Adopting the "Hybrid" style

[Zay1993]

Thanks everyone! I do play a more reactionary style over a blocking style. I try not to ever go down to early and leave the top part of the net uncovered. I've been coached by a few goalie coaches around here but they teach strict butterfly style only. They tell me to squeeze my hands/arms in tight and have my stick angled out in front of me. I don't agree with those methods completely. It is good to get tight and big sometimes but not ALL the time IMO.

I only stack the pads when I absolutely must. I'd say I play a bit like Huet and Hasek. I don't flop around nearly as much as Hasek but I do flop more than most goalies. It sickens me when I see goalies give up on the play. I remember watching Bryz play when he was in Anaheim, a player takes a shot it misses the net and he goes behind the net to fetch the puck but the puck bounces weirdly and goes in front of the net to a player on the other team. He just stands there and watches the player shoot! When I saw that I lost all respect I had in Bryz. (End rant!)

I like to poke check a lot to and I didn't make this thread so I could switch to hybrid style, but more learn some more techniques other than your basic stay square and cover down low. I'd say I'm 75% Butterfly and 25% hybrid. I sometimes use the half butterfly as well. I'm not saying I'm bad at butterflying, I'm actually quite good and have strong legs, but more saves in the bag will make me a better goalie.

I do try to lead with my stick when I'm on the ice and I've been getting better at that. I'm not trying to switch just to be different as I said I want more saves in the bag so I can be better. I'll check out the Mitch Korn website as well. I can't afford to travel anywhere for goalie camps right now though.

Thanks a lot guys! Keep the tips coming!

To SAW. If your just starting out in net the best piece of advice I can give is have fun! Don't worry what other people say about you, just get out there and play the game! I'm guessing since you have USA hockey certification that your already a good skater. Skating is the most important skill a goaltender can have. Ask as much questions as you want! We're all here to learn right?

[Declyn]

Originally Posted by Huntster

I understand what you are saying but at the same time are you playing at the pro level?

There are so few hybrid goalies for a reason at the pro level. The ones that are ,are so exceptional in other areas that they still can be effective at a very high level.

no not a pro but i have been playing a long time, so i have had plenty of time to develop any of the save selections that i use.

if i were kind of new i would (and probably did back then) keep it super simple.

what drives me nuts is what has all ready been mentioned, and thats the profly goalie going to his knees for every single shot and doing it early.

i actually gave a friend of mine a hard time about making a sweet blocker save from his knees... i said 'umm you realize that if you had just stood there you would have hardly have to move to make that save?'

instead he had all ready dropped to his knees and had to make a flashy blocker move to make the save.

that being said i do make a profly save on occasion, i mean it is a valid save selection.

but what i do can hardly be called a profly save... my pad are old enough there is no landing gear, no intentional rotation.... my pads are as far from 'modern' as possible. (heaton H6 pads fyi).

i even use toe buckles!

[NHLAlum Target]

Originally Posted by Declyn

i actually gave a friend of mine a hard time about making a sweet blocker save from his knees... i said 'umm you realize that if you had just stood there you would have hardly have to move to make that save?'

Ah, that is too funny.

[RichMan]

Flopartist and Devilman made good comments IMO.

I started in the late '70s, so the Penny/Bouchard/Moog/Bannerman/Vandbeisbrook/Hrudey/etc of the times were all my examples by which i learned from. Then at age 19 i left the game. Lots had changed when i came back at age 30. The b-fly/pro-fly was getting to be the standard. Of course it took me a LONG time to learn it and adapt it to my game. I'm still struggling some with it. What i hate most about it though is that i'm starting to use it too often, as if it's taking over my traditional hybrid style.

Now don't get me wrong...i still make the pads stacks, the split save, the skate save...but i find myself making the wrong choice(a b-fly save) on what could of been a simple sure save had i waited and kept my stance.

Remember Zay...goaltending is about being smart and thinking ahead and being patient. I try to see the outcome of the play before it fully unveils, like cutting the pass off, calling out the trailer, seeing the passing lane, etc. You want to anticipate the next move, but be carefull not to get fooled in guessing where and how the shot will be coming.

