from Jamie McLellan of TSN,
Long gone are the days where before the game, a goaltender could focus simply on taping a stick, getting his skates to feel right as far as sharpness or how tight or loose he wanted his pads. These certainly are factors that go into getting ready, but with today's age of video, breakdowns and readily accessible information, there is so much more preparation that goes into the mindset of getting ready for a team. When I first started at the pro level, the research was done by word of mouth, asking around from other players about tendencies. Coaches shared info sometimes with each other but ultimately you would watch highlights from TV, that was pretty much it.
Now there are so many layers to the Pre Scout.
What got me thinking about it was watching Peter Mrazek make a save on Mikko Koivu in a shootout on Wednesday night between Detroit and Minnesota. If you watch his glove position as Koivu skates towards the net, you could clearly tell that Mrazek knew his move in the shootout which is a very quick forehand-to-backhand move that finishes with a top shelf shot. His glove was waiting for it, and he made it look easy.
The first thing that came to my mind was that guaranteed, the goalie coach had prepared him that if the game went to the shootout, Koivu would shoot and there would be a high probability that he would use that move.
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