Hockeydirt recently contacted a number of goalie schools to determine if they teach goalies to watch the shooter's eyes.
This issue came up in connection with the complaint and subsequent NHL ban on mirrored & tinted visors like the one Alexander Ovechkin wore last year. It has been suggested that by obscuring the shooter's eyes these visors put goalies at a disadvantage. (Does anyone else think it ironic a member of the goaltending fraternity - a group notorious for "cheating" through equipment modification are quick to cry foul over a visor?)
As reported our initial feedback from Steve McKichan and others, rejected the idea of watching the eyes, emphasizing the need to focus on the puck & the shooter's stick. We also heard from Jim Park, of the Jim Park Goalie School who wrote:
The only person I've heard say he looked at the shooter's was Vladislav Tretiak. We do not teach goalies to look at the eyes but rather to be totally focused on the puck. I would assume that to see where the shooter is looking he would have to be fairly close which is also when he would be shooting the puck so the goalie could get caught. I would think that in order to see exactly where shooter is aiming the goalie would have to be looking at the shooters eyes as he is releasing the puck which makes no sense to me.
The reference to Hall of Famer Vladislav Tretiak is relevant. Tretiak is associated with International Hockey Schools. Goalies attending this school take part in the Tretiak Goalie Camp. Today a representative of this camp had this to say about visors and question of watching the shooter's eyes.
You wrote to us regarding the NHL banning tinted or mirrored visors. Yes, we agree with this ban because we do teach our goalies to look at the shooters eyes. In the NHL the shooters SHOULD not be telegraphing their shot with their eyes but in a one on one or two on one, they do. In lower levels, especially youth and above, shooters are not that sophisticated and will look straight on to what they are shooting at. A goalie needs to read and see the whole picture , puck, stick, body movement…… including the shooters eyes!
So, two schools, two schools of thought. I have to admit, grudgingly, that the ban is valid, but I will miss Ovie's Robo-visor.
Comments