Atlantic Canada Struggling Between the Pipes?

Patience is a virtue, especially when it comes to the paint. It takes time for goaltenders to develop. It’s takes patience to build a championship caliber team. Sure, you can acquire assets at any time to supplement your product or put it over the top, but at what cost? When it comes to goaltending patience is everything. You need patience in the paint if you plan on building a winner. That’s what makes the next question so intriguing or concerning depending on what lens you choose to look through.

Numbers Game

How many goaltenders from Atlantic Canada have been drafted, developed and are currently playing in the QMJHL? The answer can be multi-layered depending on your perspective, but realistically right now the answer is only three.

Riley Mercer, Jack Milner and Keegan Warren are currently the only netminders from Atlantic Canada that are playing in the QMJHL.

Obviously, it’s no secret how difficult it is to crack a Q roster as a netminder but given the amount of hockey being played in this region, three netminders is a concerning number.

Of course, there’s going to be ebbs and flows over the years that’s to be expected, but what’s going on big picture?

The amount of goaltenders selected in the 2023 QMJHL entry draft is encouraging, but clearly it takes time for these players and prospects to development.

Here’s what the most recent trends look like from a QMJHL Draft perspective regarding goaltenders and the provincial breakdown. Again, this isn’t all about the QMJHL, how many Atlantic Canadian netminders are having an impact in other hockey leagues across Canada and the United States?

Before we start looking at the numbers let’s get one thing straight, there are amazing goaltending consultants, coaches and gurus from this region that are doing great things from a developmental standpoint. This isn’t criticism of their efforts, these are the numbers from the last five QMJHL entry drafts. Everyone is quick to place blame, but clearly something needs to change and this region has to do a better job of developing netminders.

2023 QMJHL Draft Results and Provincial Breakdown 3 NB 5 NS 1 PEI 3 NFLD

Carter Arnold NL Samuel Quimper NB Cohen Stoddard NS Olivier St-Onge NB Brandon Lavoie NS Simon Cormier NB Sam Madgett NS Colby Brown NS Jack Carter NL Johnathan Coombs NS Hudson Bradley P.E.I. Donald Hickey NL

2022 QMJHL Draft Results and Provincial Breakdown 5 NB 4 NS 1 PEI 0 NL

Eli James NS Anthony Savoie NB Niko Boudreau NB Sam LeBlanc NB Owen Bresson NS Rylan Beener NB Jackson Hurley NS Nathan Mills NS Loic Nadeau NB Rylan Aiken PEI

2021 QMJHL Draft Results and Provincial Breakdown 1 NB 4 NS 1 PEI 1 NL

Carter Richardson NS Xavier Farrah NB  Kiefer Thompson PEI Cooper Flemming NS Jack Milner NS Noah Blanchard NS Keegan Warren NL

2020 QMJHL Draft Results and Provincial Breakdown 2 NB 3 NS 1 PEI 3 NL

Riley Mercer NL Cruz Laughlin NL Jack Howatt PEI William Forbes NS Dekon Randall-Snow NL Noah Harvey NS Sebastian Lever NS Ryan Branch NB Wyatt MacDonald NB

2019 QMJHL Draft Results and Provincial Breakdown 2 NB 6 NS 0 PEI 1 NL

Jacob Goobie NS Pierre-Vincent Guignard NB Kenzie MacPhail NS Oliver Arnfast NS William Dyke NL Gio Dimatta NS Robert Forbes NS Jack Cashen NS Nicholas Sheehan NB

“Practice, You’re Talking About Practice”

Everyone knows franchise goaltenders are rare and only come along every once and while, but the track record for producing netminders isn’t the greatest at the QMJHL level, but that doesn’t mean these netminders aren’t having an impact in other leagues at various levels at this time. One can argue that this region is very “QMJHL centric” and it’s not “the be all end all” of hockey, but when it comes to the position at a high level this region is clearly struggling.

Fredericton’s own Jake Allen ran developmental camps for a while drawing kids from all across the province which was great to see and definitely had an impact, but the question remains, how can this region continue to grow, develop and produce more goalies?

Does it start at the grassroots level?

