it's time to come in. Right. So just having communication and also it takes away the doubt.

You know, if you know what you're expecting, it's easier to prepare and it's easier to accept it. But if you're kind of left in the doubt of what's gonna happen, when am I gonna play, am I gonna get set down, or whatever it is, it's it's a lot harder to deal with. So at the end of the day, it's cliche too, but goalies need to play. So finding a healthy rotation and I know the starter wants to play all the games, and most of the time, you know, they need to be pulled back and tell them, hey. Like, we need to give you a break, and most goalies don't wanna give away their net.

So

Yeah.

But rest is a weapon, and, you know, you the way the game is played now, it's so fast and a lot more injuries. So just making sure that everyone's a 100% all the time is super important.

What about from the perspective of practice? Like, three doesn't go into two. So quite often when there's three goalies and two nets, we'll see some guy standing on the boards, and then just rotate in. Is there a better way to do it? I know some teams that have two like, the Montreal Canadians have had three goalies several times.

And at least in some of those occasions, because they have side by side practice rings, they would take one of the goalies and go do goalie ice on the other side and then rotate him into the full practice and another guy would go to goalie ice as opposed to standing on the boards and waiting for your turn.

I think that's the way to go. Yeah.

If you have the ice.

Because you want your goalies, and that's my opinion, but you want your goalies to kinda be in the flow. Like, you you don't wanna be in and out, in and out, in and out. Right? So it's and especially now, like, the three goalie thing is fairly new. So most goalies have been, you know, they haven't been sharing a net.

They've had their net their whole career

Right.

Until now. So that's something new that they need to adapt. And I think the right thing to do would be if you have access to two sheets of ice to make sure your goalie is seeing pucks and he's moving and working on something, not just standing on the board.

Waiting for the guy to wave his arms. Yeah.

Yeah. Exactly. Because, again, like, you put a goalie in the net, he's gonna take every pucks, right, until someone takes him out. So that's just the mentality that you want your goalie to have. It's my net.

You know, sorry. You're gonna wait your turn.

Right. Right. And that's and that's why, I mean, as this as this shifts and evolves, I think there needs to be, and I'm sure there is, some thought put into how you like, it's not ideal. Right? Like, I have a goalie to tell you they don't love it.

No. It's not ideal. But, again, in today's age, I think it's might be needed depending on your your position and your situation as a team. I think it's yeah. I think it looks like it's trending towards, you know, more so of a three goal each.

But making the best of it requires having a bit of a plan, to your point, communicating it.

Yeah. Exactly. As long as there's communications and everyone knows, you know, what the plan is, I don't see the issue.

Any sort of influences? I mean, you got Jaroslav. You got Thomas Greiss who, you know, I once was at a summer camp with Greiss, and there was a a compete game at the end of it with breakaways. It was all NHL shooters, all NHL goalies, three nets, and they would just zip a puck across the three creases, and that guy would pick which net he attacked. And if he scored, you're out.

I once watched Thomas dominate. I think we had, like, NHL eight NHL goalies at this camp. I once watched him win that game without ever going down once.

It's amazing.

He As Yeah.

You you say about not going down once. I've seen him going through practices, maybe going down two or three times top. And, you know, the funny thing is he's he's not doing it in a lazy way. I think the it's very methodical, and there's a purpose behind it. He tracks pucks very well.

Yep. He's and, again, like, he shows up in the game, and I've seen him make so many shootout saves on his feet, like, more than any goalies. And he goes back to that game. Like, it's I don't know how he does it to be this patient and this confident, into making saves in on his feet. But, I mean, you know Greiss a little bit.

Like, just his personality is very laid back, and there's no worries. And, water off

the duck's back. Yep.

Yeah. Butterfly and rainbows. So, I mean, yeah, his that was I would not recommend any goalies to to do that. I don't think it fits everyone game, but for him, it worked really well. It had a a way of doing it.

K. So you go to Chicago after that. You know, again, I I know you're such a student of the position with mentors, voices, new people that you met there that, you know, had an influence on your game.

Yeah. So that that was kind of a crazy year because that year I got picked by Vegas in the expansion draft. I forgot about that. That's right. Yeah.

