Confirmed with Link: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen Signed for 5 years 4.75 AAV

[Dingo44]

 

[Deep Blue Metallic]

Nice signing for both parties. Really happy that 6K is finally living up to his pedigree (OHL Player of the Year, WJC Gold Medalist), after major surgery and some difficulty in adapting to the pro game.

We should be realistic about his future though. Half a season of stellar play isn't a huge sample size, and there's a decent possibility of regression or plateauing at a level that disappoints us.

I'm cautiously optimistic be continues to improve. Consistently competent team defense would help a lot. Over to you, Lindy.

 

[MOGlLNY]

He was sitting around collecting dust while the organization tried to force Levi as the starter. The only reason he started to play was because Comrie got injured. Then it took until sometime in December for KA to realize Levi wasn't ready, or that UPL was clearly better. The team basically had to be slapped in the face to see that UPL should be starting.

Think my memory has flushed out that disaster season but I feel like people were saying UPL should be the starter in late November because he played well enough, then he lost his grip on it in December when the team faltered and then obviously lit the world on fire January on.

 

[Fezzy126]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1816458711562403933

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1816458711562403933

Not a huge sampling, but he he looks like a completely different goaltender last year compared to the year prior when you look at it side-by side like that. He used to overcommit way too early and seems to have mostly fixed it.

 

[Fezzy126]

Not a huge sampling, but he he looks like a completely different goaltender last year compared to the year prior when you look at it side-by side like that. He used to overcommit way too early and seems to have mostly fixed it.

Yeah, I had completely written him off. I didn't think you could make big gains in things like Puck tracking and "playing bigger" in net.

Glad I was wrong...

 

[TheMistyStranger]

I'm just glad I was right with my prediction that he'd be the starter by November

 

[Dingo44]

 

[Jacob582]

He's a giant!

 

[TheMistyStranger]

I wish agents worked with their players about how to show personality in videos so that they stop recording messages that look and sound like they were done under duress

 

[Zman5778]

I wish agents worked with their players about how to show personality in videos so that they stop recording messages that look and sound like they were done under duress

That's not an agent thing. That's PR training. Now, could the agent hook a player up with a PR trainer? Sure. But a lot of these guys (just like in real life) are set to not show emotion/personality by default.

 

[Chainshot]

That's not an agent thing. That's PR training. Now, could the agent hook a player up with a PR trainer? Sure. But a lot of these guys (just like in real life) are set to not show emotion/personality by default.

Most agencies have PR folks either on staff or a consultancy. But it's not like most of these guys are much more than anyone else when doing this sort of thing.

 

[TheMistyStranger]

I remember watching Sidney Crosby pre-draft on some late night talk show and it was so painful. Yeah he was a kid but dude. Have some personality. Have some energy. They're all coached to be so stolid and professional and it's boring af

 

[Jacob582]

If they are nervous doing a recording then they are going to sound like they are doing it under duress.

 

[Jim Bob]

Most agencies have PR folks either on staff or a consultancy. But it's not like most of these guys are much more than anyone else when doing this sort of thing.

The other thing is that UPL is doing the video in a language that is not his native tongue. Tons of Europeans can sound stiff when doing all kinds of media just because of the language barrier.



Not every pro athlete is an aspiring Tik Tok star.

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

Not a huge sampling, but he he looks like a completely different goaltender last year compared to the year prior when you look at it side-by side like that. He used to overcommit way too early and seems to have mostly fixed it.

Yeah, I had completely written him off. I didn't think you could make big gains in things like Puck tracking and "playing bigger" in net.

Glad I was wrong...

The year prior, the team was leaving back door unattended every game. I think it was a result of the horrendous D-zone coverage that brought a bit of panic into UPL and Comrie's game. Anderson was different just because of his experience.

 

[Ace]

Not only did he look like a completely different goalie…more impressively he looked like it consistently the entire season. There were no stretches where he reverted back to his out of position and unable to get back structure of previous years. He was technically improved and consistent about it. It’s a reason to have some faith that even though the position is volatile his gains inside of it don’t have to be.

