HOH Top 60 Goaltenders of All Time (2024 Edition) - Preliminary Discussion Thread

[Dr John Carlson]

Round 2, Vote 1 thread will be going up tomorrow morning, around 6 eastern. Be on the lookout!

 

[jigglysquishy]

I know we've already voted him in but I still think it's relevant.

I'm reading through Diary of a Dynasty and it goes game by game in the playoffs. Terry Sawchuk gets the highest of praise in the 1960 and 1961 playoffs. Makes it sound like outside him and Howe, the Red Wings were getting thoroughly outplayed in each series against the Leafs. It's years after his prime but he's talked about as frequently the best player on the ice.

 

[rmartin65]

I wish I had thought to post this several months ago, but I had forgotten about it until now. In 1899, Arthur "Art" Farrell, winger and eventual Hall of Famer from the Montreal Shamrocks, published Hockey: Canada's Royal Winter Game. It is apparently in the public domain now, so a link can be found on Wikisource here.

Chapter 4 gives some interesting information about the composition of a team, and leading players of the day described what makes a good player at specific positions, and provided advice for playing their position.

Relevant to this project, here is what Farrell had to say about the Goal-Minder:

"Of all the responsible positions on a team, that of the goal-minder is perhaps the most difficult satisfactorily to fill. It is so hard to stop a strong, well-directed shot, and so many of them pour in during the course of a match, that in the exercise of his work, even though it occurs only periodically, the goaler is called upon to use the greatest skill and coolness. A forward may miss a good chance to score, and the effect is only negative; a point or cover-point man may make a mistake, but there is usually an assistant around to help him; but when the goal-minder makes a blunder, the whistle is blown and a point is placed to the credit of his opponents"

"Mr. F.S. Stocking, the goal-keeper of the Quebec team, and generally recognized throughout Canada as the peer of his position, has kindly contributed the following hints on goal-minding"

There are a couple cool things here, right? Perhaps the most significant in the broader sense is that, at least as of 1899, the goalie position was clearly valued. It was described as "perhaps the most difficult satisfactorily to fill", which, to me, at least, indicates that teams couldn't just put the slowest/worst guy back there. Additionally, the impact of a goalie's mistake was clearly described, with the negative result being worse than the result of mistakes made by players at other positions.

Secondly- it is nice to see Frank Stocking being recognized as the best goalie in Canada by yet another contemporary source. I don't know if he gets discussed in the remaining rounds, but I kind of doubt it... which is a shame.

Stocking provided a bunch of quotes that Farrell included in his book. I'll cite a couple here:

"Goal-keeping is one of the easiest and at the same time one of the most difficult positions to fill successfully on the team"

"It is simple because it is not altogether essential to be an expert skater or stick handler. It is difficult because it requires a quick and true eye together with agility of motion and good judgment"

"Besides keeping his eye on the puck, he must have a good idea where his opponents are placed so as to be prepared to stop a shot resulting from a sudden pass in front of goals"

"I am of the opinion that the goaler should only leave his goals under the following conditions: - First, when he is quite sure that he can reach the puck before an opponent, and when none of his own team are near enough to secure it instead; secondly, when one of the attacking side has succeeded in passing the defence and is coming in (unsupported) towards the goal, then the goaler, judging the time well, may skate out to meet him, being careful that he is directly in line between the shooter and goal. This sudden movement surprises the man and he is liable to shoot the puck inaccurately or against the goaler's body"

"It is a mistake for a goal minder to imagine that he is not doing his duty because three or four, or more points have been scored against him, because the fault may, and very often does, rest up on the poor assistance he receives from his defence and forwards"

"When the play is to his left, he should incline to that side in his goals, touching the pole with his leg and side, and, if to the right, vice versa, but when directly in front, let him be right in the centre of his goals, occupying as much space as possible. He should never rely upon his assistants to stop any shot, but should always be prepared for an emergency. As soon as he stops the puck he should clear to the side, not waiting to be attacked, or if he has plenty of time, lift it towards his opponents' goals, although it is advisable to give it to one of his defence men to deal with, because, through practice, they can usually lift better than he, and, besides, are in a position to start a rush by passing it to their forwards"

"A poor skater who is a good goal-minder would be a better goal-minder if he were a good skater"

Mike Grant wrote the section for the Point position, Hugh Baird wrote the Cover section, Harry Trihey wrote the Forward section, and Gordon Lewis (a former goalie) wrote the referee section.

The whole thing is a good read, and I encourage everyone to give it a glance when they have time.

 

[VanIslander]

The pole talk was a bit much.

But it all read as dated, in a cool way.

(I love dipping into pre-1940s newspapers for descriptive accounts of what's happening.)