Minnesota Hockey Journal

P R E S E N T E D B Y Russo's Rants 28 "To me, it was just fun," Fleury, 38, said when asked why he decided to be a goalie. "I love the gear. I love the mask. I love that you don't have to change. You play the whole game. You're on the ice all the time." Fleury f lashed his trademark smile and big, white teeth, then winked: "Obviously with time, sometimes you don't play the whole game depending on how you play. But it was just fun, and that 's why I started and that 's why I continued. In goal, working hard doesn't feel like work. It feels like fun." A nybody that watches Fleury play goal knows that. He's not your typical goaltender who tries to remain quiet and cover his angles to perfection. He's an acrobat in the crease and loves to make the highlight-reel save. He'll roll around, sprawl from side to side, exaggerate his glove saves. "To me, that 's fun," Fleury said. " You make a save with f lair, to me, it 's like scoring a goal. It 's a good feeling inside." WHAT GOALTENDING TEACHES Fleury knows that it's fun scoring a goal, but he thinks all kids should give goaltending a try. First, it teaches you about pres- sure. Let's be honest: You can have the best players in the world, but if your goaltending is sub-par, so usually is your team and its results. Second, it gives you a sense of appreciation for playing strong and responsible on the defensive side of the puck. Third, it's fun strapping on all the gear. Fourth, it teaches you to have a thick skin. We all know, anytime a goal is scored, most critics look squarely at the goaltender. "That was soft." "That was cheesy." "That was a bad goal." Most people don't look at all the mistakes that may have happened before the goal actually happened. Most people don't care if there was a screen or if maybe the puck def lected off a player or a stick or another piece of equipment. So kids playing goalie need to forget quick and move on. And they also need to ignore the outside noise. Same with a goalie's parents. OK, especially a goalie's parents. "If you're the parent, every- body looks at you," Fleury said, laughing. "My parents said they heard stuff they didn't like to hear. Sometimes that it was a bad goal: 'He should have stopped that.' My parents would be like, 'I don't yell at their kids when they make mistakes.' But I feel like that's part of being a goalie and it's probably good to learn it from a young age because it doesn't get any better, trust me. The older you get, the more people critique the way you play. It's part of being a goalie." SOWING SEEDS FOR SAVES Five years ago, USA Hockey, in an effort to make things easier for the next generation of goalies, launched a formal goaltending coach education and certification program with the aspiration of having American goalies play Marc-Andre Fleury is closing in on Patrick Roy for the second- most wins (551) in NHL history. 691 Martin Brodeur 551 Patrick Roy 531 * Marc-Andre Fleury 489 Roberto Luongo M H J ON L I N E . C O M | J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 3 Photo / Joe Puetz/Getty Images, Pittsburgh Penguins, Vegas Golden Knights *As of press-time Dec. 22 "In the summer, [my dad] didn't make me play hockey. Soccer, baseball, he was just as happy watching me play. It was good how he never pushed it on me. He just let me fall in love with it naturally..." – MARC-ANDRE FLEURY IT'S ABOUT WINNING All-time NHL wins

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