Hockey players benefit from taking part in goalie clinic

The hockey season may be over, but for many former Whitehorse Mustangs there is a still lot to play for.

The hockey season may be over, but for many former Whitehorse Mustangs there is a still lot to play for.
A small handful of players took part in a goalie camp on Sunday in hopes of improving their skills with team selections at the junior, college and university levels on the horizon.
“The more ice time they get, the better they get,“ said Gerry Perrier, one of the organizers of the goalie camp.

“The kids that are really excelling at hockey are the ones that can’t get enough ice time. We have lots of guys that have the potential, but don’t spend the same amount of time. So the guys that are playing outside of the Yukon right now, all of these guys are guys you couldn’t keep off the ice. You didn’t drag them to rink; they dragged their parents to the rink.“
In total, two goalies attended the camp, which was held from 11:15-12:30 p.m. at the Canada Games Centre.
One of the goalies was Ian Perrier, a former Mustang, who for the past two seasons has been playing outside of Whitehorse in B.C. at both the major midget and junior levels.

The other goalie, Tom Jirousek, played for the Atom Mustangs this past season.
As a result of the small number of goalies that took part in the camp, only four players were asked to help out.

All of the players were former Mustangs and took turns shooting on net as well as assisting the drills Ian thought up.
A lot of drills were based on movement, which forced both goaltenders to get in front of the puck and maintain position on the shooters.

One drill, called “rebound” favoured the shooters and was fairly tiring for the participating goaltender.
Rebound involved one of the four players beginning the drill by shooting on net from directly in front of the goalie, while the other three were in close range and ready to put the puck in if it came to them.

The game continues for the forwards until they score.
For the goalie to get a point, he had to stop the puck and hold onto it or direct it so that it hits the boards.

If the goalie is unable to do so, the players can continue to pass the puck around as long as they can in order to get the goalie tired and out of position.
Ian, 17, directed all of the drills by explaining what he wanted and then setting them up to make it as tough on himself as possible.
Perrier said there are advantages to the drills being movement based.
“There is no miracle or magic, it’s get in front of the puck,“ he said.

“Every drill that we do teaches the goalies how to get in front of the puck and stay in front of the puck if possible and how to adapt to whatever the shooters are doing.“
Perrier said this type of clinic benefits all of the players who are involved.

“I think they all come out with a little bit better skill,“ he said.

“Ian is a good goalie because he has had good shooters and we have good shooters because he is a good goalie.

They need one another and I think they get better and better.“
Perrier said the best part about putting on the clinic is the enthusiasm the players bring to the rink.
“They come to play and they play hard,“ he said.

“I never have trouble getting these guys to come out and there are some guys I wouldn’t even phone because I know they are always too busy with something else.

These guys, hockey is it and they are benefitting so much for that. Adam Henderson, he is going to Michigan State on a full scholarship.

Hockey is paying off big time for him and all of these guys are hoping for the same thing. They are more than just hoping they are working toward it. They are not just sitting back and wishing.“
Henderson, 18, was one of the shooters who took part in the camp.

He played for the Bantam Mustangs before moving to Fort St. John, B.C. to play hockey at the midget level.

For the past two seasons, Henderson has been playing Junior “A” hockey for the Spruce Grove Saints in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. 
Henderson has had two dominant seasons playing junior hockey. In his rookie year, he notched 46 points in total, with 21 goals and 25 assisted.

This past season, Henderson improved upon this total by six points, finishing the year with 25 goals and 27 assists.
His stellar play resulted in him been scouted by a few U.S. colleges, including Ohio State and Michigan State.

He also had interest from teams in the Western Hockey League. In January, Michigan State offered him a full scholarship, valued at around $125,000.

After Henderson took a couple weeks to think it over, he decided that it was the best choice for him.
“My goal is just to play hockey,“ he said. “Last year I had about six or seven university schools talking to me and Michigan State is probably the best fit.

Their school is the top level in the country and hockey there is first class. You can’t get a better hockey program than Michigan State University.“
Henderson plans on training in Whitehorse over the summer and said his reason for coming out to the goalie clinic was to get some ice time, so that he will be in shape for university tryouts in August.
He said it was a pleasant surprise when Michigan State offered him the scholarship.
“It’s a really big school that came knocking,“ Henderson said. “I was really surprised.“
Henderson, who plays left-wing, credits the scholarship to the hard work he has put in and the opportunities that both his coach and line mates provided him with in Spruce Grove.

He said his only goal is to make the team and is confident about being able to do so if he continues to work hard over the summer.
“When you go into camp you want to be in shape,“ he said. “If I get as much time on the ice as I can, if I stay a couple of hours in the gym every day, I will be good.“
Ian Perrier has been playing as a goalie since he was 10 years old. This past season, Ian played in a junior “B” team in Chase B.C.

His goal for the upcoming hockey year is to be playing for the Grande Prairie Storm in the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
Ian said there are a lot of advantages to participating in the goalie camp.
“Just to refine your skills and to get mentally prepared for pretty much any situation that can come up in a game,“ he said.

“The way I like to set up the drills is that so the shooters have the advantage, so that in order for me to make the save I have to be on top of my game.

I just have it set so that if you make a mistake you are most likely going to get scored on, about 90 per cent of the time.

So you have to be almost technically perfect every time.“
He said he was pleased with the way it went on Sunday.
“I was really happy with how it went,“ Ian said.

“I felt the shooters were really working hard out there. Most of these drills were hard for the shooters too.“
Ian, who was an affiliate player with the Storm last season, said he is more prepared to make the team this time around.
“I am more confident going in this year,“ he said.

“Over the last year I have improved a ton. I just feel like this year I am going to become one of the top starters in the league just because all of the effort I have put in this past year and the stuff I had to deal with.“
Tryouts for the team are in May and Ian said if he is selected to the junior “A” team it would be his best accomplishment to date in the sport.