First ... love the "gk/GK" references, HR. I think you see that used more often in the other sports we follow.
Just going on past history, I don't see any amazing competition breaking out next season for goalie playing time. As unusual as it will be to see a kid like Clark spend his career gradually receding from first string to second string, and then to 3rd string for what projects to be his junior season - assuming he even returns? - it would be even more unusual to see a kid like Tirone (who's basically started regularly since his arrival, and now for 2 1/2 seasons overall in his UNH career) somehow get played out of anything more that spot starts by Robinson in the latter's Frosh season. Regardless of your thoughts on Tirone - and I know many of you don't hold him in the same regard as I do - it's pretty clear the only guy whose opinion counts (Umile) holds him in high esteem. I would be shocked to see Coach break long-established form and go in a different direction in what will almost certainly be his last season at UNH -
Quest or no
Quest.
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I've tried to avoid getting too opinionated on the whole goalie issue lately, as that seems to have sparked a lot of the more *passionate* disagreements between some of us on here this season. But let me just say this ... if the NHL, other pro leagues, NCAA, etc. aren't going to give ground on cutting WAY back on the size/bulk of the goalies' protective padding (and what they've done to date has been very limited), then the only remaining solution to the "let's get the biggest guys to fill as much of the goal as possible" problem is to add a foot to the height of the goal cages. At some point,, widening them should probably be considered too. But when you see these 6' 3"+ kids spending most of their time on their knees trying to simply fill four feet of vertical space with bulk, and still fitting comfortably under the crossbar ... there's something wrong, and the powers that be who govern the sport need to do something to get those kids up on their skates again.
Oh - and let's cut the size of the catching gloves down to something that reasonably approximates the size of the catching gloves from the past generation. There's never been a rash of goalie injuries in the past to justify the silliness that's led to the extension of all the extra crap that is used further down the goalie's catching wrist/arm. It's no doubt within the framework of the rules as they now stand, but if it's under the guise of "protection" then that's bogus.
I want to see the athleticism of goalies rewarded - guys like Hasek and Quick, for example. As it stands, there is an alarming trend that favors bulk over athleticism in the position. We've seen this in the past in other sports and other settings/positions ... I remember when Ken Dryden first made it to the NHL, and how large he was compared to the typical NHL goalie of the time. But if you look at the padding (and glove) he used, it's remarkable how much less bulk even he had in the goal compared to his same-size, modern-day successors.
Raise the crossbar, take away the extra trimming to purported goalie "protection", and let's see what happens.
JMHO. Now please feel free to have a go at it.