Are all four provinces lacking time, resources, training and coaching when and where it matters most? Two goaltending coaches had this to say about the current trend we are seeing between the pipes in this region. “We aren’t sure if we are getting the best athletes at the goaltending position,” they said.

“What about time to develop goalies, developing goalies are at the bottom of the list of priorities of coaches when it comes to practice time, we have to fight to get five to ten minutes a practice and that just doesn’t cut it.”

The next piece of insight delivered was very intriguing.  

“Every coach talks about having flow, almost all drills in practices, the shots usually coming off the rush, obviously when you watch games that’s not the case, everything comes off the walls, out of the corners, behind the net or off the hash marks of the wall to the middle of the ice.”

“Goalies don’t get much time to practice those types of scenarios, because for the most part coaches love to about generating flow.”

‘Practice makes perfect’ or perfect practice makes perfect, you can quote all of the damn cliches you want, but that’s a massive issue when it comes to the development of goaltenders. People would be quick to put out if forwards and defencemen weren’t being taught something as fundamental as in game tactics or skills, but when it comes to goalies that is quickly overlooked, ignored or not even given any thought. 

Something as simple, but yet as complex as making practices universally designed for everyone on the ice can definitely be something every branch or governing body can promote and ensure it happens. People can look at demographics of the region and the sure volume of netminders and point to that as another cause for concern, but what’s hindering working with the kids that decide to throw the pads on and want to play the position. “Oh, we don’t have a lot of kids from this region playing the position,” that’s a shitty take, work with and the develop the ones that are.

Developmental camps are essential for growth in this area whether it be in off season or in season, but why can’t we ensure more coaches are getting quality training from the experts to enhance their practices, so goaltenders are engaged, challenged and developed in season. Perhaps one important underlying issue, which won’t sit well within the hierarchical hockey world in these parts, is potentially the lack of education when it comes to the position. That no doubt pertains to all concerned, goaltending coaches, head coaches, scouts and hockey parents as well. 

“What we are seeing or observing at U18 is a product of what happened at U11, U13 and U15. By the time a goaltender reaches U18, or at 15 years old most of his/her structure and technical skills have been established and embedded into his/her circuitry. So, to make any significant change to either of those is incredibly difficult even with 100% buy in from the goaltender, which is, even with all good intentions an extremely challenging sell job,” said one goalie consultant.

How difficult is it to change or modify technique or bad habits in the goaltending world?

“From extensive personal experience, I suggest it is nearly impossible. One documented “rule” is that it will take 30 to 60 days to change a habit.  Another so called “rule” is 21 days to develop a habit and 90 days to change a habit,” explained the longtime goalie consultant.

“Taking that into consideration, a goaltender would have to work with his/her coach for anywhere from 30 to 90 days to make one change, let’s say a change in catch hand position for example.”

“Just figure how many practices that would take if the goaltending coach were allocated 15 minutes per practice which is best case scenario but, predominately not at the Minor Hockey Level.”

So, what’s the missing link? What is that piece of the puzzle that could lead to better goaltending at the top? “From my perspective it comes down to two things: numbers of goaltending coaches at U11 & U13 and the knowledge base of these coaches,” stressed the goalie consultant.

“Don’t get me wrong, these coaches do a tremendous job.  I think a lot of these coaches are dedicated, enthusiastic and sometimes underappreciated coaches who just wanted to learn as much as possible so they could help their goaltenders.”

“I can’t speak from personal experience about the goaltending coach numbers but, conversations with goaltending parents lead me to believe that many teams go without any meaningful goaltending help throughout entire seasons simply because there isn’t anyone available.”

“Is there a solution?  If my belief is correct, then it comes down to education.  First at the goaltending coach level and then the head coach level,” they said.

If education, knowledge and training is lacking in the region that could possibly be an easy fix when it comes to governing bodies. What about the curriculum for that training? Is it cutting edge? Is it current? Does it apply to the position?  One could only imagine if coaches at the grassroots level and beyond all had formal goaltending training what impact that could have on the position and game.

“Educated coaches will feel empowered and capable of training goaltenders and in turn, parents will now see volunteer coaches who have training and can pass on their knowledge to their son or daughter. As a byproduct I suspect that others who may be hesitant to take up coaching goaltenders because they don’t think of themselves as being knowledgeable enough, will be encouraged to become involved,” said the longtime goaltending coach.