On a side note…that Edmonton game where the team clearly quit in front of him and Granato left him in there despite him being the only reason Granato wasn’t fired months beforehand was the deserved last straw for a lot of people. It was infuriating on so many levels. Without UPL’s year Donnie watches his team implode fully and go on long winless streaks and gets shitcanned…and he does the kid dirty like that because he was so beyond incompetent in games. The third period of that game should have been Granato’s last no matter how far you started on the other side of that argument.

 

[Chainshot]

One of the reasons why I hope they don’t ride him more than 50 games is it felt like fatigue set in toward the end of the season and he was making some mistakes that looked like the year prior. When he’s mentally fresher, he seemed very dialed in. so having Reimer on staff should allow them to get him appropriate days off now.

 

[Der Jaeger]

For those taking a look at goaltending, please go read about the "royal road." It's the new butterfly pad height. And it's changing the way goaltenders are playing the game.

Back in the 90's and early 2000's, pad height and the butterfly was the rage. If a goalie went into the butterfly, chances are the shooter could not score due to pad height. Some insanely high number of goals were scored from the ice to the top of the pad while a goalie was in the butterfly. So all goalies learned the butterfly.

Mobility is now the new thing. Shooters adjust, and instead of trying to power pucks through a giant goalie with giant pads, they are passing east-west and making goalies move. Hence the 'royal road' idea. Goalies are adjusting but some are re-learning the position. And we are seeing it now.

Eg:

- Wide butterflies don't matter as much as both knees touching. The knees touching gives the goalie the natural ability to widen their stance, as well as get back to their skates.
- Goalie sliding is going out of style. Getting back to skates is the new thing.
- Leaning forward and putting weight on toes is now preferred for mobility.
- Downward tracking with the upper body is now the preferred rebound control method

So, what we are seeing are goalies that can adjust to mobility changes are having success. Those that are not are struggling. UPL is going through this transition right now, as a pro goalie. Levi is a mobile goalie, so when he arrives, he may be able to keep up right away. Portillo may not be the once touted prospect, as he's big but he may not have the ideal mobility to play right away.

Just some thoughts as we watch goalies. It's a very similar time to the 1990s, when smaller goalies like Vernon, Richter, JVB, Joseph, etc. all retired and left the game, and were replaced by Kolzig, Snow, etc. By the time the lockout ends, it's hard to find many young goalies coming into the NHL who were not over six foot tall.

I think we will see a bit of that transition now, where height and size are good, but mobility is going to be more and more important.

UPL looks like a goalie who is struggling with a new technique and is getting into his head. That 4th goal against Nyqvist was an easy save. But he's making other big time saves. Tell tales signs that he's struggling with technique.

When you see him hunched over a bit, that's the new technique which is being coached. Goalies are being taught to enhance mobility, which means they have to lean forward and get more on their toes.

The technique alone isn't the issue. It's doing the proper technique at an increased speed. Goalies "feel" rushed and then they get out of sorts.

Answer to the question about how you scout goalies, etc.

At the youth levels, prior to juniors, you're looking for physical traits as well as the baseline mental traits. It's takes time because the kids grow at such different rates and times. But it's pretty simple at that level. My own criteria is coachability. It's a hard position, the kid needs to be capable of growth.

At the junior level, you start to look at the ability to mentally read and react to shooters in that age bracket. Technique starts to really matter here. Goalies with bad form can still save pucks in youth hockey. Not so much in juniors. Coachability becomes even more important here, because they have to begin to perfect technique they have learned.

There's some overlap with NCAA goalies between juniors and lower levels of pro goalies.

ECHL, SHL, Liiga, AHL goalies: you start to look for the ability to mentally match you opposition. You assume that if the goalie is at this level, techniques are simply being fine-tuned. But the goalies have to really pay attention to the mental side of the game. It's why you can see an ultra-talented goalie like UPL win OHL player of the year, and then struggle in Rochester. The physical talent is there.

What you look for in these leagues is the ability to rebound from a mistake, the ability to adjust goaltending to style of play of the opposition, the ability to be in the position to make a save prior to the shooter having the puck ready. It's all mental.

