Jaroslav Halak

Jaroslav Halak was born on May 13, 1985, in Bratislava, Slovakia, and was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the ninth round, 271st overall, in the 2003 NHL Draft. That draft position made his path to a long professional career one of the more unlikely trajectories in modern goaltending, and by the end of it he had appeared in 581 NHL games, posting 295 wins, a 2.50 goals-against average, a .915 save percentage, and 53 shutouts.

Over the course of his career, Halak wore the crests of the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Washington Capitals, New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, and New York Rangers. The 300-win milestone became a notable marker in the final chapter of his career — one that, according to the InGoal Radio Podcast, meant a great deal to the 5-foot-11 left-catching goaltender from Slovakia.

His final NHL season with the Rangers produced a record of 10-9-5. During that campaign his adjusted save percentage of +1.3 ranked tenth in the league, just behind Rangers partner Igor Shesterkin's +1.4. Following that season he remained a free agent into the summer, and by the fall of 2023 he had signed a professional tryout agreement with the Carolina Hurricanes, who were operating without Frederik Andersen due to a blood-clot issue, with Halak sitting five wins short of 300 at that point.

InGoal Magazine has covered Jaroslav Halak in six Pro Reads, all authored by Kevin Woodley. The series began in February 2023 when Halak sat down for an extended video session in Vancouver. As Woodley noted at the outset, it was no surprise that a goalie who prides himself on making good reads had a great deal to offer in the Pro Reads format Jaroslav Halak Pro Reads.

The first session examined a shorthanded rush chance against the Florida Panthers. A central theme that emerged — and one that would recur throughout all six installments — was Halak's use of the paddle-down technique, and specifically his explanation of why he employs it. "I am just trying to anchor myself and have my shoulders turned to the player, to the puck," Halak said of the technique. "So, he doesn't beat me on the ice too but I'm anchoring myself so I am a little bit higher, a little bit bigger. If I would not do it with stick, my body would lean forward and I would be almost on the ice, flat on the ice, so that's what I am trying to do." Jaroslav Halak Pro Reads The idea of the paddle down functioning as an anchor to keep the chest and shoulder elevated was a point the Pro Reads series returned to more than once.

The second session continued with a rush chance against the Florida Panthers, this time involving Carter Verhaeghe, before transitioning into a settled 5-on-5 situation. Halak described the importance of tracking handedness on every play: "He's a lefty and he's on my right side and his angle so I'm just trying to cover up the short side. If he was a righty, you don't have to overlap there." He also spoke to the value of varying save selections. "If you use all of them sometimes you can be unpredictable for the shooters," he said Jaroslav Halak Pro Reads.

The third and fourth Pro Reads focused on a 2-on-1 led by Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel. Facing a known scorer, Halak emphasized patience over aggression. "In this sequence I am just trying not to make the first move," he said. "I'm just trying to get to the top of the crease and trying not to make the first move and open up." Jaroslav Halak Pro Reads The fifth installment shifted to a 2-on-1 against the Calgary Flames, with Halak drawing distinctions between scenarios based on shooter handedness. "As a goalie you should know who you are facing and if its lefty or righty," he said. "If it was a righty, it would be a shot to the opposite side of the net. He would be looking to go back far side. For a lefty it's hard to go against the grain; short side for him is perfect one-timer." Jaroslav Halak Pro Reads 5

The sixth Pro Reads, published in November 2023, examined two distinct tight-area scenarios — a low-high pass against the Columbus Blue Jackets and a power-play situation against the Detroit Red Wings. Halak broke down the two-part process behind his paddle-down decisions: identifying the shooter's handedness to assess whether a short-side high shot is a threat, and maintaining five-hole coverage while pushing across. On the power-play sequence, he explained: "It's a power play so you know you've got a lefty shooter on that (backdoor) side so with the paddle down, it turns my body too into the shot with the shoulder. This one turns my body into the shot as well and I anchor myself, I stay high and I cover the five hole. I like to use paddle down sometimes, not all the time. You've got to read the game when to use it. You don't want to overuse it." Jaroslav Halak Pro Reads 6 His summary of the approach was concise: "You know what they say. Details matter." Jaroslav Halak Pro Reads 6