What It Really Takes to Stand in the Crease

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

I've been asked a thousand times what separates the goalies who make it from the ones who don't. People expect some big secret — some drill or technique nobody's heard of. The truth is simpler and harder than that. It comes down to what you're willing to carry. The crease is the loneliest place on the ice when things go wrong, and one of the greatest places in sports when things go right. You don't get to share either one of those moments. They're yours alone.

I played 132 games in the NHL without recording a shutout. That record still stands. You know what it taught me? That resilience isn't a soft concept. It's the actual job. Every game, every shift, you're managing the weight of the last shot, the last goal, the last bad bounce — and you have to set it down fast enough to be ready for the next one. That takes a kind of mental discipline most positions never have to develop.

If you want to play goal at a high level, you need to be honest with yourself about what the position demands. It's not just athletic. It's not just technical. It's deeply mental, deeply personal, and deeply rewarding when you commit to it the right way. This column exists to help you do exactly that.

The Foundation Comes First

Before anything else — before mental game, before tactics, before recruiting — you need a sound technical foundation. Angles, footwork, positioning, tracking. These aren't exciting topics, but they are the difference between a goalie who gets by on athleticism and one who builds a career. We'll cover all of it in this column, article by article. Stick with it. The work adds up.

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.

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