Unmasked: Inexperienced goalies getting chance in NHL

Experience is no longer as important as it used to be when it comes to goalies getting a chance to play in the NHL.

Six goalies have made their NHL debut this season -- five in the first month -- after seven did so in the first month last season. Though those totals fall short of the record 10 in the 2000-01 season, they are in the top 10 for NHL goalie debuts in the first month of a season.
Some of the recent opportunities are related to the effects of COVID-19, with established goalies sometimes unable to play because of illness or testing protocols.
But it goes deeper than that.
Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins and Spencer Knight of the Florida Panthers each made their NHL debut late last season and are regulars this season despite little previous pro experience, something that was uncommon even a few seasons ago.
"I feel like as soon as one team has a young guy and does well, that gives other teams the green light to play them," said
Joel Hofer
, a 21-year-old who won his NHL debut for the St. Louis Blues in a 5-3 victory against the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 4.
Hofer is one of the five goalies to win his NHL debut this season.
Nico Daws
, 20, made 24 saves for the New Jersey Devils in a 2-1 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 23.
Connor Ingram
, 24, made 33 saves for the Nashville Predators in a 5-2 win against the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 24.
Zach Fucale
, 26, was the first goalie in Washington Capitals history to post a shutout in his debut, making 21 saves in a 2-0 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 11. Joseph Woll, 23, made 23 saves in a 5-4 win for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Sabres on Saturday.

Karel Vejmelka, a 25-year-old with the Arizona Coyotes, lost his debut on Oct. 16, a 2-1 shootout loss to the Sabres in which he made 32 saves. Vejmelka (1-9-1) has appeared in 13 of 19 games for the Coyotes.
Though some of the goalies would not be considered young, several are making it to the NHL without the vast seasoning in the American Hockey League that was a prerequisite for all but top prospects in the past.
Vejmelka played seven years of professional hockey in his native Czech Republic before joining the Coyotes. Ingram is in his fifth year of pro hockey in North America, and Fucale has played for nine different teams in the ECHL and AHL during seven pro seasons.

Woll is in his third season as a pro and played 50 games in the AHL before his NHL debut. Hofer, a second-year pro, had 14 games in the AHL before his NHL debut. Daws spent last season, his first as a pro, in Germany, playing 10 games.
What is allowing them to have early success?
"These kids do a lot of goalie-specific training; it's almost insane how much," said St. Louis Blues goaltending coach David Alexander, who watched Ville Husso make his NHL debut for the Blues as a 25-year-old in the first month of last season and stick as the backup. "So most of these guys are really well polished and really well versed in their craft, probably better than ever, and that's definitely part of it."
They are also used to the pace and skill of the NHL game because they faced many of the NHL's young players throughout their development arc, said Devils goalie Mackenzie Blackwood, who made his NHL debut at age 22 on Dec. 18, 2018.
Woll and Hofer said they benefitted from spending time as taxi squad goalies last season. Because of concerns surrounding the pandemic, each team had to carry a third goalie as part of a group of excess roster players.
"Seeing NHL shots (in practice) helped me get used to the speed and pace," Hofer said.
From a technical standpoint, it's no longer as big a jump for goalies to go from lower levels into the NHL.
"What's the difference between an elite, technically sound goalie at the junior, college and AHL level, and an NHL goalie? Probably nothing," Edmonton Oilers goaltending coach Dustin Schwartz said. "You're splitting hairs on details."

Not every goalie is like Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers, whose success in the NHL midway through his first professional season at age 20 helped pave the way for goalies like Swayman and Knight to transition quickly into regular NHL roles after leaving college hockey late last season.
Others need more experience after reaching the NHL. Hofer, Daws, Ingram and Fucale have each been returned to the AHL. There are benefits each will find from their NHL experience.
Stuart Skinner debuted in the NHL last season with the Edmonton Oilers as a 22-year-old. He made 33 saves in an 8-5 win against the Ottawa Senators on Jan. 31. According to Schwartz, Skinner's first words after the win were about recognizing how much work he had left to do to be NHL ready.
Skinner did that work in the AHL and has a .939 save percentage through five NHL appearances this season, including 46 saves in a 2-1 shootout win against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday.
"That one game gave him experiences that are invaluable," Schwartz said. "He sees parts of his game that need work, he understands the pace, he understands the preparation, he understands a little bit of pressures, so he starts to build that in and now he gets in some games and shows that he can play at this level."
Though some teams must consider NHL salary cap implications in making decisions about whom they call up as a replacement goalie, experience is no longer a prerequisite for being a No. 3 goalie on a depth chart. Teams are starting to give some goalies a chance to learn on the job in the NHL, just as they have with forwards and defensemen.
"When you see a guy like Hart or Swayman, [other teams] ask 'Why can't our guy do that?'" Alexander said. "So maybe part of it is management teams getting a little more comfortable with having players develop in the NHL. Not completely, but there was a point where it was 'you're not going to be in the NHL until you're ready because it's a performance League' and that scale is sliding a little to where there is wiggle room and some belief development can be part of the NHL process."