Braden Holtby

Braden Holtby was born on September 16, 1989, in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan. Washington selected him in the fourth round, 93rd overall, of the 2008 NHL Draft. He went on to spend the first decade of his NHL career with the Capitals, winning both the Vezina Trophy and a Stanley Cup before later playing for the Vancouver Canucks and Dallas Stars. He stands 6'1" and weighs 215 pounds, catching left. Across 513 NHL regular-season games, he recorded 299 wins, 143 losses, 50 overtime losses, a 2.59 goals-against average, a .915 save percentage, and 35 shutouts.

Holtby's final active NHL season came with the Dallas Stars. In December 2021, in his 500th NHL game, he recorded 39 saves in a win and reached 293 victories through 500 games, surpassing Jacques Plante's previous mark of 292 for the most wins through that milestone Braden Holtby ProRead. That win was punctuated by a late sequence that included both a scorpion save and a pads-stacked windmill Braden Holtby ProRead. It was his second game back after missing time with an injury that coach Rick Bowness confirmed had negatively affected his play over a four-game stretch while he attempted to play through it Braden Holtby ProRead. He posted a .912 save percentage that season before a season-ending injury Braden Holtby ProRead.

During that Dallas season, InGoal Magazine sat down with Holtby for a 30-minute in-person video breakdown session that became the foundation for nine Pro Reads installments. InGoal Magazine has covered Braden Holtby in nine Pro Reads.

In his Pro Reads debut Braden Holtby ProRead, Holtby broke down a 3-on-1 against the Los Angeles Kings, explaining how the handedness of a pass option influences his depth decisions. "The big thing is knowing that (far) guy is on his off hand, so you can take a little more depth and still get there on your feet before he releases it as opposed to a one-timer," he said. He also described preferring to defend a pass to certain backside options over a breakaway once a rush reaches a specific point in proximity to the net — and explained why a pass becomes easier to defend the closer those options get. "In [tight], chances are you can lay down and get your bottom sealed and use your glove and most of the time they slam it into your pad," he said. "The perfect shooting area is top hash marks. They have more net and they're in that range where you can't really react. You're reading that stick blade and that's it."

In a second installment Braden Holtby ProRead, Holtby broke down how he balanced playing Artemi Panarin honest while remaining aware of a backdoor threat. "Guys are so smart, especially a guy like him," Holtby said of Panarin. "If you start cheating on it, he's going to expose you in seconds. I was trying to stay square and wait." A bonus save in the same Pro Read addressed desperation saves off a rush with a screen element.

Subsequent Pro Reads examined how Holtby approaches different rush scenarios in detail. On a 4-on-4 against the Boston Bruins' line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and David Pastrnak, Holtby explained that his read on the play came not from the opponents alone but from awareness of his own teammates' positioning Braden Holtby ProRead. "It's almost all how our guys are in this," he said, describing how he trusted forward Alexander Radulov's coverage of Pastrnak to allow him to square up on Marchand without cheating.

In a Pro Read on managing one-on-one rushes with a retreating defenseman Braden Holtby ProRead, Holtby addressed the challenge of staying relaxed when a defender's stick interferes. "That's something I really try to focus on in these 1-on-1s is to not let my body freeze, to let it react freely," he said. "For myself, that's where I get in trouble with some of those releases stick-on-stick is when I tense up and don't react as naturally as I should."

A 3-on-2 breakdown against the Bruins Braden Holtby ProRead found Holtby explaining his choice to beat a cross-ice pass on his skates rather than slide. "If he were to hold that and I slide: in order to grab that edge, you have to expose your 5-hole and you're also not as fast when you are sliding to get back to another pass," he said. On a backdoor pass sequence against the Bruins' Perfection Line Braden Holtby ProRead, Holtby described the timing required when pushing across the crease. "You know where it's going. You don't want to get there too early or too late. You want there at the right time, where you are square to it," he explained. "If you get there too early, that's when [Pastrnak] carries it back and tucks it in."

On breakaway management Braden Holtby ProRead 8, Holtby described his depth philosophy: "I'm trying to match his speed a little bit. A little flow so when he hits that sweet spot (hash marks) I want to be with my heels around there (points to the edge of the crease) because that's the prime shooting area, and then once he gets there you get that flow so if he goes one way or another you can move with him."

In a 2-on-1 breakdown against the Pittsburgh Penguins Braden Holtby ProRead 7, Holtby discussed how a defender laying out to block the passing lane changes his read. "That pass can't quite be as crisp," he said. "He has to elevate it or has to show his hand a little earlier, so he knows how to pass through it, so it gives you more information." He also mentioned his recovery work, something he said he had focused on during his season with the Vancouver Canucks. In a 2-on-0 sequence against Columbus Braden Holtby ProRead 9, Holtby explained why he overplayed the short side against a shooter with a strong curve. "It's more that on a guy with a curve like this you know he can get that up short-side real quick, so I am trying to take that away," he said. "If he is passing or shooting far side, they look similar so I would be pushing into it either way and I can kind of defend both that way."

A source close to Holtby confirmed ahead of the 2022–23 season that his playing days were behind him Braden Holtby ProRead.