Why was Jarmo Myllys such a poor goaltender in the NHL, but great elsewhere?

[Yozhik v tumane]

The Penguins have never had a dynasty.

I know the definition of a dynasty, point was Myllys had one bad game for one of the worst teams ever vs the back-to-back champs with six hall of famers, Tocchet, Samuelsson and peak Kevin Stevens, who’d go on to win that year’s President’s trophy as massive favorites for securing the HHoF sanctioned dynasty epithet with a threepeat.

Myllys was great: I luv hem

 

[Albatros]

At the Olympics he was the best goalie two out of three times. Also in '98 he took Finland to the medals, and in the semifinal it wasn't him that gave Pavel Bure countless breakaways.

 

[Jussi]

Gtfo

Greatest goalie greatest era.



Those are the dynasty Pens, he did great behind the worst team ever. Roy would have allowed ten there.

I’ve said it before…

Finland rested Myllys in the 1994 Olympic semifinals, they lost to a Canadian junior team. They wouldn’t have needed to wait another 28 years for their first Olympic gold medal.

Mark my words, after his miraculous gold winning performances in 1994, 1995 and 1996, he’d get another shot at the NHL. Scotty would have brought him to the Red Wings, and with back-to-back Stanley Cups, you’d all be endlessly discussing Hasek vs. Myllys.

Not junior, minor leaguers + Kariya.

 

[Jussi]

At the Olympics he was the best goalie two out of three times. Also in '98 he took Finland to the medals, and in the semifinal it wasn't him that gave Pavel Bure countless breakaways.

Also a member of the 1988 silver medal team at Calgary Olympics. Though Jukka Tammi played in the medal deciding win over the Soviet Union.



Seeing Timo Blomqvist and Pentti "Sir Pena" Matikainen tearing up at the end still makes me choke up a bit.

 

[Hobnobs]

At the Olympics he was the best goalie two out of three times. Also in '98 he took Finland to the medals, and in the semifinal it wasn't him that gave Pavel Bure countless breakaways.

Yes, he took them to the finals by being completely useless in the group stages (losing in both games) and then saving all those ten shots Sweden managed on him. Stellar performance, really

 

[Albatros]

Yes, he took them to the finals by being completely useless in the group stages (losing in both games) and then saving all those ten shots Sweden managed on him. Stellar performance, really

Losing to gold and silver medalists is not exactly a big shame when you're the underdog. Much less so than Patrick Roy losing to gold and bronze medalists with Canada.

 

[Hobnobs]

The hero leading his team to the semi-finals vs his backup

 

[Albatros]

Myllys took the team to the medals by beating Sweden and Sulander took the bronze by beating Canada. A fine tournament by both. Obviously Sulander had it easier in his other game playing Kazakhstan.

 

[adsfan]

I saw Myllys play in the IHL for the Kalamazoo Wings. It was a high scoring era.

His team came in 4th in East Division 1989-90(?). They played the 2nd place Milwaukee Admirals from the West and lost in the playoffs 4-2. In six games, the Ads scored 22 G and allowed 20. Troy Gamble, who had similar regular season stats, outplayed him.

The Wings were short on talent that year.
I was never impressed by Myllys. He wasn't bad nor was he good, just mediocre, on a below average team.

 

[Albatros]

In 1989-90 Kalamazoo was a top 3 team in the IHL, Myllys team MVP and second all-star goalie in the league.

The first all-star goalie was Jimmy Waite who was a top prospect in Chicago but ultimately couldn't establish himself in the NHL.

 

[Nerowoy nora tolad]

This is sort of the inverse of the "good stats on a defensive team" situation. Yes, he was bad for the Sharks...but he would have been bad on every team. He just wasn't a skills match for the NHL really.

I mean, come on...

Just horrid, even ignoring his defence and some of the goals being slick.

Theres no reason he couldnt have pushed up to cut off the angle on the first goal. He almost looks scared of the puck the way he plays that shot. Like he recently took a stinger that he just cant get out of his head?

The 2-0 goal where the defenceman gets dangled is just wtf. Why are you preparing to pokecheck a skater moving away from you below the goalline?

His style is very much hybrid, but he doesnt position his stick correctly to defend the five-hole.

The number one thing I recognize when I see a game like that is he doesnt look prepared. Puck tracking is awful, his save selections dont make any sense, it looks like the sharks literally just pulled him in off the street 15 minutes before puckdrop and had him get dressed in brand new equipment hes never worn before.

Whether thats a Jarmo issue or a Sharks issue I cant say, but the fear of going into a game unfocused like that is why the Billy Smiths and Belfours are so weird about pre-game routines.

 

[Albatros]

Whether thats a Jarmo issue or a Sharks issue I cant say, but the fear of going into a game unfocused like that is why the Billy Smiths and Belfours are so weird about pre-game routines.

Brian Hayward (the veteran goalie with the Sharks and the North Stars) used to maintain his focus by skating around the corners of the rink during breaks and Myllys started doing the same, which I think indicates there was an issue he thus tried to solve. Though Hayward was struggling even more in San José, was supposed to be the starter but a bad back soon ended his career.

 

[Plural]

He was a good 2nd tier goalie. Probably had some issues in adjusting to the NHL also.

I don't think he had it in him to carve out a great NHL career. Good goalie outside of NHL, but nothing special in the show. Lots of these around.

 

[MS]

Myllys was a good IHL/Euro goalie but not when he stepped up a level to the NHL. Pretty simple.

Also he was undersized at a point where the NHL had moved away from tiny goalies. If he was born 5 or 10 years earlier, maybe it's a different story for him.

 

[Dog]

Difference in rink size and adjusting game to fit different systems of hockey. Sadly, this has happened to many goalies! Glad, they can continue elsewhere to make a career. Goalie position is the easiest to be criticized.