09/28/2026
Team coaches, include your goalies with this simple drill to enhance their D-zone threat awareness, positioning and depth adjustments, making adjustments on feet if possible, & maintaining hands toward the puck.
In the 1st clip, our skater takes the puck out of the corner, cutting toward the middle of the ice at the top of the circle. Our goaltender must recognize that throughout the carry along the boards, there isn’t an immediate shot threat, & can apply a higher and more relaxed stance while making small angle adjustments. However, although they do a great job of positioning themself well for a shot from the puck carrier, they leave themself at a disadvantage for a quick backdoor pass due to an overcommitment of their depth to the shot.
As the 2nd puck is carried out from the corner, the goaltender does a fine job with applying an overlap to commit to the shot possibility, then executing a well-timed RVH in-tight. However, once the pass to the net front is made, our goaltender opts to slide rather than to execute a recovery to their feet for a more precise attempt to maintain position and depth for the shot. This choice results in our pass recipient, gaining control, and adjusting the angle of the puck by bringing it in toward them for a shot release while the goaltender over-slides their position.
Clip 2: The goaltender adjusts angle & depth well with puck 1, and opts to get deeper in their stance in anticipation of a backdoor pass while not giving away too much of their net. Puck 2 remains an issue however. This time, our goaltender applies an overlap for the walk out from the corner, & doesn’t drop into an RVH. Although he maintained a deep stance & readying himself for the in-tight shot, he places himself at a disadvantage with his footing, feeling the need for the ex*****on of butterfly slide as their method for tracking their pass. Although a slide may have been appropriate, hands toward the puck becomes more crucial. In this repetition, our goaltender opts to apply a blocking butterfly slide, pulling their hands back & exposing more net when unable to gain centred position on the puck.
