'WHY I LOVE HOCKEY SO MUCH'

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.
As is the case for Dan Vladar, with the path to becoming a goaltender a little different than most.

"I started as a player, forward, I wanted to score goals. I couldn't skate, my coach told me if I wanted to stay on the team I gotta go play goalie because nobody wanted it," he said with a laugh. "My dad was mad because the gear obviously is so much more expensive.
"One of my dad's best friends, he used to play in the KHL, he was always the guy I talked to. Josef Straka, I still talk to him this day. He helped me so much, when I was in the coast (ECHL) or here, whenever I need advice, he's the guy I always ask.
"He's been awesome."
Safe to say that the position switch was the right the call.
After all, the 25-year-old is here playing in the NHL and has been rolling as of late.
Fresh off a 31-save performance over the Florida Panthers in a 6-2 win Tuesday, Vladar has been on fire with his play and picked up that 'W' he's been looking for.
"It means a lot," he said of the win. "It's been like, what, 19 games since Game 2 in Edmonton. So, it's been a while - couldn't remember the last time I won. Obviously, a great feeling, but at the same time I'm never going to be satisfied and just have to keep doing the same thing.
"From my view, it's so much nicer when we score three early ones. You can breathe a little bit better, guys were burying chances, they were playing really well and helping me by blocking a lot of shots.
"It was a fun game and hopefully we get a lot of those."

There's no denying the strong play of Vladar this season. Every time he plays, he gives the club a chance to win, and in the process makes some unbelievable saves.
And as head coach Darryl Sutter put it, getting the win last night can do wonders for his confidence.
"It's like when someone breaks out and scores a goal," he said. "A goaltender is based off wins and save percentage. At the end of the day, that's what it is. Gets a win and that makes him feel good."
And the group recognizes how important that was, too.
"He's been solid for us all season long," MacKenzie Weegar said. "I know as a goalie, not getting the win can be frustrating, but he's making the timely saves, the big saves when we need them and I think for us to get some results for him, he can build off of it, continue his confidence."
You can see that confidence growing with each start - and in the crunch time of games lately, he has that poise to come up and make a big save when the team needs it the most.
"I love those things, when it's a tight game," Vladar said. "You know you're going to get those one or two shots where you have to make a stop to get a W. That's the reason why I love hockey so much, because of those moments. You just gotta battle and there's no better feeling coming into the locker-room, yell around, chirp other guys and stuff like that.
"That's the best part of hockey, just to win and enjoy the time with the boys."