Thank you Nick.
Blue Crease Goaltending Summer Camp
Blog Entry by Nick Ward
I’d like to begin by thanking Magnus Olsson and his great team at Blue Crease Goaltending for allowing Andrew, Dan and myself the opportunity to travel to Sweden and contribute to such an exceptional elite level camp. I’d also like to thank Frank Deal, Gary Lynch and Mats Johansson for their great work. What an incredible week!
I think I speak on behalf of everyone at Andrew Mercer Hockey Development when I say we were very impressed by both the level of goaltending and level of coaching Blue Crease Goaltending has to offer. Though all the goalies had an excellent foundation of skill sets, early in the week Magnus, Robin, Gary, Andrew, Dan and I did detect a few things that every goalie could work on to improve their games and reach that next level.
The most apparent trend was the tendency of many of the goalies to play very deep in their nets. Playing deep works for some goalies, but most of the goalies it works for are over 6 feet /1.83 meters tall. Seeing as no goalie at this camp was quite this tall, we felt this was an issue that the coaching team needed to address. What stuck out to me was the athleticism of many of the goalies in the camp. The athletic ability that many of you posses allows you to be able to play higher in your crease to eliminate the amount of net the shooter sees because you are quick enough to recover and get in position to make a blocking save on any long passing plays that happen closer to your net.
Two great examples of this were Robin Havdelin Duvyby and Jonas Hedlund. Right off the bat I could tell that these were two elite level goaltenders yet I was beating them over the glove and blocker with long range wrist shots. After some coaching from Magnus and Andrew, both goalies began to take that extra step higher in their crease. The outcome? I saw much less net, and way more saves were made! This slight adjustment had a very positive result for every goalie in the camp. Great job guys!
Another theme that we noticed throughout the week, and we addressed after a rough session on Wednesday, is the importance of keeping your emotions under check. Goalies are the backbone of the team. The way you play and act usually dictates what type of game your team is going to have.
Jonathan Jonsson Frisell, a goalie with a ton of potential, really embodied this trend. At the start of the week he was yelling and slapping his stick after almost every goal that was scored on him. The more he got frustrated, the more shots were getting by him. After a long discussion in the classroom on Wednesday afternoon, I noticed an immediate change in both Jonathan’s attitude and play. If a shot went in, we would calmly refocus. More often than not he was following a goal with a quality save. In my opinion the most important aspect of goaltending is consistency, in this adjustment Jonathan was able to alter his game to become a more consistent and collected goalie. Way to go Jonathan!
The last goaltending specific area I want to focus on is something that I noticed in all of you: having a winner’s attitude. It’s so important that all of you believe in your abilities at all times. Like I said earlier, all of you are very talented and have the ability to make every save. Always remember that. Confidence is what will help you make that big save on a 5 on 3 power play, or a breakaway save. It will help you make a great crisp pass to your defensemen while you’re under pressure or direct a hard slapshot into the corner. Though it might have been lacking on Monday morning, I can say without question, that the winner’s attitude was very prevalent on Friday afternoon. Kevin Jonasson, Sebbe Johansson, Felix Larson, and Adam Hoglund were outstanding in the competitions. Pat Bilan let in 5 goals all of Friday afternoon-one the best goalie school performances I’ve seen in a long time! Despite his age, Herman Troeng was one of the best goalies all day. And of course, who could forget Ted Hotlne’s last second penalty shot glove save to secure a win for the goalies in the last competition on the last day of the camp. This clutch save by Ted really demonstrated what having a winner’s attitude is all about. Awesome Ted!
Every single goalie involved in the camp impressed me and the AMHD camp. You guys really have the opportunity to do whatever you’d like with hockey if you continue listening to Magnus, Robin and your other coaches. One of my favorite things about this camp was the fact that every goalie was receptive to the advice of the coaches. Listen to your mentors, I promise it will pay off in the end. My last point is to always remember to have fun while you improve-it’s the most important part of hockey. Like I said to you all in the classroom, all the best hockey players I know are the ones who love the game the most.
Thanks again to everyone involved in this great Blue Crease Goaltending Camp, I really had a great week and made lots of very cool new friends. I can’t wait to see all of you again soon!
Take care
-Nick
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