Rather than comparing a goaltender to peers who may or may not be in the same evaluation, or on the same level, this model assesses the goaltender’s individual strengths and weaknesses by determining whether they benefit, detriment, or have no effect on their ability to compete in the given situation (e.g. game, scrimmage, drill, etc.), at the given skill level. The output helps the goaltender better understand where they can improve and how they may fit in a given skill level based on the entire competitive environment.

The “ability to compete” may be defined by the following:

• Individual ability to keep pace with play, make saves, and contribute to game progression
• Contribution to team dynamic and environment
• Maintaining a healthy, positive individual environment that promotes continued development

Evaluators should look for instances where the athlete excels or struggles against the level of competition, and then identify any contributing factors, whether those are specific behaviors, skills, or traits, that contributed to the specific instance. As beneficial or detrimental traits become apparent, those should be rated above or below a baseline rating of 0, as such:

In this model, we do not expect to be able to rate all criteria, nor do we expect most criteria to be above or below “Neutral.” According to Goalie Guild founder Justin Goldman, a former USA Hockey NTDP scout, “When you dissect skill, you risk missing everything. Look at the whole package — how they perceive, adapt, and act — and look for what sticks out.”$^1$ As such, this method does not try to dissect individual skills (e.g. t-pushes and shuffles) or psychology. Rather, evaluators are looking for specific actions, behaviors, and outcomes that indicate performance or struggle in broader categories (e.g. skating as a core component of movement or play reading as a component of understanding).$^2$

If a skill is not readily apparent in the given situation, it should either be rated as “Neutral” or left blank. To determine which is more appropriate, choose from the following:

• If the given game or situation is not conducive to, or does not involve, a given skill, it should be left blank. For example, a drill scenario containing only shots may not allow assessment of Puck Handling.
• If the given game or situation does involve a given skill, but a benefit or detriment to play is not noticeable, then the skill should be rated as Neutral. For example, if a play involves movement to a shot, but the goalie is not noticeably ahead or behind the play, the “Skating” and/or “Movement” criteria should be ranked as Neutral.

<aside> 🔍 $^1$ Nicholas J. D’Errico and Justin Goldman, Interview with Justin Goldman, personal, December 27, 2023. $^2$ Jesse Welling, “Behavioral Scouting — An Evaluation Tool for Mental Qualities and Mental Skills in Ice Hockey” (thesis, 2013).

View Resources

</aside>