Cool Goaltender Quotations
"Because the demands on a goalie are mostly mental, it means that for a goalie, the biggest enemy is himself. Not a puck, not an opponent, not a quirk of size or style. Him. The stress and anxiety he feels when he plays, the fear of failing, the fear of being embarrassed, the fear of being physically hurt, all the symptoms of his position, in constant ebb and flow, but never disappearing. The successful goalie understands these neuroses, accepts them, and puts them under control. The unsuccessful goalie is distracted by them, his mind in knots, his body quickly following." - Ken Dryden, goalie, Montreal Canadiens
"Most fans go wild when they see a goalie make what looks like a great save, but the chances are what they are seeing is a save that was made from being out of position." - Mike Richter, goalie, New York Rangers
"It's pretty tough for a goalie when you look at it. You're always the last line of defense. If you let a goal in, you can't go to the bench and hide between the guys or anything." - Kirk McLean, goalie, Vancouver Canucks
All From Don Cherry:
"Little Alan Bester, I've often said, has seen more rubber than a dead skunk on the Trans-Canada highway"
"Patrick Roy. If there's anybody worth a million bucks it Patrick" (in '89)
There is no such thing as painless goaltending. If they could get enough padding to assure against every type of bruise, you'd have to be swung into position with a small derrick."
"It's all part of the game, part of sticking up for your team. It's happened before and I'm sure it'll happen again. I saw (Daniel) Lacroix charging (Larry) Murphy, I was trying to stick up for him. I happened to look down the ice and Hexxy was coming down, I just tried to get ready for him. I've heard of him before and I was just trying to stick up for my team." - Felix Potvin after kicking Hextall's butt, goalie, Toronto Maple Leafs
"How would you like it if you were a business executive and when you made a mistake, a red light went on and 18,000 people started screaming?" - Jaques Plante, goalie
"Only a goalie can appreciate what a goalie goes through" - Jaques Plante, goalie
"There is no position in sport as noble as goaltending" - Vladislav Tretiak, former great Russian goaltender
"Playing goal is like being shot at" - Jaques Plante, yet again
"The goalie is like the guy on the minefield. He discovers the mines and destroys them. If you make a mistake, somebody gets blown up" - Arturs Irbe, Dallas goaltender
"We are the sort of people who make health insurance popular" - Terry Sawchuk, former Red Wing goaltender
"In Biblical times, I stoned people to death. Now they are repaying me by hurling pucks at my head" - Giles Gratton, former netminder
"It's the only way I can support my family. If I could do it another way, I wouldn't be playing goal" - Glenn Hall
"Any discussion on hockey goaltenders must begin with the assumption that they are about three sandwiches shy of a picnic. I can prove this. From the moment Primitive Man first lurched erect, he and those who came after him survived on the principle that when something hard and potentially painful comes at you at great velocity, you get the hell out of its path. Goalkeepers throw themselves into its path. I rest my case." - Jim Taylor, columnist
"How many people in life spend eighteen years getting shot at?" - Kevin Constantine, hockey coach
"Goalies are fine fellows when you meet them at center ice. They are fine fellows off the ice too. But don't think this cordiality is going to apply when you skate by the front of his cave. He'll slice you up if you come in close" - Chandler Sterling, writer
"Goaltending is a suffering position. Your equipment protects you from injury, but not from pain, every time you go out there. And if you allow a goal, the red lights go on for everyone to see. But you get to be a hero too." - Kevin Constantine
"Roses are red, violets are blue, they got ten, we only got two" - Gerry Cheevers after his team got demolished
"Because there wasn't enoguh time to play 54" - Grant Fuhr, after being asked how could he play 36 holes of golf in the middle of the Stanley Cup Finals
"He doesn't look like the paperboy. He looks like the paperboy's little brother" - Bryan Murray about Chris Osgood
"He farts a lot" - Bernie Parent's reply when asked what made Ed Van Impe such a good defenseman
"Only God saves more than Parent" - Philadelphia bumpersticker
