As we do with all of our supporters and followers, we enhanced their hockey experience with an unforgettable game on Pepsi Center ice! This game took place on Jan. 8, 2009 after the Avs/Blackhawks game. The event was a great success and it was a tightly played game with The KBPI Guild winning by a score of 5-4.

After Hours Game v. Sydney Pirates from Brad Stabio on Vimeo.

Shot by Joe Movick on his Sony EX-1 and edited at Stabio Productions studio, the video below is a great way to learn more about The Avalanche Guild and the unique programs we run. Some local celebrity players on the KBPI Guild team include Uncle Nasty from KBPI, Brian Maass and Alan Gionet from Chanel 4 News and goalie Jim Gromer from Comcast Entertainment TV.

Owned and operated by Kevin DeLange, who also captains a hockey team in the Rocky Mountain Hockey League (RMHL), Dry Dock Brewery is a small pub located in Aurora off of Hampden road. They are the only microbrewery in Aurora and hands-down one of the best, as they have won numerous annual awards for their tasty brews. 

As you can see, Kevin and his crew had an awesome time on Pepsi Center ice before the Avs game, as the two teams battled to another shootout that ended in a 5-4 victory for the Spitting Camels.

Be sure to watch the video, as Kevin invites all of you to check out Dry Dock Brewery and even gives you a free brew on the house if you mention this video! A special thanks to Kevin and his boys for being a great After-Hours group!

Check out our video recap below, which includes information on this awesome fan appreciation event. We were there pretty early since we had to run another After-Hours game, but some of the rides we did catch were slick!

Like all of our After-Hours teams, the boys took advantage of a great Guild discount on tickets and in return for their support, they received a rare opportunity to hit Pepsi Center ice following the game for an hour of shinny, Vail style.

Here’s an interview we shot with Gary Defina, the captain of the Vail crew. Gary is also a coach for Battle Mountain High School’s hockey team, so he’s well-connected in the Vail hockey community and a great guy with some great stories. He’s a big supporter of The Hockey Guild and The Avalanche Guild, so we thank Gary for his passion and are proud to have him be a part of the exclusive After-Hours club!

As a way of saying thanks to Gary’s crew for their support, we granted him two free shootout teams in our third-annual Battle for the Banner Colorado Avalanche Shootout Tournament, which takes place every March right on Pepsi Center ice. The tournament brings together shootout teams comprised of players that participated in After-Hours games throughout the year. The two teams that advance to the final shootout game actually play the championship on Pepsi Center ice during intermission of an Avalanche home game!

If your adult (or youth) hockey team is interested in setting up one of our exclusive Avalanche Guild events, just contact us at info@thehockeyguild.com and we will do our best to make it happen!

Simply put, the Colorado Avalanche organization proved why they are the most classy team in the league, as the entire ceremony was picture perfect from the moment Joe Sakic entered Pepsi Center to the moment he dropped the ceremonial first puck with Avalanche captain Adam Foote and Sharks captain Rob Blake.

The entire Avs Board Bash group had bright eyes as wide as dinner plates throughout the entire night, as they caught the Retirement Ceremony and then a dominating offensive performance over an extremely rusty Sharks club. The first two periods were filled with brilliant plays by Wojtek Wolski, Paul Stastny and Matt Duchene, while the final frame was all about the focused goaltending of Craig Anderson. The result? A 5-2 victory worthy of Sakic’s retirement night.

Once the game was over, it was time for 30 members of the Avs Board Bash group to hit the ice for our first After-Hours game of the season! Here’s a short video for everyone to enjoy…and we apologize for the jittery video, but it’s a little tough to video tape a hockey game in all that goalie gear

No After-Hours game is complete without thanking the Colorado Avalanche fan development staff, especially Matt DeLuzio and Jason Schofield. Without their support, programs like ours could not exist. Thanks to everyone that joined forces to be a part of the Avs Board Bash, including Jill Jurca, Brian Holt and David Clark. We speak for everyone when we say we can’t wait for the next one!

Personally, today was a very cool experience. I noticed that on Sunday, none of the nets were equipped with Edge ProTech skate blade protectors. I’m pretty sure a ton of NHL equipment managers are using them on a consistent basis, so I made sure to bring a pair with me.

When Weiman was heading on the ice, I caught him before he hit the ice and asked if he wanted to borrow them. He gladly accepted of course, so I’m proud to say that The Goalie Guild helped Weiman and Budaj save the edges on their blades throughout this mini-practice session with Jocelyn Thibault.

This first video is pretty straightforward. Anytime a goalie works on their lateral movement while in the butterfly, it’s actually more beneficial for me to watch upper body positioning. Pretty much every NHL/AHL goalie is solid at pushing off in a strong and efficient manner, so the main thing I key in on is their upper body, including the shoulders, chest and arms.