So, you know, that happened and then I didn't I wasn't sure too much where I was going. And then I I get the the Chicago deal, and then I'm like, well, I gotta go to Chicago. Like, you know, like, I wanted to play for, at some point in my career, an Original Six and just Chicago again. Like, go back to the Kings. I think, like, I I still have chills thinking about it, but just the national anthem, it's I think it's such a special barn.

And just, yeah, being there during the playoffs and seeing the stadium and everything, that's somewhere I wanted to play. So for me, that was an easy decision to go there. But Jimmy Waite was the goalie coach there. I don't know if he's still there. I think so.

He is. Yeah. He is still there. I was I was gonna ask whether Stefan was still there or Jimmy had taken over.

Yeah. I I forget. I know Jimmy was there. I I don't know if Stefan is there now, but

Stephane was there. Stephane Stephane went from Chicago back to Montreal with Carey. That's what it was.

That's right. That's right. And so whatever. So, yeah, he was there, and then, it was Corey Crawford, obviously, another, you know, Canadian friend. Well, Quebecois.

Quebec. Yeah. So, you know, he was there, and and then he was, Anton Forsberg was with me too. So, again, like, just being around Crawford, you know, I I know he was going through some stuff and but just being around those guys, you know, you learn so much just by being around them, you know, their their presence, their, their leadership, the way they prepare and everything, I think it's very valuable, as a goalie to see.

And and for Anton too, like a guy who's still Yep. Like like, seems to be getting continue to get better with more experience. Like, he's he's he excelled in the last couple of seasons.

Yeah. And he you just you know, I I talked about having a good foundation. Like, you just look at him and how he flows on the ice and his feet his footwork and how he works from post to post. He he he flows on the ice, and that's something that I I've learned from him just the way he moves around his crease. You know, there's a lot of of things that I I picked up, after him.

Transition, you end up back in Ontario for a little bit, some time with Hartford, Lehigh, and and then, you know, talk about learning from other guys. You end up in Columbus where I remember talking to Jet Greaves this past season, and the hat was on you were wearing a different hat by that point. You were the mentor, and he just raved about long rides with you, I don't know if it was on the bus or on the plane, and just picking your brain like crazy and how grateful he was for how open you were about everything that you had experienced. What are your memories of that and sort of that Yeah.

Well, Jet came in. I forget where he so he came in, I forget where he came.

Was he was an undrafted free agent Yeah. Sign Yeah. He was undrafted free agent, signed him, and started, in the minors.

Yeah. You just Jett is I mean, yeah. Like, we talked a lot, and he was my roommate during training camp. So we spent a lot of hours together, and he's such a great kid and a student of the game. And he he's some someone who wanted to learn.

You know? Someone who, like, you could tell, like, he's gonna do anything and everything to be successful and get where he wants to go. So, you know, just just talking about it it wasn't so much technical stuff, but more so preparation and reading plays, you know, Hockey IQ and how how do you play this situation and what should I do if this play happens and just great conversation. There's there's nothing that kind of there was no bad questions with him, literally.

Just just two goalies geeking out on the position and get and they're trying to get better off each other.

Yeah. Exactly. And I I think he saw, like because I I was kinda up and down that year, like, with my performances. Like, I I was trying to find my game and, you know, battling some injuries, and it's hard, man. It it's hard to be playing at that level.

The American League is a really hard league to play in. And every everyone will say, like, once you go up in the NHL, everything seems easier even though it's not. But it's it's hard going up and down. And I think that one thing I I forget if, one thing I told him is once you're up, you you wanna stay up. Like, do everything to stay up because it is hard to bounce around up and down.

You have to adjust every time to the pace of the game, and, the travel is well, in in Cleveland was hard. Like, riding the bus for six, seven, eight hours, you know, it's it it was hard travel. So once you taste the NHL, you don't wanna go back down. You you wanna stay up there because everything's just a little bit easier, not necessarily on the ice, but just logistically. You don't have to care too much about stuff off the ice.

You just play. Right?

Right.

So, yeah. It it I'm so happy for him where he's at right now, and, he's he's gonna be a good goalie. He's gonna be very successful and, you know, shorter goalie, but he found his game and he found what works for him. And talk about, like, being patient on your edges and reading plays. Like, if at his size, if you can't read plays, you're getting sniped.

So he's he's very smart, and always trying to get better.

