Jake Allen

Jake Allen grew up in Fredericton, New Brunswick, the city he still returns to every summer to train — including, as he described during the NHL's COVID pause, on synthetic ice when a real sheet isn't available. Selected by the St. Louis Blues in the second round (fourth pick) of the 2008 NHL Draft, Allen went on to spend over a decade in the St. Louis organization before being traded to the Montreal Canadiens. He later signed a two-year extension with Montreal through 2023 Jake Allen Pro Reads, and currently plays for the New Jersey Devils, wearing number 34. Through 497 career regular-season games, Allen carries a 2.75 goals-against average, a .907 save percentage, and 29 shutouts, with 225 wins.

One moment Allen has spoken about publicly is winning the Stanley Cup with the Blues alongside his boyhood goalie coach, Dave Alexander — a detail he shared in an interview with InGoal Radio InGoal Radio Feature Interview: St. Louis Blues Jake Allen. That same conversation covered his experience with virtual reality as a cognitive training tool, his approach to transitioning into a backup role, and how he handles the parts of practice that are not designed with goaltenders in mind.

InGoal Magazine has covered Jake Allen in two podcast appearances and 13 Pro Reads. The video review sessions, conducted over several years first in St. Louis and then in Montreal, span situations ranging from sharp-angle power plays to odd-man rushes to penalty-kill scrambles — and Allen's candor in breaking down each one, including his own mistakes, has made him a recurring presence in the format. In one early Pro Read Jake Allen Pro Reads, Allen openly admitted he got "stuck" on his post in a play behind the net against the Chicago Blackhawks, describing the position as "terrible" before explaining the concept he references as "the Jonathan Quick rule" of post play, and recounting advice he received from Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur during Brodeur's brief stint in St. Louis.

Across the Pro Reads series, Allen has discussed the importance of holding edges longer before committing to any post-integration option. "Trying to stay as patient as I can on my post and on my feet even on in-tight plays changed my game a lot," he said in one session Jake Allen: Post Integration and Patience vs. Jonathan Toews. "For me holding my feet and my edges was crucial. It's made a big difference in a lot of my game and I think it instills confidence overall." He has also spoken about the value of keeping multiple post-integration techniques available — including both the traditional VH and the reverse-VH — and being able to move between them within a single sequence Jake Allen Montreal Pro-Read 2. "It's all about comfort on the post in all different circumstances and manners and being able to stay on your feet as long as you can and drop in that split second," Allen said. "It gives you a sense of confidence and comfort in the net … probably 70 percent of goals are scored within 6 to 8 feet of net so it's being comfortable and confident you can do the job in different facets."

Allen has also discussed in detail how he reads shooters before the puck arrives, including the role that hand positioning plays in telling him whether a shot or pass is more likely Jake Allen Montreal Pro-Read 5. "He didn't really give himself a whole lot of time to go blocker; usually you have to put the puck in front of you and pull it to your left and push it to the far side of the net," he explained in one breakdown of a breakaway save. "He kept the puck in the same lane all the time which to me was going glove." On power plays, Allen has emphasized zone scanning before the puck even moves. "For me it's crucial," he said of identifying one-timer threats early Jake Allen Montreal Pro-Read 6. "[It affects] my feet, sliding, standing, depth all that stuff." That early read, he explained, determines how much or how little movement is actually necessary: "It's understanding who is on the ice, the threats, and no need for extra movement when you really don't have to."

Familiarity with opposing players factors into Allen's reads as well. During a Pro Read involving Patrick Kane, Allen drew on years of facing the same Central Division opponent to anticipate not only whether Kane would shoot or pass, but where a shot would likely be directed ProReads with Jake Allen: Understanding Shooters Tendencies. He applied similar logic to odd-man rushes, describing one 3-on-2 situation as effectively a 3-on-1 because one of the two players back for St. Louis was a forward rather than a defenseman Jake Allen Pro Read 6: Odd Man Rush vs. Patrick Kane. "That's part of your nature as a goalie," Allen said in another session Jake Allen Montreal Pro-Read 3. "You should always know the lines and the players and the hands, and if you don't it puts you behind the eight ball."

By the time of his 14th Pro Read session — recorded while with the Canadiens — Allen had accumulated eight video breakdowns in a St. Louis Blues uniform and six in Montreal's Bleu, Blanc et Rouge, establishing him as the most prolific participant in InGoal's Pro Reads format Jake Allen Montreal Pro-Read 6. In the 2025–26 season with the New Jersey Devils, Allen has appeared in 37 games, posting a 17-17-2 record with a 2.74 goals-against average, a .904 save percentage, and one shutout.