“Realistically, head coaches probably don’t need to know much more about the position beyond the basics presuming they have an educated goaltending coach on board. What they must know, however, are the critical elements of the position that will give them the ability to recognize goaltending deficiencies and be able to question what they see with some degree of knowledge and confidence.”

“Nevertheless, what is critical is that they understand how to improve the performance of their goaltender both in practices and in games and unfortunately, that element could be missing from a curriculum perspective for bench coaches,” they added. The QMJHL has held goaltending development camps over the years to rave reviews, but we haven’t seen that for a while now.

“I don’t know anything about goaltending”. When in all reality they don’t want to focus on it because they have 15 other players to worry about. You’ll see a lot of coaches look for former goalies to come in to help coach, but I know talking to most parents, getting them to commit consistently at their regular practices is an issue depending on who they get,” said another goalie consultant.

“Teaching the kids, the basics but also involving the minor hockey coaches to run them so they too get the basic understanding of goaltending. So, I believe a lot of it does come down to the grassroots level. If you identify and encourage goalies early “plant that seed” and you’ll see stronger layers of goaltending throughout,” they added.

Their philosophy on the “right athletes” being attracted to the position mirrors that of other consultants. “In most circles in Canada we don’t allow “everyone” to try goalie. Those organizations that do and are able do to find kids with natural abilities at a young age have parents quickly redirect young hockey players desire to play goalie because they are mostly ignored and don’t get enough development at the grassroots level,” they explained.

The Empire Strikes Back

Brad MacCharles is as passionate as they come about the goaltending position and the game of hockey in Atlantic Canada. MacCharles doesn’t hold back when talking about the subject of goaltending development and growth in this region. “Places to play, is one problem with Atlantic Canada “Elite” goaltender development,” said MacCharles.

“Despite having one of the strongest, and deepest, goaltending classes in recent memory, there are only four 15-year-old goaltenders playing in the NS U18 Major League this season. In contrast, the league boasts 7 17-year-old netminders for its 16 available spots.”

MacCharles is quick to question that dynamic. “17-year-olds developing and improving by playing against 15-year-olds?”

“Well, it hasn’t really worked so far,” MacCharles added.

“There haven’t been many examples of Atlantic Canadian goalies playing U18 Major at 17 and then moving on to successful Major Junior or D1 careers. Since the 2011 QMJHL Draft, 11 Atlantic Canadian goaltenders have reached the 100 CHL games played milestone, not one of them played U18 Major as a 17-year-olds.”

“Of the three Atlantic Canadians playing in the QMJHL this season, Jack Milner and Keegan Warren played Junior A in their 17-year-old seasons and, of course, Riley Mercer jumped into Major Junior at 16. Oh, and don’t say, “Well, having an experienced goalie gives you a better chance of winning,” at U18 Major, because that’s not true at all,” stressed MacCharles.

“Neither of the two Atlantic Canadian teams Cape Breton West and Moncton that won the TELUS Cup had a 17-year-old goalie on their roster.”

“You don’t need older goalies to win, you just need good ones,” said MacCharles who owns and runs Empire Goaltending.

“There were some of us who hoped the U16AAA League would provide a solid development/exposure opportunity for our region’s goalies but, unfortunately, that just hasn’t been the case. Simply put, the league isn’t very strong so it’s not attracting a lot of attention from scouts and the goaltenders aren’t being challenged at a level sufficient to qualify as “elite” development,” said MacCharles.

“The goalies in that league are feasting on their competition. Maybe they could have an All-Star game once a month where they could play a little “best on best” or perhaps U18 Major could move to carrying three goaltenders, including at least one 15-year-old, with the additional registration monies being put toward adding more games to the schedule, and shifting to an increased “Showcase” format, where all three goalies are guaranteed games in front of scouts?”

Another option MacCharles would like to see is potentially mandate that all Maritime Junior A teams need to have a spot for a 17-year-old, Major Junior drafted, goaltender, from the region, to help open up spots for younger goalies at U18 Major, and better prepare 17-year olds for higher levels of competition. “I’m not sure what the perfect solution is but I do know that this region has a lot of talented young goalies working their butts off, showing they’re more than capable of playing at U18 Major, and then getting left out in the cold,” confessed MacCharles.

