Tryouts...View from an Evaluator
Every goalie instructor and evaluator is going to have a systematic way of parsing the skills of a goalie. Below, I am outlining my very simple list of skills based on the goalie’s age into two very broad categories. The first category is “What I expect to see” from a goalie at that age level. These are the basic and necessary skills required to play competitive hockey at the age level for a goaltender. The second category is “What I wish to see” for a goalie at that age level. These are the skills that can help goalies make themselves stand out from the rest of the pack in their age-division. You may not possess all these “bonus” skills, but the more you can competently and consistently demonstrate, the better your chances at getting recognized.
ATOM AGE
What I expect to see:
- Basic skating skills
- Goalie specific skating skills (shuffles, t-pushes, & telescoping)
- Proper recoveries
- Stick discipline
- Positioning (laterally/angles)
What I would wish to see:
- Active stick
- Down movement (butterfly slides/butterfly shuffles)
- Rebound control
- Post-leg up
- Speed
- Controlled breakaway saves
- Puck tracking on high shots
- Positioning (depth selection is appropriate)
- Flexibility
PEE-WEE AGE
What I expect to see:
ALL THE ABOVE
What I would wish to see:
- Handling the puck
- Communicating
- Puck control vs puck stopping
- Handling the puck
- Battle skills
- Puck tracking on low shots
- Read/react skills on low vs high shots
- Patience
BANTAM AGE
What I expect to see:
ALL THE ABOVE
What I would wish to see:
- Playing the puck
- Quarterbacking the defense
- Leadership
- Defensive zone situational intelligence
Again the list of skills is not complete or comprehensive. They are just a guideline about what goalie should be able to do and what they CAN do to surprise me.