Many years ago, I was given an excellent piece of advice about a way to impress the scouts/evaluators at tryout camps or even during the season. Since I did not know better I felt that this person who had "inside" knowledge about what evaluators talked about was giving me a sacred piece of advice. What was the advice you ask?
"Whenever a goaltender is on the ice the scouts should be able to hear that goaltender communicate clearly and loudly no matter where the scouts are located in the stands, at all times."
Now that I am much older and wiser and one half of an up and coming goalie school, we have tried to pass this information onto our students over the last few years. This info goes well with our article on "Preparing for Tryouts and Training Camps". As much as we have stressed the importance of communication in tryouts, training camps and regular season this information is kind of lost in the anxiety of tryouts and rigours of the game. It was very recently that we were evaluating a Midget "AAA" Spring Camp that we realized that most young goalies lack proper on-ice communication skills.
There are two areas of weakness that needs to be addressed:
1. Inconsistency with any verbal communication. Even if there was a goalie that we could hear communicating in a cold, empty rink, while sitting at centre, we would only here intermittent communication. If we even heard the goaltender communicate loudly they seemed to quit doing it when they were active in the play around them. If there was lots of time some would communicate OK, but often the goaltender could not concentrate on the play AND communicate. Goaltenders must be able to do both, at the same time. An example would be if a goalie is being screened by their own teammate, the goalie should tell them to move without losing focus on the situation at hand.
2. Lack of volume; if communication was happening. Some goalies believe they are communicating but do not realize that they are often the only ones who can hear their communication. Goalies have masks that often stifle sound and d-men are usually too rushed to listen unless they are basically being yelled at all the time. When we see army movies/t.v. shows we always see the commanding officer in the face of soldiers yelling at the top of their lungs. Goaltenders are the generals, the commanding officers of a hockey team, and as such need to communicate much the same way on the ice.
I have brought for your viewing pleasure a couple of great clips that really show how strong NHL goaltenders can communicate. When you watch an NHL game on t.v. you can often hear the goaltenders communicate in the background. The following videos show a mic'd up Dwayne Roloson and then Martin Biron mic'd up. Notice the constant chatter, with a ton of volume. The communication is not elaborate just timed well, loud and short.
Dwayne Roloson (Excellent communication under pressure)
YouTube - Roloson Mic'd Up
Martin Biron (Excellent communication with more time)
YouTube - Mic'd up with Marty 4/8/07
Hope this was enjoyable and informative. Take care.