MacCharles believes “Goalie Coaching” is the second area of concern in this region. “Whenever you bring up the subject of goaltender development you can count on hearing about the same two things over and over and over again, numbers and education. We need more goalie coaches, and they need to be properly educated. Based on current results I’m not so sure that’s the case,” he said.

“There are a lot more goalie coaches in Canada now than there was when our country was the world leader in goalie development and there are a lot more goalie coaches in Atlantic Canada now than there were in 2017-2018, when Atlantic Canadian goalies played in 50% of the games in the QMJHL, but despite those increased numbers in goalie coaches, it seems all I hear about is our goalie development crisis.”

“I don’t think there’s any question having more goalie coaches at the grassroots levels, supporting young goalies new to the position, helping them build their foundation and love of the game, is a great thing, and something we should strive for, but when it comes to developing elite goalies it doesn’t seem like having additional coaches has had a very positive impact, because the goalie coaches being added aren’t necessarily strong,” MacCharles said.

“Canada is, without question, home to some of the best goalie coaches in the world. This is a widely recognized fact. Unfortunately, over, maybe the past decade or so, more and more weaker goalie coaches have entered the field because it’s a pretty cool field, after all, so more and more people want to get into it and now outnumber the stronger goalie coaches by a significant amount,” said MacCharles.

“In today’s world, any ex-goalie who played at a reasonably high level, has the right connections, and can spout a little “goalie coach vocabulary” can be given a position of incredible influence.”

“So do we try to educate them?”

“Unfortunately, when it comes to Canada, and even regionally in Atlantic Canada, I’m afraid that ship has sailed, because who’s going to do the educating? another random ex-goalie who knows some buzzwords and drills they pulled off Instagram, or someone who’s actually proven they can develop elite goaltenders?”

“If you know anything at all about the hockey world you know there’s just as good a chance of it being the former as there is of it being the latter, which says it all, really,” said MacCharles.

What about developing a uniformed goaltending development curriculum or framework?

“Believing that any kind of formal, uniform goaltender training curriculum, or whatever, in Canada would lead to an increase in elite Goaltending development is naive, in my opinion. It may have worked in other, smaller countries, who built it up from day one, but the toothpaste is already out of the tube in Canada and it’s just not a viable option for us.” 

“If we want to develop better goaltenders and move them on to the highest levels and have them succeed there, we just need to do everything we can to make sure our elite goalies are working with our elite goalie coaches.”

“Am I saying I’m above learning anything from someone else, of course not. There are tons of resources available online if I’m looking for ideas and, fortunately, I have the know-how to understand and implement those resources into my development plan, if I choose to do so. I also have a network of elite goalie coaches across the world I can reach out to if I have a question about something I want to work on or get better at. And, again, fortunately for me I have the knowledge and experience to discern who the elite goalie coaches are in case I want to bounce some ideas off someone,” said MacCharles.

What about practice? How can that area improve?

“Practice is where you get better, not just from a physical standpoint, but from a mental one as well. It’s where you gain the confidence you need to be able to perform at your best in competition. Unfortunately for young goaltenders in our region, and across the country, “team” practice has become nothing more than a physical and psychological beat down, and it’s having negative results with regards to individual goalie development,” stressed MacCharles.

“I’m not going to get into the finer points of drill design, because that isn’t the root cause of the problem, although it does play a role and merits some discussion, but circling back to an earlier point, were “old school” coaches “back in the day” designing more ‘goalie-friendly’ practices for our elite Canadian goalies? Not likely!,” MacCharles said.

So, how come those practices still helped produce some of the best goalies to ever play the game? “Well ecause those players didn’t have sticks and skills that gave them a decided advantage over goalies in practice. It was a much more level playing field, especially in undefended drills, so Minor Hockey goalies didn’t get 15-20 head shots, and their confidence shaken, every single time they took the ice for practice,” added MacCharles.

