The “stand up” goalie

A recent post on GreatestHockeyLegends.com included a video clip of Canucks goalie Kirk McLean during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final against the New York Rangers (who won in a great seven game series) back in 1994.

A couple of things interested me about this. Obviously it was about the Canucks’ run to the Stanley Cup final, and after their choke job to the Chicago Blackhawks in round two this year, it was nice to reminisce about some of the glory days.

But, what really intrigued me about the clip was watching McLean’s style of goaltending, known as the stand up style. Stand up goaltending is all but lost now in the NHL, forsaken for the butterfly style (made popular by Patrick Roy), a hybrid of the stand up and butterfly (e.g. Martin Brodeur), or what I like to call the gumby style (e.g. Dominic Hasek, Tim Thomas). Since you never see it anymore, watching McLean’s technique in making all those kick saves while staying on his feet really caught my attention. Being up on his feet also allowed him to play the puck with his stick much more and so it was no wonder he was known for being one of the best at it.

Check it out:

Singh10.