Curtis McElhinney

Curtis McElhinney's 16-year NHL career came full circle in Tampa Bay, where the London, Ontario native won back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships with the Lightning before retiring. Selected by the Calgary Flames in the sixth round of the 2002 NHL Draft — 10th pick of that round — McElhinney went on to appear in 249 NHL regular season games, posting 94 wins, 95 losses, 20 overtime losses, a 2.83 goals-against average, a .907 save percentage, and 12 shutouts. He caught left and wore number 35. Along the way he dressed for eight franchises: the Calgary Flames, Anaheim Ducks, Phoenix Coyotes, Ottawa Senators, Columbus Blue Jackets, Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes, and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Following his retirement, McElhinney moved quickly into coaching, building an online program through Mountain High Hockey that includes video reviews, mentorship, and Goalie IQ Zoom sessions in which he breaks down the play of his former peers. That transition made him a natural fit for InGoal's Pro Reads format. InGoal Magazine has covered Curtis McElhinney in three Pro Reads.

His Pro Reads debut Curtis McElhinney ProRead 1, published in November 2021, had McElhinney breaking down footage from his final season in Tampa Bay — specifically a shorthanded 3-on-1 chance against the Florida Panthers. In his own words, he described his preference for playing off defenseman Victor Hedman, wanting opponents forced "towards the top of the circles to create a decision-making process that opens something up and allows me to make a read." He also explained his approach on the eventual shot, talking about "building that wall low and then going up from there and trying to get as much vertical coverage as we can." That Pro Reads appearance followed McElhinney's conversation on Episode 144 of the InGoal Radio Podcast — his second appearance on the show, the first having come on Episode 28.

His second Pro Reads Curtis McElhinney ProRead 2, published in January 2022, shifted to a screen-shot scenario against his former team, the Carolina Hurricanes. McElhinney discussed the challenge of locating the puck through multiple layers of traffic, the value of staying in the middle of his net rather than committing to a single large blind push, and the importance of quickly redirecting his vision when the puck changed course off a body in the slot. That article also noted that his Goalie IQ Zoom sessions with Mountain High Hockey were launching that month, beginning with a breakdown of Andrei Vasilevskiy and continuing with sessions on Sergei Bobrovsky, Frederik Andersen, and Marc-Andre Fleury — priced at $20 per session and open to the public.

The third Pro Reads Curtis McElhinney ProRead 3, published in March 2022, featured a breakaway against Panthers forward Anthony Duclair. McElhinney walked through his concept of "risk management" — describing how early preparation for a potential breakaway, even before it fully develops, sets a goaltender up to handle the situation. He outlined his philosophy of being outside his crease when the attack reaches the top of the face-off circles and discussed the importance of not selling out on an initial push, which would have left him exposed to a cut-back move, as well as maintaining stick discipline to close the five-hole.