Curtis Sanford

Curtis Sanford, born October 5, 1979, in Owen Sound, Ontario, played 144 NHL games across stints with the St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, and Columbus Blue Jackets before transitioning into goaltending coaching. Over that NHL career, he posted 47 wins, 55 losses, 15 overtime losses, a 2.72 goals-against average, a .904 save percentage, and 6 shutouts. He later played for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the Kontinental Hockey League.

Sanford moved into coaching and held the role of goaltending development and AHL goalie coach with the Vancouver Canucks before joining the Toronto Maple Leafs as goaltending coach in the summer of 2022. InGoal Magazine has covered Curtis Sanford in one podcast appearance, four drill breakdowns, and one InGoal article.

Much of InGoal's coverage with Sanford centers on the technical and tactical frameworks he brings to goaltending development. In a series of Pro Drills filmed while he was still with the Canucks — working primarily with Arturs Silovs and Spencer Martin — Sanford walked through the principles behind several interconnected practice structures Pro Drills with Canucks Curtis SanfordPro Drills featuring Curtis Sanford and Arturs SilovsPro Drills featuring Curtis Sanford Spencer Martin and Arturs SilovsPro Drills featuring Curtis Sanford and Arturs Silovs.

The first drill in that series, which Sanford called "Organizing Reps," is built around efficiency at the post Pro Drills with Canucks Curtis Sanford. "How quickly can we rebuild our organization, how quickly can we rebuild our coverage, so that we are set and ready for that next play to come," he explained. "Building those good habits and those good quick details within our game that really becomes the heart of our system." A follow-up piece focused on the technical components of post entries and exits Pro Tips: Post Entries and Exits with Curtis Sanford, where Sanford described the goal of what he calls "clean entries": "We want to have clean post integrations because if we're dealing with less clutter in our games because we have established good standards and expectations of how we treat these moments, we are going to be able to connect the dots easier and have more clarity within our own game."

On alignment, Sanford outlined a specific standard used by the Canucks goaltending department: staying less than 45 degrees from the goal line upon arrival at the post. "This lets us establish next angle faster," he said. "The most important part of goaltending is the quicker we can occupy important space, the better off we are going to be." Pro Tips: Post Entries and Exits with Curtis Sanford

A separate drill in the series addressed plays behind the net, focusing on the timing and execution of visual transitions as the puck moves from side to side Pro Drills featuring Curtis Sanford and Arturs Silovs. Sanford described the priority: "The key is how he works through his progression with his reverse tracking but even more important is the quickness he uses his head, the quickness he is able to pick these pucks up moving side to side. Because if we're delayed picking them up moving side-to-side, we're going to be delayed picking it up from behind the net to the front of the net."

Sanford also discussed the value of placing goalies under fatigue and manufactured pressure during practice. "For sure he's tired but I think when we do our work, I like to preface this stuff like 'this is Game 7, Stanley Cup Final, Calder Cup Final, and we need our engine to run just as smoothly and just as efficiently in these moments as a regular game,'" he said Pro Drills featuring Curtis Sanford and Arturs Silovs. "'I know you're tired but it's OT and we need these saves. When you can preface it with that, automatically their competitive button gets pushed.'"

A further drill combined post entry and exit work with reverse tracking on plays behind the net, incorporating what Sanford described as a "track down" and a longer outlet pass Pro Drills featuring Curtis Sanford Spencer Martin and Arturs Silovs. "Trying to put these guys into situations they're going to see in a game," he said. "So when they see it in the game, it's about having a tactic but we're also working on the technical bundle that goes into the tactic."

The final drill in the series addressed desperation saves on quick lateral plays in tight, with Sanford emphasizing the importance of not entering emergency mode too soon Pro Drills featuring Curtis Sanford and Arturs Silovs. "I've got to be calm in this position … I've got to be calm in this position … and now I've got to work desperation," he explained. He described the coverage logic behind a desperate lateral extension: "If we can extend through the middle, now we've created middle coverage, low coverage and flush coverage with that extending pad and we need to add some type of vertical and close coverage on top of that, so we need that hand available to us to extend and create additional coverage above that pad." On the biomechanics of that extension, he added: "Every time you reach with the toe your knee is coming up. That's why it's super important to not only have a good rotation but drive through that lead knee."

Sanford appeared on InGoal Radio in October 2021 InGoal Radio Episode 143 with Curtis Sanford. By mid-2022, with his transition to the Toronto Maple Leafs complete, his work with the Canucks' developmental goaltenders — including Silovs and Martin — had been documented across the full Pro Drills series, giving InGoal readers an early look at the coaching approach he would bring to his new organization.