Johnny
"Because the demands on a goalie are mostly mental, it means that for a goalie, the biggest enemy is himself. Not a puck, not an opponent, not a quirk of size or style. Him. The stress and anxiety he feels when he plays, the fear of failing, the fear of being embarrassed, the fear of being physically hurt, all the symptoms of his position, in constant ebb and flow, but never disappearing. The successful goalie understands these neuroses, accepts them, and puts them under control. The unsuccessful goalie is distracted by them, his mind in knots, his body quickly following." - Ken Dryden, goalie, Montreal Canadiens
"Most fans go wild when they see a goalie make what looks like a great save, but the chances are what they are seeing is a save that was made from being out of position." - Mike Richter, goalie, New York Rangers
"It's pretty tough for a goalie when you look at it. You're always the last line of defense. If you let a goal in, you can't go to the bench and hide between the guys or anything." - Kirk McLean, goalie, Vancouver Canucks
All From Don Cherry:
"Little Alan Bester, I've often said, has seen more rubber than a dead skunk on the Trans-Canada highway"
"Patrick Roy. If there's anybody worth a million bucks it Patrick" (in '89)
There is no such thing as painless goaltending. If they could get enough padding to assure against every type of bruise, you'd have to be swung into position with a small derrick."
"It's all part of the game, part of sticking up for your team. It's happened before and I'm sure it'll happen again. I saw (Daniel) Lacroix charging (Larry) Murphy, I was trying to stick up for him. I happened to look down the ice and Hexxy was coming down, I just tried to get ready for him. I've heard of him before and I was just trying to stick up for my team." - Felix Potvin after kicking Hextall's butt, goalie, Toronto Maple Leafs
"How would you like it if you were a business executive and when you made a mistake, a red light went on and 18,000 people started screaming?" - Jaques Plante, goalie
"Only a goalie can appreciate what a goalie goes through" - Jaques Plante, goalie
"There is no position in sport as noble as goaltending" - Vladislav Tretiak, former great Russian goaltender
"Playing goal is like being shot at" - Jaques Plante, yet again
"The goalie is like the guy on the minefield. He discovers the mines and destroys them. If you make a mistake, somebody gets blown up" - Arturs Irbe, Dallas goaltender
"We are the sort of people who make health insurance popular" - Terry Sawchuk, former Red Wing goaltender
"In Biblical times, I stoned people to death. Now they are repaying me by hurling pucks at my head" - Giles Gratton, former netminder
"It's the only way I can support my family. If I could do it another way, I wouldn't be playing goal" - Glenn Hall
"Any discussion on hockey goaltenders must begin with the assumption that they are about three sandwiches shy of a picnic. I can prove this. From the moment Primitive Man first lurched erect, he and those who came after him survived on the principle that when something hard and potentially painful comes at you at great velocity, you get the hell out of its path. Goalkeepers throw themselves into its path. I rest my case." - Jim Taylor, columnist
"How many people in life spend eighteen years getting shot at?" - Kevin Constantine, hockey coach
"Goalies are fine fellows when you meet them at center ice. They are fine fellows off the ice too. But don't think this cordiality is going to apply when you skate by the front of his cave. He'll slice you up if you come in close" - Chandler Sterling, writer
"Goaltending is a suffering position. Your equipment protects you from injury, but not from pain, every time you go out there. And if you allow a goal, the red lights go on for everyone to see. But you get to be a hero too." - Kevin Constantine
"Roses are red, violets are blue, they got ten, we only got two" - Gerry Cheevers after his team got demolished
"Because there wasn't enoguh time to play 54" - Grant Fuhr, after being asked how could he play 36 holes of golf in the middle of the Stanley Cup Finals
"He doesn't look like the paperboy. He looks like the paperboy's little brother" - Bryan Murray about Chris Osgood
"He farts a lot" - Bernie Parent's reply when asked what made Ed Van Impe such a good defenseman
"Only God saves more than Parent" - Philadelphia bumpersticker
Johnny
