They say goalies should always be cool, calm and collected.
They say goalies should always be the most composed and stoic players on the ice, too. No egregious celebrating, no display of emotion when giving up a goal, winning a game, or when their team scores.
They say goalies should essentially move, think and look exactly the same, no matter what is happening, all the time.
When I hear people say these things, I tend to worry.
Starting in February, NHL.com correspondent and goalie specialist from The Goalie Guild Justin Goldman will be dishing the goods on NHL goalie prospects in a new monthly feature called The Next Wave. For this inaugural report, we picked three “All-Stars” that have impressed us the most so far this season. Be sure to check back next month when we profile any prospects that changed sweaters as a result of the 2012 NHL Trade Deadline.
When I was growing up in Dallas, Chris Osgood was my hero. I collected his hockey cards, I watched every single Red Wings game I could, I cut out his newspaper clippings and I followed him on a daily basis. It was a religious aspect of my life as a young athlete.
As a goaltender and in many walks of life, a young man’s deeds becomes an old man’s wisdom.
I remember the very first time I watched Chris Osgood play a playoff game in the NHL. It aired on ESPN2 and featured the Detroit Red Wings against the San Jose Sharks in Game 7 of the 1994 Western Conference Quarterfinals. With the game tied 3-3 late in the third period, Osgood went to clear a puck around the boards, but it landed on Jamie Baker’s stick and ended up in the back of Osgood’s net.