“There’s a heavy emphasis put on skating and edgework. Now it’s not necessarily just stopping the puck but rather how do you stop it, how can you put yourself in the best position possible to make a second save or third save if necessary,” said Daniels.
For practices, Daniels suggests having goalies handle the pucks like they would in a game – be involved in breakouts and managing the puck behind the net. If a team has a goalie coach, have the head coach be familiar with their conversations and terminology used.
Daniels is an advocate of having players try the position if they choose, but not having to be locked down at a young age. The OMHA’s Goalie Assist program gives a free set of goalie gear to Associations to lend out to young players interested in being a goalie without having to make the financial commitment of buying the gear.