Youth movement among goalies gaining traction

VANCOUVER -- The youth movement dominating the NHL hasn't fully applied to goalies yet. But it could be coming out of necessity.

Fast, skilled, young forwards and defensemen are changing how the game is played in the NHL.
Though veteran NHL goalies and goaltending coaches have talked about having to adjust their mindset and tactics to operate in the more open, offensive style that has led to an increase in scoring this season, some of the League's younger goalies already are used to a speedier pace.
"The way the game is now, it's so fast and so open. There are a lot of scoring chances and a lot of Grade-A looks," New Jersey Devils goalie Mackenzie Blackwood said. "I guess the goalies who have been around a lot longer are saying they have to adjust to it, but I know a lot of goalies growing up, this is the only style of hockey that they know."
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The 22-year-old, selected by the Devils in the second round (No. 42) of the 2015 NHL Draft, spent most of his first two professional seasons in the American Hockey League but is 5-3-0 with a .930 save percentage in his first 11 games with New Jersey this season. Though he has adjusted his game since turning pro and will likely continue to do so, Blackwood thinks having faced the speed and skill of players like Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid in the Ontario Hockey League from 2013-16 has helped him.
"[The OHL] itself is more of a wide-open, offense-first kind of league," said Blackwood, who played 139 OHL games for Barrie. "So you just get used to that kind of stuff."
McDavid played for Erie in the OHL and is fourth in the NHL in scoring with 70 points (29 goals, 41 assists) in 46 games. He's led the League in scoring the past two seasons, including 108 points (41 goals, 67 assists) in 2017-18.
Blackwood is one of 14 goalies yet to turn 25 to play in the NHL this season. Of those, nine have played in at least 10 games. In the past five seasons, an average of 22 goalies under the age of 25 per season played in the League. Fifty-two of those 112 goalies played at least 10 games in a season, an average of 10 goalies per season.

More young goalies likely will play this season, including the pending season debut of the Vancouver Canucks' Thatcher Demko, who played his first NHL game late last season after two seasons in the AHL. The 23-year-old was called up Jan. 4.
Demko has grown up facing the style of offense that gives some older NHL goalies fits. His first season at Boston College, in 2013-14, included facing current Calgary Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau in practice. Gaudreau is second in the NHL this season with 71 points (28 goals, 43 assists) in 48 games, five points behind the League leader, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov, who has 76 points (22 goals, 54 assists).
"I didn't really play in the era of a 1-4 neutral zone," said Demko, chosen by the Canucks in the second round (No. 36) of the 2014 NHL Draft. "I grew up with 2-on-1s all the time and you see two [or] three breakaways a game, and that's transitioning into the NHL now because these young guys can fly around and make those plays."
Of the top 10 scorers in the NHL this season, eight are 25 or younger.
Demko believes his familiarity with younger players remaking the NHL landscape should make his transition easier.
It has happened for other young goalies.
Cal Petersen of the Los Angeles Kings has played 11 games this season; the 24-year-old has a .924 save percentage. Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers is 5-5-1 with a .915 save percentage. The 20-year-old is the youngest goalie in the NHL this season.
"I think at the end of the day it comes down to the guy," Demko said. "Do I think I was ready to play in the NHL my first year pro? There's no way. I think you needed that time. But maybe a guy like Carter Hart, it's his first year pro and he's playing great, so there is a shift and guys are getting younger, the League is getting younger, faster, and you might see some younger guys start to make a push."

Goalies often unlock key parts of their games at different ages and through different experiences. That in part helps explain why the increase in young forwards and defensemen has outpaced goalies to date.
If the game keeps trending toward more dynamic offense and scoring chances, however, Demko and others expect the shift toward youth to include more goalies in the future.
"I feel like the League is progressing at an amazing rate," said Adin Hill, who played four games with the Arizona Coyotes last season and 13 this season before the 22-year-old was sent back to Tucson of the AHL on Monday. "It's great to see that trending toward the goalies now too."