What sets TT and Brodeur and Dom apart from the others is their will to never give up on the save. Ever!

Have fun with it Zay

[Goalieworld20]

I think that u are putting too much emphasis on your over all style and not the save itself. Each shot has a certain ay to stop it.

Ur style pretty much just determines whether u r on your knees or not when making the save. I being a blocking b-fly goalie make pretty much every save on my knees. A hybrid will drop soemtimes but not always depening on the height of the shot, the traffic etc. A sand-up goalie, which i doudt many of are left, will make most saves with at least one skate blade on the ice.

It has been shown that the butterfly style dominates the old school standup. Only the extremely athletic and abnormally skilled can pull it off (i.e. brodeur).

Just go out there and develope a way of making saves for yourself. A good goaliew roks by a system and great one works around a system. This means that u adopt a stile of play but you change it in places to make it your own instead of adhereing to every rule that goes with it.

[Declyn]

one thing i thought of last night about this thread was the 'dont ever give up on the puck' comment that a lot of folks are saying.

i think that tends to dictate my style more than anything really. time and time again i have refs coming up to me saying 'bet you $20 bucks you couldnt do that again!' and i typically respond with 'you are probably right! but hopefully i wont have to.'

i actually made a save very similar to the behind the head glove save marty made recently. but i did it with my stick.

there was no plan for it, no thought process, nada. i had lost sight of the puck and it was going over my head and i just reflexively swatted at it. i got lucky and knocked it away.

after a whistle one of my D men came up and told me if i hadnt done that it was going to be a goal.

i make lots of 'highlight reel' saves because of my never give up mentality.

that and i am not very effecient some times when i get tired so i create the opportunity for that type of save myself some times lol.

[Thatkidrayray]

I'd like to put some input on this and say that playing goal is just a series of saves and like metioned alot before play with what works for you not any of these guys because some have been playing for a very long time and know how to play "stand up", "hybrid" so and so. I started playing about a year ago and the butterfly i think is a great style because todays game is about low shots and less about higher shots. To be a hybrid goalie it takes much athletic ablity and quickness reaction time and alot of practice thats why butterfly is taught its simple and very effective. Many of us would like to play as quick and be effective with hybrid as marty brodeur and vesa toskala but we cant be and so just work with what you have change little things tighten up your game before wanting to just try new things. Dont be consumed by what the next guy is doing do what is confortable for you and what you can do to stop shots. especially since were not the tallest guys your 5'9 im 5'10 so we have to be quicker than a butterflying 6'0-6'4 person that covers a lot of net. So just do what works for you dont try too much to play hybrid because thats a dying breed and alot of goals now in days are low and not high thats why butterfly is dominating and it works!. So anyways thats my opinion and if anyone wants to chime in let me know if im wrong on certain things let me know. Keep your head up zay keep battling every day.

-Ray

[flopartist]

Originally Posted by Thatkidrayray

... So just do what works for you dont try too much to play hybrid because thats a dying breed and alot of goals now in days are low and not high thats why butterfly is dominating and it works!. So anyways thats my opinion and if anyone wants to chime in let me know if im wrong on certain things let me know. Keep your head up zay keep battling every day.

-Ray

I personally believe Hybrid will always be around. Its a nice blend of saves which use butterfly/profly and stand up techniques.

Players are smart today and wait for the more inexperienced goalies to bite on a fake and drop to their knees.

Perhaps we all should just stay on our skates for as long as possible, read and react, never give up....regardless of our style of play!