At the NHL level, it's all modifying your game for the opponent. Teams play different, and using one goaltending style won't work for 82 games against 31 teams. Matt Murray never adjusted his game, so once teams figured his style out, they took advantage. It's how you go from 2xCup winning goaltender who was a huge part of the Pens' teams, to traded as a cap dump twice.

Part of the reason fans have such a difficult time assessing pro goalies is because it's 95% mental. And we don't get to be part of it, we just see the outcome. But a solid pro goalie has to adjust his style to the team he plays. So UPL, coming to the NHL, had to adjust for game speed, and then adjust by team. A team like Boston plays a lot different than a team like Colorado. So you have to adjust parts of your game.

This part is really tough. It's why there's only a handful of elite goalies as any one time. And right now, goalies are in the midst of a significant technique change, where goalies used to be more blockers. With shooters being so athletic now, and the concept of the royal road being used by teams, movement is now paramount for goalies. And that also plays into the mental side significantly.

Hope this helps. Goalies aren't voodoo. It's just mental and fans don't get to see that part.

I re-read the goalie thread. There are some doosies in there about UPL.

Patience was always the key. It's a mental position more than a physical position.

 

[Dirty Dog]

The main negative is that the UPL nickname won out over 6K.

He’d be much more cool as 6K

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

I re-read the goalie thread. There are some doosies in there about UPL.

Patience was always the key. It's a mental position more than a physical position.

How is UPL's skating from your POV?

 

[Der Jaeger]

How is UPL's skating from your POV?

He's made the transition to more of a modern game, and you can see some of his saves look a lot like what we saw from Levi in college and some in the pros.

The "lunging" is a misread on technique by Ostrander. I coached for Mitch Korn at his camp, and he's teaching a technique called "downward tracking." Anyone notice that goalies seem to be pushing their gloves at the shooters, and dropping a lot of pucks? That's a result of downward tracking. You push your upper body toward the shot to get to the puck furthest away from the net. The possible paths the puck can take to score are smaller the closer the pad is to the puck when the save is made. Also, rebounds tend to just drop in front of the goalie, which is preferable.

What Ostrader calls "lunging" is really UPL working on his downward tracking. Since he didn't grow up doing it, because it's new, when he failed, he fell forward. Young goalies learning the technique always end up on the stomachs until they master the balance involved.

UPL is also a far better on staying on his toes. You see his skates are closer together now, and he fights to stay on his feet. By doing so, he's maintaining his lateral mobility with his hips forward. By default, shoulders will be more forward until the goalie masters the technique. You can also see that his lateral pushes are far more effective. By maintaining a narrower base, it's a lot easier to push laterally, even when you incorporate dropping into a slide. On the two shoot out saves, you can see the really small shuffles he uses just prior to the shooter committing, and then he commits to the save technique and still is able to push effectively.

I think now UPL is combining the size with the newer technique. He's able to move laterally on his feet better because he's on his toes instead of the full inside edge of the blade, and then use his technique and size to make the save. Unless he reverts (it's a mental position), he should be able to maintain what he's doing because he's transferred his technique successfully.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

UPL is also a far better on staying on his toes. You see his skates are closer together now, and he fights to stay on his feet. By doing so, he's maintaining his lateral mobility with his hips forward. By default, shoulders will be more forward until the goalie masters the technique. You can also see that his lateral pushes are far more effective. By maintaining a narrower base, it's a lot easier to push laterally, even when you incorporate dropping into a slide. On the two shoot out saves, you can see the really small shuffles he uses just prior to the shooter committing, and then he commits to the save technique and still is able to push effectively.

Interesting - thanks! This part here, I can 100% see illustrated in the video, so it makes perfect sense.

 

[michaelsaas]

The main negative is that the UPL nickname won out over 6K.

He’d be much more cool as 6K

I support this message. I initially titled this thread 6K signed but thought I would get too much flack to stop trying to make "6K" happen.

I also will die on the hill that Samuelsson should only be referred to as Cobra.

 

[Chainshot]

I support this message. I initially titled this thread 6K signed but thought I would get too much flack to stop trying to make "6K" happen.

I also will die on the hill that Samuelsson should only be referred to as Cobra.

I will third the motion. I so prefer 6K.