VH Drive Over Use

     Around a month or so ago, Steve McKichan wrote the article “dying in the pie.” The main premise of the article was low percentage, poor angle goals being scored due to an over use of the “Post Leg Up,” “VH Drive,” or any other name people have come up with. Not more then a week after reading this article, I was watching NHL live and seen 4 highlights in one segment where goals were scored due to this position. This means 4 preventable, low percentage goals could have been prevented very simply by utilizing some other form of save selection. I would like to do a follow up to Steve’s article and stress two main issues that goalies commonly have when deploying this save, technical concerns and situational deployment.

     The first area that I would like to cover would be the actual technique that one should use when utilizing this save. First and foremost we need to discuss the post leg. The post leg should be in a stable 90 degree position relative to the ice. Time and time again I see goalies lean off the post due to either poor patience of a lack of balance.     Beyond the post leg, the second most detrimental mistake goalies make is lack of squareness. One of the inherent flaws with this save selection is that fundamental shift of the body when the non-post leg hits the ice. In the act of lowering the non-post leg, goalies tend to rotate to the middle of the ice unintentionally allowing for far side goals. I have had some goalies do this intentionally pleading the case for the back door pass. In response to this I simply ask what a goalies number one job is? A goalies job in any situation is to stop and control the save. A pass to the backdoor is not the goalies priority, the player with the puck prior to the pass, if the pass does occur, is the goalies number one priority. More times then not, if a goalie were to simply square their body to the puck, not only would they be in optimal position for the save, they would be taking away a significant portion of the passing lane utilized for those in tight passes to the backdoor. Even if the pass does go through, have a little faith in your defense! This point needs to be made very clear, trust your defense! A coach will not yell at your for missing a backdoor play regardless of the situation at hand. However, if you miss the initial save especially on a low percentage angle, you will get yelled at by both the coach and the goalie coach.

     The third technical mistake is lack of compactness. If you cannot close all the holes in your body while executing this save selection, choose a different save. If a goal is not scored in one of the top corners due to the above mentioned issues, it will generally go through the body. We have to bring the down leg in tight and the inside arm in to the body to eliminate goals through us.

     Beyond the technical side of the equation comes the situational mistakes goalies will make when deploying this manuver. There are two main areas of concern, distance and situation.

     As a rule of thumb, we at FuturePro find that a goalie should only utilize this move when the opposing player is within a stick length of you. This may seem close to many of you, but when you analyze the benefits this save provides, it only makes sense if the player is in tight. The benefit of quick lateral movement that this move provides more so then other save selections is only prevalent on short, close, and in tight passes.  At a distance a pass can be tracked and anticipated for almost level of goalie rendering the Post Leg Down unnecessary.    

     The next topic of discussion is the situation which this move should be used. I have no problem with a goalie deploying this move on a low corner cycle, break away (very cautiously), wrap around, or in tight defensive break down. I do however have an issue when I see goalies trying to use this manuver on an odd man rush, say a 2-on-1. In the ranks of the NHL this hasn’t been attempted very often, if at all. However, at the Junior A ranks, I am seeing it more and more making for a scary trend. On any situation with heavy forward motion by the opposing players, this save selection is a big no no. A goalie dropping into the VH drive on a retreat for an odd man rush may believe they are “hedging their bets,” when instead they are putting themselves at a huge disadvantage. The same technical mistakes are generally made with this save wether the goalie is on the post or on a lateral angle. The only difference between the post position and the application of this on an angle is the opposing player’s shooting angle. Instead of a shooter having a low percentage shot, a goalie utilizing this on an odd man rush, is now trying to stop a high percentage shot. The shooter can exploit the far side when the leg is dropped or they can fake the shot and continue to the poor angle which the goalie cannot recover to as the lead leg is in the VH drive making it impossible to push.

     The VH drive can and will help in certain situations. The key is to make sure it is only used in those situations and is executed flawlessly. If you don’t want to make any adjustments to when and how you use the VH drive, tune in to NHL Network and take notes!