Morning reading: goalie coaching

The Kings will be back on the ice for practice at 10:30 a.m. Until then, here’s my LAKings.com feature for the week, on the evolution of goalie coaching and a look at the relationship between Kings goalie coach Bill Ranford and his “students,” Jonathan Quick and Jonathan Bernier. Thanks for reading, and after the link, I’ve included the full Q&A I did with Ranford, because there’s some interesting stuff that didn’t make it into the article…

A Welcome Bill

Question: As a goalie, when did you first have a full-time position coach?

RANFORD: “I think it was year 10 or 11 of my 13 year-career.’’

Question: Terry Murray talked about how, when he played, the goalies were left to themselves, that they relied on their partner and even opposing goalies for help. What was your experience like?

RANFORD: “Like Terry said, you relied on your partner. You were on your own a lot. As far as the communication aspect of things, it was always nice to have an extra set of eyes to see what was going on out there. Where I think it has evolved is not only with the goalie coach, but the video aspect of things. I always say, `Video doesn’t lie.’ You remember something happening on the ice, and then when you see it on video, it can be totally different than what you thought happened. I think that’s probably where the goalies have been able to grow the most. When you’re breaking down film every single day, and it’s fresh in your mind, you’re realizing things right off the bat.’’

Question: It seems like goalie instruction got ignored for so many years in the NHL, even though the position is so important. Looking back, is it remarkable to you how little attention was paid to goalies?

RANFORD: “There’s no doubt. Everybody talks about it being the most important position, but I think people just looked at the numbers aspect of it. There were only two (goalies) and 21 others. I think, for that reason, it sometimes gets forgotten. They focus on warming up the goalies, and then after that they’re the last thing that’s on the coaches’ minds. I think you’re seeing a real change in that now.’’

Question: When did you start thinking about going into coaching? Was it when you were still in the NHL?

RANFORD: “You know, not at all. It was basically a phone call. I was involved with the Coquitlam Express (junior team) out here, but just because they asked me to come out once a month. I was just kind of showing up to try to help out the goalies. (Coach) Dean (Chynoweth) gave me a call to help him out with his goalies in Seattle [the junior-level Thunderbirds], and once I started doing that, I kind of liked it and kind of got a bug for it. There’s a big difference between just showing up once a month, and showing up once a week and all of a sudden you’re kind of responsible for the goalies. I think that’s when my whole outlook changed. I realized that it wasn’t just about showing up. I had to work at it. I put together a notebook, a portfolio, and started watching other goalies, trying to make myself better.’’

Question: You talked about the video work, but what about the psychological parts of being a goalie, the mental work? Is that a big part of it as well?

RANFORD: “I really separate those two. When we’re on the ice, I try to focus as much as possible on the technical aspect, the whole maintenance of their game. I think the big thing now is that so many of the goalies are technically strong that it’s more about the maintenance of their game, keeping them sharp and that sort of thing, especially due to the compressed schedule that you now see across the league. I think it’s more focus, when you’re on the ice, just on the maintenance, making sure they’re doing all the little things to keep their game without too many highs and too many lows. As far as the psychological aspect of it, I talk about that sometimes on the ice, but more that’s off the ice, when you’re going through video or you’re just having 1-on-1s before practice starts. That’s where you talk about more of the psychological aspect of things. Most times, I’m just going off of my own experience. I think that’s the advantage I have, of being an ex-player, because there’s not too many scenarios that I haven’t been in.’’

Question: Guys like Quick and Bernier have personalities that are a little different. Do you adjust your style based on the goalie’s personality, or are you pretty consistent with your approach?

RANFORD: “I try to stay as consistent as possible, but I may be able to be harder on one guy, at certain times, than the other. If one guy is not playing as much, I’m going to push him more. If you look at a scenario like last year, there was a time when Quickie went on a little bit of a slump. Terry gave me three or four maintenance days with him, and that’s when you really push him. As far as Bernier goes, I’ve got to push him on those other days. Not too hard. You walk that fine line, but I have to push him hard to make sure that he’s ready when it’s time for him to go in.’’

Question: You’re also keeping track of the AHL goalies and other prospects during the season. What is your schedule typically like?

RANFORD: “What I usually do is kind of, week on, week off. When I’m at home (in British Columbia), I try to do as much of my American Hockey League stuff as I can, and I concentrate on the NHL stuff when I’m with the team. So I’m working with the NHL team and then making sure that there’s the proper communication with the American Hockey League team and the junior guys when I’m at home. Then I try to make — if the schedule works out — a trip into Manchester every month and a half.’’

Question: And even if you’re not with the team, you can still be in communication with Quick and Bernier, right?

RANFORD: “If I think there needs to be a phone call made, I will. The biggest thing, when I got hired by Dean and Ron, was that the goalie has to learn how to grow by himself too. I don’t want to be a crutch. I want them to have to battle through some things themselves, because that’s what makes them better and stronger goalies. But my phone is on 24-7. After Bernier’s last game, we talked because he wanted some feedback, because he hasn’t played a lot. So we talked about it the next day, and kind of went through some clips. The fortunate thing now, with the Internet, is that as soon as the game is done, Ryan (Colville, video coordinator) sends me the clips the next morning, so that I’m right on top of it and if I see something that I don’t like, I can phone the goalie the next morning and talk about it. That’s what is nice. We give our goalies the clips right after the game, to look at by themselves, and then I look at them separately. So, Bernier and I were able to walk through some of the clips on our computers. They sometimes might call that over-coaching, but if definitely helps from the goaltenders’ standpoint.’’