Playing the Puck: How to Be Your Team's Third Defenseman

By Eldon 'Pokey' Reddick | Hockey Horizons Mentor & Former NHL Goaltender

There was a time when a goalie's job was simple: stop the puck and let the skaters handle everything else. Those days are over at any serious level of hockey. Today, a goalie who can play the puck is not just a nice bonus — it's an expectation at the junior and college level, and it's becoming a near-requirement at higher levels of play. If you can't handle the puck, you're limiting what your team can do and you're limiting yourself.

Playing the puck well means understanding when to come out and handle it, when to leave it, and when to freeze it. It means being able to ring a puck around the boards cleanly under pressure, hit a tape-to-tape pass to a breaking defenseman, and communicate with your team about what you're going to do before you do it. None of this is optional at the junior level. All of it is coachable.

The anxiety that most goalies feel about playing the puck comes from not having done it enough in practice. Like everything else in goaltending, comfort comes from repetition. If you've made that wraparound pass a hundred times in practice, it doesn't scare you in a game. If you've only done it twice, every live situation feels like high stakes. Get the reps in when the pressure is low so the skill is there when the pressure is high.

Know Your Limitations Too

Playing the puck doesn't mean being a sixth skater on every play. Know your limits. A turnover by the goalie behind your own net is one of the most damaging plays in hockey. When in doubt, leave the puck for your defensemen. Communicate clearly. Make the right decisions, not the flashy ones. Your coaches will trust you more for knowing when not to play it than for trying to be a hero and giving up a bad goal.

At Hockey Horizons, we understand that goaltending is its own world — technically, mentally, and strategically. Pokey Reddick works directly with goaltenders and their families to navigate development, team selection, and the junior and college recruiting process. If you're serious about your goalie's future, reach out to us at hockeyhorizons.com.

For guidance on the complete development picture, visit us at hockeyhorizons.com.