When I take that very first sip of a really cold drink on a sweltering summer day, as soon as the liquid hits my tongue, I want to consume the whole damn thing. Because I want it so badly, it’s like trying to suck down a thick milkshake through a tiny straw; I simply can’t drink it fast enough.
It becomes an internal battle between patience and pleasure, and most of the time, I end up with a brain freeze. It’s only when I take a step back and breathe, and then realize that slower is actually better, that I truly succeed in quenching my thirst.
Photo Copyright Justin Goldman – The Goalie Guild
This is my metaphor used to describe Nick Taylor‘s experience in the Elite Goalies Mentorship Camp.
As a first-year goalie in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), Taylor didn’t earn many starts for the Victoria Grizzlies. But he earned enough to know that he was really thirsty for even more games next season. That reason alone led him to attend Mike Valley’s exclusive camp in Madison, WI.
But since there is such a thing as trying to do too much too soon, when breaking down Taylor’s progress during the camp, it’s important to first understand a bit of the chemistry behind his mindset.
Essentially, every goalie is not only unique in terms of their style and mechanics, but also in the way they think the game. We all process the same things, but in different ways, at different speeds, and with different results.
Some absorb information effortlessly; they’re shown or told something, and it automatically seeps into their subconscious like suntan lotion into their pores. Others, like Nick, are extremely analytical, and you can almost see the extensive energy they expel when they extrapolate what they see and hear.
Although it may inevitably take goalies like Nick a little longer to apply what they learn because they sometimes try to do everything all at once, this isn’t a bad thing at all — it’s simply one way in which we’re all different.
Because of this, Nick’s experience working with Valley was inexplicably huge for his development. For, as a smaller goaltender (5-foot-10), he came to realize after the first two days that being successful next season meant understanding how to play bigger, but by moving less.
Photo Copyright Justin Goldman – The Goalie Guild
No, I certainly don’t think there’s any correlation between a goalie’s size and how quickly they process information. But my guess is that many smaller goalies, especially in today’s game, need a little more time to understand how to play bigger. Again, this obviously depends on the individual, but when I reflect on all of the goalies I’ve ever scouted, most of the smaller ones face a tougher learning curve.
Fortunately, Valley knows exactly how to mentor and mold a smaller goalie. Stars goaltender Richard Bachman is actually 1-2 inches shorter than Taylor, but went from playing in the USHL, to the NCAA, then turned pro, and with Valley at his side, rose from the ECHL to the AHL to the NHL.
Because Valley knows what a smaller goalie needs to do in order to thrive at the highest levels, when the end of the week rolled around, Nick had put some crucial pieces of his game together, and in my opinion, was the best goalie on the ice on Thursday.
In terms of his skills, Nick possesses many traits that I think makes him capable of excelling in the BCHL.
He has quick hands and feet, well-rounded fundamentals, active hands (stick, glove, blocker), and quality athleticism. He’ll cover a lot of ice quickly, and he’ll find ways to make those desperation saves in tight. He has good flexibility and strength, and he reads plays well.
I liked Taylor’s stance and crouch, and his low center of gravity made him well-balanced when making initial saves. His ability to seal the ice when making lateral saves improved every day of the week, as did his upper body positioning. He was doing less leaning as time went on, and ultimately covering more distance with his butterfly pushes and slides.
I also liked the fact that he displayed a strong ability to battle, which is an absolute must for his size. He didn’t settle for simply getting behind a puck, either. He got behind it and pushed out, using his edges to track vertically in order make himself a bit bigger.
In terms of Nick’s surface area coverage, one thing I did notice was that the outer ridge of his glove curled in, which reduced his overall coverage by just a few inches. That’s something he can’t afford, however, as there were a few goals each day that snuck just underneath his hand, or soared just past the outside of his glove. The picture below is a good example of what I saw:
Photo Copyright Justin Goldman – The Goalie Guild
When it comes to the way Taylor thought the game, however, the biggest improvement he made this week was mental — just calming and quieting everything down. I got the sense that he over-analyzed the way he executed and moved through drills, and this interfered with some of the tweaks he was trying to make.
I’d say (it’s impossible to know for sure since I’m not in his head) he had a tendency to break things down to the microscopic level. Again, this isn’t always a bad thing, but as Mike and other NHL goalie coaches have told me many times before, analysis can lead to paralysis.
As a smaller goalie myself (I’m 6-foot-0), I know how frustrating this learning process of “playing big” can be. It’s even more frustrating when you see bigger goalies move so smoothly, take up so much space, and exert such little energy in order to make the same saves in the same drills.
Taylor had to watch Adam Clark, a 6-foot-5 goalie, improve by leaps and bounds last week, while both Landon Peterson and Josh Robinson had a few inches on him, too.
Despite being the smallest guy out there, he worked hard every single on-ice session, he was fiercely focused during the off-ice and video sessions, he asked a ton of questions, and he compartmentalized a lot of information in an effective manner (especially on Thursday).
I think what became the ultimate lesson in terms of Taylor’s development was the fact that he recognized the different path he had to take in order to play bigger, and he did whatever he could to make the adjustments. He was 100-percent receptive to Valley’s tweaks, and that’s why I think everyone on the coaching staff was so proud of him; it was easy to see that he was over-thinking things at times on Tuesday and Wednesday, so when it all came together on Thursday, everything clicked.
That’s a great moment for any goalie to experience, but especially one that realizes less is actually more.
