Craig Anderson

Craig Anderson grew up in Park Ridge, Illinois, and was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the third round, 10th pick, of the 2001 NHL Draft. The left-catching goaltender, listed at 6'2" and 187 pounds, went on to play 709 NHL games, recording 319 wins, 275 losses, 71 overtime losses, a 2.86 goals-against average, a .912 save percentage, and 43 shutouts.

Among his peers, Anderson built a reputation for his ability to read plays and shots. Former teammate Chris Driedger told InGoal that Anderson had "the best reads in the NHL" — a characterization that appears repeatedly across InGoal's coverage of the veteran goalie ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

InGoal Magazine has covered Craig Anderson in two podcast appearances, six Pro Reads, one drill breakdown, and one InGoal article.

Much of that coverage centered on Anderson's on-ice decision-making. In a series of Pro Reads sessions with InGoal, Anderson broke down a range of situations: a point-blank chance with passing options off the rush against the Columbus Blue Jackets ^[4], reading the release on a shot from the hash marks ^[5], a 4-on-3 rush with a low-high threat against the Montreal Canadiens ^[6], an odd-man rush involving Canadiens forward Max Domi that ended with Anderson deploying a two-pad stack he openly described as "more of an 'oh crap moment'" ^[3], a 3-on-2 off an in-zone turnover where he talked about using his positioning to try to dictate a pass ^[2], and a sharp-angle attack with a backdoor pass option in which his decisions around the reverse-VH were the focal point ^[1].

In one of those sessions, Anderson reflected on a recovery movement he used after getting bumped and spun in his crease — a quick reverse C-cut from his knees to get back into position — noting it wasn't something he would have been capable of five years earlier. "I would have been swimming for sure," he said ^[6].

In January 2020, while recovering from a lower-body injury, Anderson stayed late after a Senators practice to work through two extra drills with Ottawa goaltending coach Pierre Groulx. Groulx described the sessions as focused on activating Anderson's eyes, elbows, and stick, with tracking the puck in and out as a consistent emphasis. "With Andy, it's the eyes, it's the elbow, it's the stick," Groulx said ^[7].

Around the same period, Anderson drew attention by opening the 2019-20 season in Bauer Vapor 2X Pro equipment after spending more than half a decade wearing Brian's gear. He explained the change straightforwardly: his contract with Brian's had expired, and he decided the opportunity to try something new was worth taking. "I think everybody's disappointed but at the end of the day I no longer had a contract and it gave me a chance to try something different," he told InGoal ^[8]. The adjustment was not seamless. Anderson found the new pads required modifications — adding a traditional knee strap to the second set — to get the fit he needed. The Bauer blocker's puck placement also drew notice from Groulx, who observed that the marks were more centered than they had been on Anderson's Brian's blocker. Anderson had used Brian's equipment since Sherwood stopped making goalie gear ^[8].

He settled on a Bauer 2S Pro glove labelled 2X Pro, arriving at the choice the way he said he always judged a glove: "The thing with gloves is as soon as you put it on you know you like it or hate it." He also noted missing the BOA strap that had been unique to his Brian's glove ^[8]. On the subject of adapting, Anderson was direct: "If you don't try to adapt, the game just passes you by" ^[8].