Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Stand-Up vs Butterfly Goalie
A lot of people wonder weather it is better to be a stand up goalie or a butterfly goalie. The answer is butterfly goalie. There are a lot more reasons to be a butterfly goalie than to be a stand up goalie. Most goals that are scored in the NHL are scored down low. If you can eliminate those goals then all you have to worry about is getting beat up high. So that you don't get beat up high make sure that you come out of the net far enough that if the puck goes over your shoulder, it will go over the cross bar too. If you watch some of the top goalies in the NHL, almost all of them go down on almost every shot. If the shot is taken from a long way off and you have time to stand up and move into the puck, then do that but anything in close I would say that your best bet is to go down.
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Great advice I will be passing on to my aspiring goalie.
ReplyDeleteTelling someone to stick to one particular style or saying which is better is just pure opinion. The best advice is to not be "locked" into any one style but to be knowledgeable in all aspects of goaltending. The most successful, not popular, "style" in the NHL is actually the modern hybrid style, not butterfly. Well trained goalies will always make faster saves from their basic position, not the butterfly. Go down when needed, otherwise stay on your skate.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. All this butterfly stuff is cowardly and misguided. Just look at how poor brizgalov played by always going down and playing the odds. All the shooters knew his tendencies and would easily score high. Goaltenders r extremely boring to watch in thus new gimmicky paradigm. I am 55 and remember when hockey was exciting and not a joke.
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