(video removed per 72-hour NHL Media policy)

Budaj was definitely more relaxed than he was on Sunday, but his rebound control still left something to be desired. But the one thing that really stuck out through this second set of drills was his slight leaning to the left (glove side).

It’s not a major defect or anything like that, but to me it’s a noticeable difference compared to Weiman’s upper body positioning. Budaj’s shoulders are broader, but his left arm and glove is so tight to his side that he looks too tense. Weiman’s shoulders to me are much more relaxed and parallel to the crossbar.

(video removed per 72-hour NHL Media policy)

The first thing I’d point out right away from this third video is Budaj’s body language. The first four seconds he’s caught hunched over with his head down. Now I can’t tell if this is from fatigue or if he’s trying to focus, but regardless, I think the key for a goalie is to always stand up straight. Not only is it easier to breathe, it’s just overall much better body language.

The first shot he faces results in a juicy rebound and the puck being roofed over his glove (by Adam Deadmarsh). I was not very impressed with Budaj’s body language after he allowed that goal. Once again his head was buried and he was all hunched over. On the rest of the shots, his shoulders are noticeably slanted and he barely leans to his left. This isn’t a major thing, but it’s noticeable.

(video removed per 72-hour NHL Media policy)

Overall, I’m still very impressed with Weiman’s composure, confidence and body language. He’s a little bigger in the net than Budaj thanks to a slightly wider stance and butterfly and he has a tremendous attitude. Budaj was not nearly as rusty as he was on Sunday, but I still wasn’t that impressed with his body language and rebound control.

And yes, Tyler was very nice in returning my Edge ProTech’s back. Thanks Weims!!

Jocelyn Thibault, just one full season removed from his 14-year NHL career, was quietly named the new goalie consultant for the Colorado Avalanche last week. Sure enough, Thibault was on the ice Sunday morning for the first day of Avs Training Camp and did some remarkable work that I’m proud to share with you today. It was a beneficial morning for me in a number of ways, none more important than learning what kind of an instant impact Thibault had on some of the Avalanche goalie prospects.

But before we dig into the nitty-gritty, let’s go through a few other notes I had from the first day of Avs training camp:

PETER BUDAJ – Budaj was extremely rusty throughout the first hour of camp. He simply never got into much of a rhythm. He was playing a half-step deeper than usual and struggled with his rebound control. He never seemed comfortable and his upper body seemed tight. His body language reflected a lot of tense frustration as he reacted late to some shots and dropped early on others.

It was fairly obvious to me that Budaj was feeling the heat in a number of ways. In fact, one could argue that he’s facing more pressure than any other Avalanche player. Not only is he set to be dethroned by Craig Anderson, but he’s also constantly being pushed by a confident Tyler Weiman.

From a fantasy perspective, I wouldn’t put much value in Budaj’s stock heading into the season. Between Weiman and Anderson, Budaj has the least amount of confidence and is also under the most scrutiny from the media and fans. Unfortunately, the biggest enemy Budaj will face all season will be himself. And until he comes to an internal realization that he has to show more composure, Budaj will struggle to play consistently and run hot and cold.

TYLER WEIMAN – With even better footwork than before, Weiman is still consistently progressing. Even on a horrible Lake Erie team last year, Weiman was one of the steadiest performers in the AHL. He looks sharper than usual and skated with a lot of confidence, like he was totally bulletproof. He’s no longer fazed by anything or anyone, nor should he, for this is his seventh consecutive Avs training camp. His mindset and body language was terrific.

To be blunt, Weiman is so solid that Budaj seems to be hanging on by a thread. I don’t mean to take away from Budaj’s game, but it’s getting to the point where even the casual Avs fan is wondering why Weiman has only played half a period in the NHL. This is a question that has to be asked over and over again because there’s simply no excuse for not giving him at least one opportunity this season.

So it’s my conviction that Weiman will be called up at least once and play extremely well in his limited chances. In the meantime, at least we know he’ll get plenty of work and minutes in the AHL.

BILLY SAUER & PETER DELMAS - It’s amazing what a young goalie can do when they actually take a little time to think about what they’re doing. It also helps when the team’s goalie consultant is on the ice to make adjustments. Most skaters are there to battle against one another for a spot on a roster, but for some goalies, it’s more about impressing the coaching staff and absorbing every little piece of information that comes from the goalie coach.

Sauer, a big goalie with great coverage down low in his own right, does not have the best mobility or quickness. In fact I worked up a scouting chart on him back on Wednesday, which was the first day of Rookie Training Camp. It’s not hard to see that Sauer is a good step slower than Weiman, Budaj and Peter Delmas.

