COULD OF... MIGHT OF... SHOULD OF!

By: Fiorenzo Arcadi, Toronto Hockey Repair

On Sunday, November 1, 1959, in New York's Madison Square Gardens, a bare faced Jacques Plante was felled by a shot to the left side of his nose fired by the Ranger's Andy Bathgate. Badly cut Plante was taken off the ice to be patched up and sent back into battle. In those days, the stoic determination of an injured goaltender was to come back and face the rest of the game. Back up goalies were nonexistent. The measure of a man was to triumph over adversity regardless of the circumstance. It was the heart and soul of the game. The anticipation of the crowd, teammates, the opposition waiting until the game could resume upon Plante's return. Plante at that time went against conventional wisdom that coaches long held that a mask hampered a goalie's vision. Plante returned to the ice, with seven stitches and a mask covering his face. The image of goaltending had changed forever.

While Plante set the precedent of wearing a mask, coaches were resistant to the change. Then history repeated itself, this time with more tragic consequences.

Ian Young was playing junior for the Oshawa Generals. The two time all star led his team to the 1966 Memorial Cup finals. His teammates included Bobby Orr, Wayne Cashman, Danny O'Shea all of whom went on to have successful careers in the NHL.

Young was on the verge of signing with the Boston Bruins, when a Mickey Redmond slap shot struck him in the face. The shot shattered the bones above and below Young's left eye and he was left with 4% peripheral vision. In that split second everything Ian Young had worked for was gone. His career in the NHL was over before it ever began.

Harry Sinden, the General Manager of Oshawa at the time, reflected upon Young's future that he was considered to be the next Bruin's goalie. Young had contract offers from the Bruins that were better than Orr's.

Young's biggest disappointment was "I never got the chance to prove that I would have been the top goaltender in the National League. Secondarily the contract, the money I would have had I probably would have been set for the rest of my life."

Not wanting to quit the game he loved so much, Young enrolled at Waterloo University and played intercollegiate hockey. His approach to the technical side of goaltending came to fruition since he had a blind spot that made it difficult to pick up the puck when it approached the net. His disability turned into an adaptable approach which proved to be invaluable to fully sighted goaltenders. The skill Ian originally developed was easily transferable to goalies who could see with both eyes. Ian was dealing with screened shots all the time.

Young's methods have proven helpful in evaluating goaltenders for the Canadian National Junior program. He is also passing on the wisdom to young goaltenders at a school in Whitby.

Young restricts enrollment to 12 students, ensuring a low pupil-teacher ratio of 3 to 1.

Young says the coaching is consistent. There is no consistency in our teaching philosophy. Three areas of development that Ian focuses on, skating, stance and angles. "The goalie has to be the strongest skater on the team. All the skating drills are put into the context of goaltending. We put a lot of stress on skating at a tempo that a goaltender is not used to. It forces the goaltender to react at a higher level. Sure, if a goaltender is good with his trapper and making saves at 70 mph we start shooting pucks at 85-95 miles per hour, whereby he can't make as many saves. This drill will raise his expectations and make him quicker, react quicker in relation to his tempo."

Young does not preach any particular style and is annoyed at those who do. A goalie's personal style, many times will dictate what he is taught.

"Furthermore, I am not saying that my theories and philosophy are the be all and end all of goaltending. In our school, we never teach the poke check, but we never discourage it because we know it is going to happen. What bothers me is the number of people who are given a high profile forum to talk about goaltending, but are really missing the point. They think they are right, but they are not. I think that is the concern in goaltending circles. A lot of people who offer their services do not really understand the game, although their hearts are in the right place, the technical competence is what it should be. If you are going provide goaltending forums for minor hockey, you have to have a standard approach to hockey. That won't happen until we raise the level of coaching and overall knowledge of the game. We must develop or create a level of goaltending that enables us to properly develop goaltenders."

As well as running his goalie school Young serves on the coaching staff of the Generals, works as a consultant with NAMI Sports and along with Terry Rowland has entered the business of player representative.

Despite having his dream taken from him, Young still counts his blessing. "I can go out and skate, I can still play golf, I can drive a car, and raise a family. I am not in a wheelchair and I'm not blind." It is the same at the school. We turn negatives into positives. If you are getting fifty shots a game don't cry because you are getting fifty shots a game, say Hey!, this gives me a chance to show what I can do!

One of Young's prized pupils is showing what he can do in the National League. Kirk McLean returned to the school this year to pass on what the Master had taught him. The Vancouver Canuck puck stopper is a firm believer in Young and his theories. "Ian was the most influential person in my goaltending career. Even today, if I have a problem I will be on the phone to Ian."

Ian Young, in person, never made it to th NHL. But his spirit and expertise did. That and his philiophy on how fortunate he truly is, has helped lessen the cruelty inflicted by the back of fate's hand.