Help with Goalie Evaluation

[estogoalie]

Hi All,

There are two small training games below, each about 30min, with different goalies in each game (ie: 4 different goalies in total). I'd like to get some feedback on them.

If you could watch as much as possible to get a feel of all the goalies, and give a ranking of the goalies from 1 to 4 (eg. goalie White game 1, goalie Black game 1, goalie White game 2, goalie Black game 2).

Any additional comments, critiques or reasons why you prefer one over another  is also welcome. Also if you think their skill levels are all similar, or if any one stands out in a good or bad way.

Thanks!

 

 

[RichMan]

Hey Erik. First I want to thank you for trusting in my opinion, it's very much appreciated.

I'm going to break it down this way: first will be comments, key observations, second will be overall grading score of each goalie on a scale of 10, third will be in picking order.

GAME 1
White goalie: Passive, deep in nets, patient, good puck control. 6 out of 10
Black goalie: Aggressive, overuse of RVH, nervous, taller. 7 out of 10

GAME 2
White goalie: Slower reaction time, need technical polishing. 4 out of 10
Black goalie: Active, patient, solid technique, stick involvement. 8 out of 10

In order of pick (draft):
#1 Black goalie in game 2
#2 Black goalie in game 1
#3 White goalie in game 1
#4 White goalie in game 2

As a coach, I would of like to see them doing some movement drills and set play drill, and possibly a second game on different teams just to get a complete feel and then give my final evaluation. This is a shorten evaluation. I haven't seen character on/off ice and heard coaches feedback either which can play a lot on making the right choice. I'd rather work with a less qualified goalie that is teachable as opposed to a hot head superstar.

Hope this is to your satisfaction

Rich

[CJ Boiss]

I'm not going to grade these guys, but as a player I can tell you who I'd rather be shooting at, and why.

Game 1:
Black goalie is more active in his net, has his hands in front of his body and generally seems more engaged with the play as it moves around the crease. Looks very confident. I did notice a couple of times that he lost sight of the puck and had trouble finding it again. His backside recovery seemed a bit slow. Like RichMan said, he drops into RVH a bit too quickly.

White goalie comes off as very passive. His leg movements are quick and sharp, but he doesn't challenge the shooter enough. I get the feeling that maybe he doesn't trust his skating ability, which might explain why he plays so deep (doesn't have to move across as much to square up on the puck), but he didn't really leave his net when on camera so I can't say for certain. His hands are also more beside his body, rather than in front of his body; it's particularly noticeable when he stands up with his right leg, as the thigh rise on his pad hits his blocker hand even though the blade of his stick is off the ice.
 

Verdict: I'd rather be shooting at White goalie. With how deep he is in his crease, a good hard shot is going to beat him more often than I'd be comfortable with as a coach, and as players get bigger and stronger that weakness is only going to be exacerbated. 

Black goalie is the kind of guy that'll get beat on scrambles in front, quick plays originating from behind the net, or one-timers from the backdoor. Needs to work on his puck tracking, and backside recoveries, but the confidence he plays with counts for a lot.

Game 2:

Black goalie easily the best of the bunch. Positioning is great, sharp and clean movements, telescopes out very well, good puck tracking. I think I heard him talking to his players at one point, which is great. No glaring issues with his game, that I could see. Noticed he backed into his net a little too quickly once or twice, but that seemed to be the exception rather than the rule.

White goalie looks passive. Very little movement in his net, hands beside his body, and I don't think I ever saw him get into a really deep crouch for some explosive movements. Seemed a bit slow to regain his feet. He reads the play well, but he needs to get more engaged with what's happening. Challenge farther out, keep his hands more forward and active when tracking the puck, and generally play with a little more urgency than it seems he is.
 

Verdict: I'd rather be shooting at White goalie. Quick rebounds, passing plays, anything that forces him to move is going to open up lots of space above his pads. He's a bit of a bigger boy but, as deep as he plays in the net, shooters are eventually going to start sniping them past his shoulders. Like RichMan said, his technical skills need polish.

Black goalie is solid. For this level of play, he doesn't appear to have any major weaknesses.
 

OVERALL

I'd take the black goalie from Game 2, and the black goalie from Game 1 as my 1st and 2nd, in that order. The black goalie from game 2 is pretty clearly the best, and I feel like the holes in the game of the black goalie from game 1 are more easily corrected than those of either of the white goalies.

The two white goalies, I'm not really decided on. They both play very deep, and much too passive, and while the white goalie from the first game seems more technically skilled he's also quite a bit smaller. Their coachability, and the amount of effort they put in, would determine who I turn to for big games. Tentatively, I'd lean towards the white goalie from game 1, but I could see the white goalie from game 2 taking over later in the season as he gets more practices under his belt.

[estogoalie]

Thanks guys for the feedback.

One more short video, it's only of some drills, so maybe hard to get a feel, but any feedback is welcome. (All 4 jerseys are black, but jersey numbers are visible...)

[RichMan]

Goalie #12: Big guy, has good movement, tracks the puck well. A little slow on recoveries. Needs a little patience.

Goalie #27: Another big guy, good tracking skills, good squareness, very active and good aggressive, good recovery skills, holds tall body in b-fly, challenges well.

Goalie#1: A little slow, plays small in stances and b-fly. He shows signs of confidence issues (body language), he didn't wait long to switch with the other goalie and left the net area instead of sticking around and absorbing what is going on, or at least supporting his drill goalie buddy. This one might need a lot of mental work and nurturing to grow as a better goalie.

Goalie#39 (or is 38?): Plays a little small as well. His gloves a somewhat active, ok on tracking. In all fairness, his shooters were terrible and couldn't seem to execute the drills properly for him to get a good feel and for me to get a good read. I would of made him jump into the other net for a better view. 

The definite top goalie is #27 followed by #12 then it's up in the air with the 2 others.

Rich

[A.YOUNGoalie13]

Black 1- Big kid, decent skater. He lets up bad rebounds and is slow getting into the RVH and has slow recovery. However, his positioning I pretty good and has good tracking.

Black 2- By far the best goalie of the four. Good skater although he has room for improvement. Good tracking, soaks up pucks and has good rebound control for the most part. He stays deep but that works for how he plays.

White 1- The best skater of the four. He is quick and agile and has awesome technique. However, he is nervous to challenge the shooter and seems to be unaware of his skating ability. His tracking is decent and didn’t have many bad rebounds. He also battles hard.

White 2- He needs some work. His tracking is good but he is a very slow skater and his technique is poor.

My opinion- What makes a good goalie is skating and tracking. You can’t stop a puck without those two things. All of these goalies can improve with coaching and if I’m picking a goalie or goalies here’s who I would take:

1- Black 2

2- White 1

3- Black 1

4- White 2