Is there a lesson there in terms of the curiosity he brings to it? Like, just that curious mind. You talked about those conversations like that. Maybe it's innate. Maybe you have to have it or you don't, but just like a real student in the position.

You're you were, he was.

Yeah. Well, again, like I I say, like, I I was more on the shy side where sometimes I was more timid to ask questions. And when you see guys like that that ask questions, like, you get an answer right away. You know? Like, now it's easy.

You can ask chat GPT and you get any answers. Right? So you don't need to communicate with anyone anymore. But, you know, that jokes aside, like, if you can talk with someone that has real life experience, I think, you know, you just get a real answer and you you don't have to guess yourself anymore because someone's been through it.

You mentioned being shy and about asking those questions. I had to bring this up because we talked about this off the air before we hit record. But you listened to the podcast to get someone Yeah. And talk about student in the position. You you've been listening to us for years, and there was value you said in hearing other goalies and how they talk about their game?

Yeah. Exactly.

Yeah. Because again yeah. Exactly. So, you know, like, as a goalie, you have to constantly try to get better and try to see what successful goalies do to be in the position they're in. So, you know, listening to the podcast, I think that really opened my eyes of you know, there's a lot of different ways, a lot of different techniques, a lot of different journeys that Goalie take.

You know? There's not one way to the NHL. I think everyone has their own story. And one thing I've noticed through the podcast too is everyone at some point struggle. Right?

But you need to find a way to just battle through. And just hearing different guys on the podcast again kind of help me feel at ease with myself in a way knowing that, okay. I am doing the right thing or I you know, my thought process is the right thought process. And now as I'm transitioning as a goalie coach, you know, I I constantly trying to I'm more vocal now, and I I ask a lot more questions. But I, you know, I I think you gotta adapt to a lot of, situations and talking to different goalies and hearing other goalies, like, their how they evolved their game and how they got better and how they got where they're at now, I think, is very important.

And I'm I'm very, excited. You know? I I love coaching, and I love seeing the progress. I think that's what drives me, to do this job now. It's, it's very fun to to see goalies attain their goals.

Well, whether it was Jet Greaves coming up with Columbus or the goalies you have now with the Anaheim Junior Ducks, I think they're all very blessed to be able to tap into the experience you have, and I can't thank you enough for giving us close to an hour of your time. My apologies. My apologies. I didn't think it would be this long, sharing those stories with our audience. I know there's gonna be a lot of other goalies that listen to JF, and and take something away from it as well.

So thank you so much. This is long overdue. Very, very valuable from our end, and I hope the start of a conversation we continue over the years.

Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me on, and, hope to hope to talk to you soon.

See, was that right? Like, despite my rambling introduction and how brutally I set that up, he was worth waiting. He was worth waiting for.

Fabulous.

Yeah. And I think that's gonna be the first of many with, JF Berube. I really enjoyed that conversation. Like I said, just a true student of position and, you know, always nice of him to to give our tires a little pump here at InGoal and the things we do is is one of the tools he uses.

Outro

Yeah. And look, I it's one of the things I love about what we do is it brings new voices to people across the goaltending world. Guaranteed, we're gonna get notes from people this week from people who said, yeah. I remember the name, JF Berube, but I hadn't heard from him before. Hearing about how he he coaches and works with young athletes, what a great lesson.

Just bringing the whole goalie community together here is something I'm really proud of.

Just bringing the whole goalie community together here is something I'm really proud of.

Well, you've done a heck of a job with it mister Hutchison. Hope to bring back our goalie community next week with the return of mister Daren Millard. He'll be back, we hope, from assignment and leading the charge, which will mean less of me, which is always a positive for our audience here at InGoal. But for sure, we've got some exciting guests coming here, in the coming weeks, a a few people I've connected with since our time at the USA Hockey Symposium. We've got some NHL goalies who are getting back with their teams and and pledged us a little time in the coming weeks before training camp opens.

All kinds of great things coming over here on the InGoal Radio Podcast, and, of course, all kinds of great things going on every week. Make sure you check it out over at ingoalmag.com. If you're not a subscriber, what are you waiting for? Just listen to JF Berube on the value of said subscription. So make sure you check it out, ingoalmag.com.

We'll talk to you again next week here on the InGoal Radio Podcast.