“They could focus on challenging the shooter, watching the puck, and becoming better goalies. Nowadays, Canadian goalies are just trying to get out of practice or worse, a “Skills Session”, alive and with some small modicum of their self-esteem intact. Could you imagine if baseball pitchers spent the week before a game pitching against their teammates, who were using bigger bats and juiced baseballs, and every time their teammates smashed a home run they bat-flipped and celebrated in their pitcher’s face? Or if football quarterbacks didn’t wear a red, “no contact”, jersey in practice so their teammates could attack them full speed, unblocked of course, and bury them into the turf every time they dropped back to pass? And then after they demolished them, they danced around their QB’s as he struggled to regain his feet? Do you think pitchers’ and QBs’ confidence would take a hit?”

“How about their development?”

 “Would that, maybe, suffer a little bit, do you think, maybe, fewer people would want to play those positions, and that’s why baseball and football don’t do those things, even though it might help their batters and their defensive players gain confidence: because it would kill the confidence of those few key players they rely on so heavily,” said MacCharles.

MacCharles has also seen a big shift in Atlantic Canada. “With the offensive shift in Atlantic Canadian hockey we have seen an explosion of the “Skills Development” industry; and what makes these “skills” practices even more dangerous for goalies is that unlike their team coaches, who at least have some small concern for a goaltender’s ability to perform and improve, the “skills” coach has no interest whatsoever in a goaltender’s development.”

“They are trying to build players’ offensive skills and confidence, that’s it.”

MacCharles believes goalies should avoid participating in these sessions at all costs. “Skills sessions seem to be heavily geared toward the “elite player” category and are most often run by instructors with connections to “Major-level” hockey – coaches or scouts or whatever, so a lot of time goalies feel pressure to participate in these sessions, if they’re asked, because of what possible implications it might have toward their future, being drafted, making a team, etc., but what happens is goalies pick up a lot of bad habits due to the undefended, offence-focused nature of these practices and it wreaks havoc on their mechanics and timing,” explained MacCharles.

‘Shooter Tutors’ are perfectly fine for “Skills Sessions” and that’s the main adjustment I would make to “team” practices, as well as bringing ‘Shooter Tutors’ into the fold.”

“Players can use them while the goalies are working with their goalie coach and they can continue to use them if they can’t execute “flow/undefended drills” properly. There are just a couple of rules I would implement for undefended drills and, if the players can adhere to them, then undefended drills could end up being a useful tool for elite goalie development just like they used to be in the good old days,” said MacCharles.

Growing the game and position is critical, but again that takes time and resources. Clearly the coaching is there and probably is getting better and better as these kids move through the ranks into elite level provincial play, but if the grassroots coaching isn’t there these kids are missing key scaffolding in the developmental years.

There’s no excuses when it comes to practice, those issues need to be addressed from every governing body at every level to ensure young goalies are getting optimal training. Some would argue that’s impossible, but that’s where the governing bodies need to step up and deliver in services and training.

Building a solid netminder takes patience, time and hard work. It takes time for young players to develop, learn and grow. It takes time for them to make mistakes, go through growing pains and adversity along the way.

You just can’t snap your fingers and have a championship caliber team or goaltender for that matter overnight. Trusting the process and sticking to a game plan is essential. We all know drafting and developing is everything, but one would suggest patience is equally important. The knee jerk reactions may work on some fronts in Junior hockey, but they certainly don’t apply to between the pipes. You need patience between the pipes if you want to build a champion from the ground up and that’s exactly what every general manager and scout are trying to do.What does the prototypical franchise goaltender look like?

Why isn’t Atlantic Canada producing more of these kinds of netminders? Let’s not try to rush things or add undue pressure, but the numbers in this area are a cause for concern and shouldn’t be overlooked or ignored. This isn’t “a down year for the position,” it’s that kind of perspective that is potentially the most concerning.

The Atlantic provinces need to discuss this topic collectively and discuss successes and setbacks in hopes of developing more netminders not just for the QMJHL but for all levels of hockey. Wouldn’t it be something if we could all change the narrative from “Atlantic Canada Struggling Between the Pipes” to “Atlantic Canada Excelling Between the Pipes.” We can all play a part in changing that narrative. Patience is a virtue in paint, but now is the time to take action to help the next crop of young Atlantic Canadian goaltenders.