But all Thibault had to do was run two drills, make one minor adjustment to Sauer’s footwork and everything totally clicked. This not only turned a pressure-filled training camp experience into a mini semi-private lesson, but it also improved the organization’s depth while at the same time allowing the scouts to do their job. Overall, it was a great display of pure development straight from Thibault’s mind, something every GM wants to see on a daily basis.

(video removed per 72-hour NHL Media policy)

In the first video, Thibault uses four pucks to explain a basic system for tracking the puck around the crease. It splits the ice up into six zones – four behind the net split up from end board to end board and two out front, one on either side of the ice. David Marcoux, the former goalie coach in Calgary, actually taught Kiprusoff and many other pro goalies this exact system (It’s also the one I was taught five years ago). The drill Thibault runs with Sauer is just about setting your feet quick enough so that you can control your body’s movement and therefore the rebound.

What I noticed in this drill (starting at 1:30) is that Sauer covers the lower portion of the net in impressive fashion due to his great size. But his feet aren’t the quickest and because of that, he doesn’t have very good body control. He hunches over and leans forward when he drops into the butterfly, which causes some bad rebounds and takes away from an efficient recovery. His body is not in great alignment and that causes him to lose speed and not generate as much power getting back to his feet. He also doesn’t take up as much space up high because his shoulders are hunched and his back isn’t completely straight. Overall his inefficient footwork leads to some juicy rebounds and you can see Thibault most likely explaining some of these aspects to him at the end of the video.

(video removed per 72-hour NHL Media policy)

This second video totally hits home the importance of a quality goalie coach to the prospects in this system. On Sauer’s first three shots, he’s still leaning forward like before. He flies out towards the shooter because his body’s momentum carries him forward. He was a little sharper going to his right, but his shoulders were still hunched over.

But at 1:05, Thibault does a remarkable job of giving Sauer some great feedback about the path his skates travel. Instead of sliding out towards the shooter to cut down the angle, Sauer is better off setting his feet sooner and cutting off the angle deeper in his crease. This is a luxury a big goalie can afford, as this adjustment will allow him to drop into the butterfly in a faster manner and control the rebound with more ease.

At 1:10, you see Thibault show Sauer exactly how to adjust his movement. To paraphrase, stopping on a dime instead of sliding out past the top of his crease will come from setting his feet sooner. The result will be better body control, better balance and then an ability to recover just a little bit quicker than before.

At 1:50, Delmas steps in and shows Sauer how it’s done. Delmas is flat out a terrific skater. He moves in a more efficient manner when it comes to shots in tight and his feet are very quick and get set sooner than Sauer’s. Even though Delmas doesn’t have the big body (listed 11 pounds lighter than Sauer), he’s much quicker going post to post.

Delmas doesn’t exert nearly as much energy even though he might need to travel a further distance because he’s a smaller goalie, which allows him to get the knees down quickly and have better rebound control. Another positive to Delmas’ game is that he has a very straight back and takes away a large portion of the top of the net. That straight back means a lot, because it allows for better alignment and quicker recovery time.

Then everything clicks when Sauer goes back in the net at 2:40. The first shot to his right, he’s in a little more control of his body. The second one was excellent and the third one was even better. As my comments point out, he was set sooner and was in much better control of his body. The fourth and fifth shot to his left were a little off-balanced but he finishes with a strong one. And did you notice his rebounds were placed in much better areas?

Now this is all pretty straightforward stuff for a goalie to absorb in a few hours, but what happens when Thibault isn’t around to keep providing Sauer with that feedback? This is where goalies must show a lot of mental strength. Sauer has to train his mind to be consistent with what he just learned. He’s a bigger goalie – he doesn’t need to come out as far as a smaller goalie does. So there’s more advantageous things he could be doing with his feet that end up saving time, energy and most importantly, bad rebounds.

In conclusion, this was just a few minutes of basic goalie drills, but as you can see, a good goalie coach can turn it into something beyond valuable. Every moment a prospect gets that type of feedback, the stock of that goalie rises by leaps and bounds. But without the constant feedback, goalies have to work even harder at being mentally tough enough to retain the information and execute correctly on a consistent basis.

Thirty goalie coaches in the league work on hundreds of prospects in an effort to improve the organization’s depth. But as I’m often found saying, goaltending is 90% mental. So no matter how much a goalie learns in a single day, if they don’t apply themselves and stay focused, it’s all for naught. This barely scratches the surface of the goalie consultant’s impact, but as you can see, it’s a vital and invaluable aspect of developing players at that position.

What impact does a goalie coach have on your fantasy team’s goalies? What kind of adjustments to a goalie’s game did you see or hear about over the summer? And most importantly – how consistent is the goalie playing? These are questions you should be asking in order to not only understand the position better, but to give you an edge from a fantasy perspective. Having the answers will make drafting goalies less of a headache and more of an opportunity.