4 ms·

I feel like I would like to agree with the article, but I don't. It's described in a way that makes one believe that it's completely impossible to score a goal

I feel like I would like to agree with the article, but I don't. It's described in a way that makes one believe that it's completely impossible to score a goal in a one-on-one situation, as the goalie can just sit on his knees and not move. As is evident by any recent shootout one may watch, this is not the case. And regarding the good old times when goalies had to be acrobatic to actually make saves. Just yesterday I saw a highlight of Korpisalo from Blue Jackets making a crazy reaching stick-save to deny an empty-netter. I think it's fine. I find the game exciting and dynamic enough to watch.

adventured 6y ago
I agree with what you said. Goals per game are comparable to where they were at 15-20 years ago, as well as in the 1950s and 1960s. Goals are considerably down from the late 1970s and 1980s. Larger goalies are merely properly offsetting the offensive gains made from better sticks and the slap shot, which had temporarily provided a scoring advantage and boosted goals per game. Rather than it being a problem as implied by the article, larger goalies have balanced the game back out and returned it to where it was.
bradfa 6y ago
I played ice hockey goalie growing up, in high school, intramurals in college, and then men's league for a while. The game definitely changed over the course of me playing it. I started playing goalie around 1991 and fondly remember having to do "kick save" drills and learning to "T glide". The game has changed, no goalies do kick saves anymore, it's just not an effective way to stop the puck. But to say that goalies today aren't acrobatic or fit or flexible or amazing athletes is totally wrong. To be able to put your body into the butterfly position, to be able to push off to move while staying in the butterfly, to be able to slide post to post as the puck moves behind the net and keep the post-side leg upright: THIS IS EXTREMELY HARD! Goalies today are basically 6 foot+ tall gymnasts. My knees, groin, and hips surely can no longer perform the kinds of movements which I used to be able to do. I was not anywhere near being NHL caliber, so maybe I have a different appreciation for watching top level goalies today. But damn, these goalies today are seriously impressive in how they can move their bodies. Sure, the equipment regulations might need to change for bantam or midget level leagues and up, but the younger kids aren't big enough to take advantage of the equipment so any changes the NHL wants to implement shouldn't affect the vast majority of kids playing the game today until (if) they get to a high level of play and high school age or beyond. I think the NHL should continue to change the rules, not just for goalies, but for the whole game. And if things work, then other leagues should adopt those rules over time, too.

adventured 6y ago

I agree with what you said. Goals per game are comparable to where they were at 15-20 years ago, as well as in the 1950s and 1960s. Goals are considerably down from the late 1970s and 1980s. Larger goalies are merely properly offsetting the offensive gains made from better sticks and the slap shot, which had temporarily provided a scoring advantage and boosted goals per game. Rather than it being a problem as implied by the article, larger goalies have balanced the game back out and returned it to where it was.

bradfa 6y ago

I played ice hockey goalie growing up, in high school, intramurals in college, and then men's league for a while. The game definitely changed over the course of me playing it. I started playing goalie around 1991 and fondly remember having to do "kick save" drills and learning to "T glide". The game has changed, no goalies do kick saves anymore, it's just not an effective way to stop the puck. But to say that goalies today aren't acrobatic or fit or flexible or amazing athletes is totally wrong. To be able to put your body into the butterfly position, to be able to push off to move while staying in the butterfly, to be able to slide post to post as the puck moves behind the net and keep the post-side leg upright: THIS IS EXTREMELY HARD! Goalies today are basically 6 foot+ tall gymnasts. My knees, groin, and hips surely can no longer perform the kinds of movements which I used to be able to do. I was not anywhere near being NHL caliber, so maybe I have a different appreciation for watching top level goalies today. But damn, these goalies today are seriously impressive in how they can move their bodies. Sure, the equipment regulations might need to change for bantam or midget level leagues and up, but the younger kids aren't big enough to take advantage of the equipment so any changes the NHL wants to implement shouldn't affect the vast majority of kids playing the game today until (if) they get to a high level of play and high school age or beyond. I think the NHL should continue to change the rules, not just for goalies, but for the whole game. And if things work, then other leagues should adopt those rules over time, too.