[Declyn]

Originally Posted by Thatkidrayray

I'd like to put some input on this and say that playing goal is just a series of saves and like metioned alot before play with what works for you not any of these guys because some have been playing for a very long time and know how to play "stand up", "hybrid" so and so. I started playing about a year ago and the butterfly i think is a great style because todays game is about low shots and less about higher shots. To be a hybrid goalie it takes much athletic ablity and quickness reaction time and alot of practice thats why butterfly is taught its simple and very effective. Many of us would like to play as quick and be effective with hybrid as marty brodeur and vesa toskala but we cant be and so just work with what you have change little things tighten up your game before wanting to just try new things. Dont be consumed by what the next guy is doing do what is confortable for you and what you can do to stop shots. especially since were not the tallest guys your 5'9 im 5'10 so we have to be quicker than a butterflying 6'0-6'4 person that covers a lot of net. So just do what works for you dont try too much to play hybrid because thats a dying breed and alot of goals now in days are low and not high thats why butterfly is dominating and it works!. So anyways thats my opinion and if anyone wants to chime in let me know if im wrong on certain things let me know. Keep your head up zay keep battling every day.

-Ray

i will gladly accept that post above as a huge compliment and totally ignore any inference to my potential age and how long i have been playing, and that i might die soon lol.

uh btw have you been talking to my Dr.? is there something she isnt telling me?!?!?

[pck30]

Originally Posted by flopartist

Perhaps we all should just stay on our skates for as long as possible, read and react, never give up....regardless of our style of play!

That's really all there is to it. There's probably hundreds of ways to stop any given shot and there's probably an infinite number of ways to let that shot in. The only important thing is that you wait long enough to know where the shot is going so you can choose one of those save options that is going to be effective.

I wear b-fly pads personally but I don't consider myself a butterfly goaltender. I stay on my feet a long time, waiting for the shooter to commit. Sometimes I butterfly, a lot of the time I don't. I just found it was nice to have pads that would butterfly properly when I needed them to.

[goaliematt76]

I agree that what matters is the ability to stop the puck, not the name of the style. Just play to your strengths and find what works for you. For example, if you are a big goalie, play a more positionally-based style. If you are fast, challenge the shooter more. I myself am very flexible, and that also is reflected in my style.

Just remember that what works for someone else might not be right for you, and that's okay. Just experiment with different things until you find what is right.

[Goalieworld20]

In my opinion and in the opision o most positional butterfly goalies or just positional goalies in general are that if a highlight reel save needed to be made, the splits needed to be used, I dived etc then we messed up somewhere before. While we can do all of these things our gameplan is to never have to because we are always in the right place and always put the puck in the right place. Now this can never be done all the time and that is where reflex and talent come into play.

[flopartist]

Originally Posted by Goalieworld20

In my opinion and in the opision o most positional butterfly goalies or just positional goalies in general are that if a highlight reel save needed to be made, the splits needed to be used, I dived etc then we messed up somewhere before. While we can do all of these things our gameplan is to never have to because we are always in the right place and always put the puck in the right place. Now this can never be done all the time and that is where reflex and talent come into play.

I totally agree that being in position is key. This applies to all styles of play in my opinion. I feel the highlight saves are usually the second and third effort where the first couple of saves may have temporarily taken the goalie out of position. Almost anyone can get out of position if certain sequence of events occur.

As you said, its all about reflexes at that point. Some choose to have an orthodox approach regardless of what the scenario is. It just does not work for me. Different strokes for different folks...

[leaferguy]

Adopt a hybrid from a foreign country. There are so many there that need loving caretakers.

[Goalieworld20]

Originally Posted by flopartist

I totally agree that being in position is key. This applies to all styles of play in my opinion. I feel the highlight saves are usually the second and third effort where the first couple of saves may have temporarily taken the goalie out of position. Almost anyone can get out of position if certain sequence of events occur.

As you said, its all about reflexes at that point. Some choose to have an orthodox approach regardless of what the scenario is. It just does not work for me. Different strokes for different folks...

Yes, i dont see anyway to take apositional approach to certain situations and that is when i will use thesplits, dive, or even throw my stick haha. I believe that a penalty shot justgives me another chance to stop something that was a goal.

But if you played a game with perfect position and put the puck where it should be after every shot, you would have a shutout and every save would have looked easy. But that is just impossible, perfection is the best goal to strive for because it is unattainnable