In the Know About Kraken Trio
In mid-June, the Kraken announced Zulianello was being promoted from Coachella Valley to Seattle. A few days later, from a hospital room in which his father was undergoing care for late-stage cancer, the former ECHL and AHL goaltender spoke about his relationships with Daccord and Phillip Grubauer.
“Joey and I grew personally in that first Firebirds season, both taking a step -- he as a goaltender and me as a coach,” said Zulianello. “We fell one goal shy [in Game 7 overtime] of the ultimate goal [winning the AHL Calder Cup]. He is such a pro, how he prepares his body and game plan, on and off the ice.”
When Grubauer was assigned to the Firebirds for the purpose of gaining game action while the NHL was on last February’s Four Nations break, he praised Zulianello upon his return to Seattle in early March. The new Kraken goalie coach has equally glowing things to say about Grubauer. “I have a ton of respect for Grubi,” Zulianello said. “It was not an easy situation for any pro, let alone a guy that's spent as much time in the NHL as he has. He came to Coachella Valley with zero ego and just wanted to work on his game. He became a leader and was great for [goalie prospect Nikke] Kokko and the entire team.”
When GM Jason Botterill signed goalie Matt Murray as a free agent in July, part of the appeal was that the Kraken executive was associate GM in Pittsburgh when the Penguins, with Murray standing tall in net, won back-to-back Stanley Cups. As it turned out, Zulianello knows Murray quite well through summers in their mutual hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario, via Zulianello’s goaltending academy -- skating together in workouts over the years. When both men traveled to Seattle with their wives and young children, they were all on the same flight as the kids were playmates of a similar age.
Inside the Sharing the Goalie Workload
Familiarity with each goaltender is a definite plus for Zulianello’s mission to keep all three prepared physically and mentally. The goalie coach said there are other advantages to the arrangement. One is the personalities involved, while another might surprise fans.
“First off, I’m fortunate they're three very good people, high-character individuals,” said Zulianello. “They’re all team-first people, which is important and why they're here. They came into the situation with an understanding that there's going to be some give and take. We’re all pulling the same rope and trying to be the best versions of ourselves ... they should be complimented on how they've individually handled the situation, which has been great to see.”
Fortuitously, Zulianello has faced similar three’s-a-potential-crowd scenarios in his past goalie coach roles. With Calgary’s American Hockey League affiliate, he worked with three goaltenders, all aspiring to crack the NHL Flames roster.
“We had David Rittich, Jon Gillies and Tom McCollum, three very capable goaltenders,” said Zulianello, who played goal in the ECHL and AHL among other stops. “Each of them played in the NHL. McCollum was a first-round pick with the Red Wings. Gillies was a third-round pick with Calgary, and David Rittich we brought over from the Czech Republic. He was undrafted and is still playing in the NHL. They all wanted to play and were good enough to play.”
When Three is Not a Crowd
Another advantage might seem counterintuitive. The Kraken goalie mentor says, “There is plenty of ice time available,” home and away, to keep each veteran goalie sharp with “goalie ice” scheduled before and during practice. What’s surprising is the three-goalie system avoids what Zulianello refers to as “fatigue reps.”
“Sometimes we need to get creative about how we use the ice time,” said Zulianello. “There are always players willing to come out to shoot pucks for us [during goalie ice]. We might make good use of time when there's a drill at one end, and I can pull one or two of the guys to the other end.
“One big benefit is that he three of them have been able to treat pretty much every drill in practice like it's a game. They're getting quality reps. Sometimes the quantity that we receive in training camp creates some reps that are fatigue reps. You can pick up bad habits in that environment.”
Zulianello said three goaltenders sharing the practice nets can eliminate most fatigue reps while allowing each of the Kraken goalies to feel fresh. “Every time they're in the net, in a goalie session drill and a practice drill and a post-practice drill, they're treating it like a game,” said Zulianello. “They have the energy to do so. They've all talked positively about it, feeling good with the energy to play the way they want, plus putting in quality time in the gym. They’re leaving the day feeling accomplished and tired enough, but not too tired.”
Kraken head coach Lane Lambert said right at the end of camp that Zulianello had done “a great job” of managing the netminders. Daccord then went out immediately after and served up back-to-back ace outings as the Kraken opened the season with two wins for the first time in franchise history.
“We've gone through this at length in preparation for training camp and now heading into the regular season, how we can best keep everyone sharp ... there are different ways of managing it,” Lambert said. “There are certainly some positives in terms of giving each other proper rest. Joey's going to play a decent amount here, but there's going to be times when he's going to need rest as well.”