Taylor’s performance last week was also an example of why I admire smaller goalies, and believe that they will always thrive, always exist, and always excel at the highest levels.
A smaller goalie has to work so damn hard to become elite, and to cover the net like a bigger goalie. There is simply no way they can succeed unless they have amazing footwork, and since footwork is the foundation of successful goaltending, they work hand-in-hand. You can’t have one without the other, and Nick’s footwork is improving.
Photo Copyright Justin Goldman – The Goalie Guild
And like I said in a tweet a few days ago to Drew Owsley, smaller goalies simply have to work harder and think the game smarter, yet they’re often brushed aside. It’s frustrating, but goaltending is rarely ever fair. It takes a steely resolve and a never-ending perseverance to keep battling through the multiple obstacles.
Odds are stacked against them in ways they can’t control (size is genetic), yet some still rise above and dominate even the biggest goalies in the world. For every 50 Ben Bishops out there, we’ll always have a Jonathan Quick, a Dominik Hasek, or a Tim Thomas. And I don’t think that will ever change.
So if you’re a smaller goalie reading this, remember the lesson Taylor learned last week; the biggest key to improving your game is to increase your net coverage, but without over-moving. You have to be in position to cover space on rebounds and second or third opportunities, but that won’t happen if you challenge too much on initial shots.
No, this skill is not easy to accomplish when you grow up playing aggressively, but it’s possible. It just takes a little more time and a little more dedication.
Ultimately, I think Taylor’s terrific progress last week can be summed up in one vital quote. It came from Josh Trowbridge, the head instructor at the Trowbridge Martial Arts Academy in Madison.
“Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast,” Josh said.
Think about that for a second.
Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.
For Nick, this “mind-over-matter” lesson reflected my metaphor from the beginning of this profile:
Breathe before you try to go a million miles an hour. Don’t try to consume your tasty milkshake with a tiny straw in one gulp.
At first, Nick’s mind and body raced when trying to follow Valley’s feedback. His breathing wasn’t controlled, he was tense, tight, constricted and rigid. Most of this stemmed from the fact he seemed (from my perspective) to over-think things.
But by Thursday afternoon, Taylor had slowed everything down, smoothed everything out, and looked much more controlled and effective in the crease. This made him appear faster, because he was more positionally sound with both his hands and his body.
Instead of stretching and lunging to make his saves, Nick was pushing with more power and precision, and his refined depth and angles made him look way bigger in net. He was “there” on one-timers, his back was more upright, his shoulders were square. He just looked way more solid.
So remember, it’s not how fast you can go, or how aggressive you can be when challenging a shooter. It’s more about how well you can read and process plays, how smooth and relaxed you can move, and how precise or economical you can be with your angles.
Bigger isn’t always better, because smarts trumps size. And if a smaller goalie is smarter than a bigger goalie, he’ll be ranked higher on my list.
That’s the lesson Nick took home with him last Friday, and that got him one step closer to achieving his dream of becoming an elite goalie.
Photo Copyright Justin Goldman – The Goalie Guild
JG: Talk about your experience this week. I think you came a really long way, especially on Thursday.
NT: “Oh for sure. It was a bunch of small adjustments. Really simplifying my game, not over-reacting or over-moving on pucks. Tons of little things like my hand positioning, my blocker, things that Mike picks up that you don’t notice when you’re playing every day. So yeah, it has been a really good week for me.”
JG: Talk a little bit about your first season in the BCHL with the Grizzlies.
NT: “It was a bit of an up and down season. It was really good to get into the league. We weren’t the most dominant team, but at the same time it was good; you’re playing against really good quality shooters and you get really good exposure. We started off a little rocky, but everything kind of started to come together and I started to gel with the team more.”
JG: This camp has to be a confidence booster for you guys. What are your own goals moving forward?
NT: “You really want to fine-tune the things, and then consistently work on them the rest of the summer. I just want to have a really good year and dominate and show that I can be the starter and number one guy, and just give yourself an opportunity to learn that [NCAA] Division-I scholarship.”
JG: As a smaller goaltender, what have you learned from Mike this week about playing bigger in net?
NT: “The biggest thing is actually playing deeper. I found I would always come out a little bit too far, or growing up, I’d always challenge the play a lot. Being smaller, as you slide over, you’re opening up net space. So what Mike has really done is teach me in certain positions and certain situations to play deeper and make yourself look bigger by spreading out your arms and widening your butterfly and certain stuff like that to take up that net space, but without over-challenging too much. It helps make my game much easier and it simplifies it all.”
JG: The Martial Arts classes were grueling but were so mind-expanding. How was that experience for you?
NT: “It’s pretty neat. That’s probably one of the biggest things about my game that I’ve always wanted to improve on is my mental game and getting into the zone, and then holding yourself there. It’s one of the things that not many guys know about. It’s a really cool aspect and I’m pretty fortunate to work with Josh. Mike knows a ton about that stuff as well. It’s a huge thing if you can get in the zone and meditate, get in that state and not be shaken out of it.”
JG: Was there one drill or one moment this week where everything seemed to click for you?
NT: “It was probably Thursday. Really kind of brought everything together because I was struggling with bringing my left toe on certain stops, or bringing my blocker hand inside of my body and really trying to push that stuff out Monday through Wednesday. On Thursday, I was trying not to think about it too much, and with the videos and the classes with Josh, it all came together for me at the end.”
