"One thing is you can’t have any pucks in his net. If you shoot a puck in his net while the play is going on in practice, he gets really, really mad at you. I wasn’t here when [Olie] Kolzig was here, but I imagine it to be something similar to that. He is known to maybe trip guys on breakaways and sometimes he doesn’t always go for the puck – he goes for your skates instead. He’s a good guy though and a good goalie to have in practice because he works so hard." - Karl Alzner on Braden Holtby
over 1 year ago
Becca H
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Wrong kind of angry.
This… isn’t great to hear, especially after the Kuz incident. There’s a fine line, especially in hockey, between being fiery and gritty, and being a loose cannon. When the guy is slashing people’s achilles in PRESEASON when he knows for a fact he’ll be in Hershey for most of the year… it makes me think you’ve got a loose cannon.
Bottom line: The kid needs to mature and learn how to control and harness his emotions, like any high level athlete who achieves his maximum potential.
by Bushwood Bushwhacker on Nov 18, 2010 4:59 PM EST up reply actions
Back when Olie was younger (i.e. pre-1998) folks who came in on breakaways on Olie would almost always try to shoot. To try to deke him was inviting him to trip you and/or take a full on whack from a goalie stick on the ankle. Of course, the whack from the stick was coming from a goalie that was a strong as an ox, and when you then ran into him, it was like sliding full speed into a wall. Not much fun for the skater.
And Lord help you if you set up shop too close to the crease, Olie would whack you in the back of the legs with the stick and do it so the refs didn’t notice… It wasn’t that he was dirty (all goalies whacked opponents back then) but Olie was bigger than most goalies so he could put more behind the lumber when he hit someone.
And on occasion, he’s mix it up with someone, and he was vicious with the blocker pad, using the bottom edge as a weapon on many occasions if someone gave him a snow shower or bumped him.
As he got older he mellowed some, in that he became more subtle when abusing opponents. He never did lose the fire though…
Washington Capitals 2009-10 = Quebec Nordiques 1994-95
--- D'ohboy
by MikeL-Pivonka on Nov 18, 2010 3:00 PM EST reply actions 2 recs
basically, lord help you if you came within 10 feet of Olie’s crease :) he was so much fun to watch.
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Man, I was a kid through most of Olie’s career, but loved every second of his fire.
I love the fire Holtby plays with too.
I like Laich, but I <3 Green
by RockinRed4Life on Nov 18, 2010 6:14 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah, he definitely doesn’t go for the puck.
Sincerely,
Thomas Vanek
Soon the Championship with be ours, all ours!
Too soon!
"Hockey is my life, wine is my passion." -- Igor Larionov
by Scott in Shaw on Nov 19, 2010 12:12 AM EST up reply actions
Never…
Washington Capitals 2009-10 = Quebec Nordiques 1994-95
--- D'ohboy
by MikeL-Pivonka on Nov 19, 2010 12:48 PM EST up reply actions
The more I hear about this guy the more I like him. If Varly’s injury issues persist, I wouldn’t mind see him traded away and have Holtby up full time.
Some people are like Slinkies, not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you see one tumble down the stairs.
by Green_with_Envy on Nov 18, 2010 3:42 PM EST reply actions
As much as I enjoy seeing him up I feel riding the pine in DC is not doing him as much good as it would for him to get another year in Hersey. Just because he is has a temper and doesn’t take sh*t form people doesn’t mean he will plan out. He still looks raw in a lot of ways and I think he would do best to be a workhorse in Hershey for the year with an occasional call-up to hone his skills.
"Ovechkin is as subtle as a shot of vodka."
I like him coming up to the NHL from time to time but after Vanek reduced him to rubble there’s no way I want to see him in net regularly. All due respect to Vanek, but there are certainly other guys in the league that are more than capable of emulating that play.
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Did I look on great Orion sloping slowly to the West.
Whatever Kuznetsov said it was totally inappropriate for Holtby to react like that. He’s [Holtby] one of the guys that knows exactly where he will be playing next year no matter how this week goes.
Saw this comment about the slash to Kuz from training camp and had to say, funny how things work out, huh?
Not calling out the commenter, I agreed with his comment, but its just ironic now.
Wasn’t that just saying that Kuz is fighting for his life to make a great impression? Holtby was 100% going to be in the AHL even if he had a so-so camp.
It is sort of weird having Varly in the AHL for what looks to be a few weeks though.
Think twice before you speak, and then you may be able to say something more insulting than if you spoke right out at once.
Kuznetsov was not fighting to make a good impression. He’s top flight talent, which is why it was really bad for Hotlby to slash him. You don’t break talented 1st rounders that are on your team. Kuznetsov is in the KHL currently.
Proud member of the Popsicle Division of the Cupcake Conference.
Yeah, Kuznetsov just showed up to camp and decided to walk through it?
They got in a tiff, it happens all the time. The difference is theirs was recorded and the Capitals have a lot of coverage so people actually knew that it happened.
Think twice before you speak, and then you may be able to say something more insulting than if you spoke right out at once.
But he did go straight to Hershey. Sure, he got the nod because Varly went down, but the point was when you’re firmly off the NHL roster in preseason and you’re slashing people’s ankles when the puck isn’t even in play… you got some thinking to do…
by Bushwood Bushwhacker on Nov 18, 2010 5:02 PM EST up reply actions
Would be nice in a few years time....
….if Holtby graced the cover of SI for the Caps like this fiery goalie from the past did.
I poured spot remover on my dog. Now he's gone.
I believe Bugsy Watson is the only Cap ever to grace the cover of SI, although he was chasing Guy Lafleur in the photo.
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by STLSpidey on Nov 18, 2010 5:18 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Bill Smith was the prototype for fiery goalies until Ron Hextall came along…. although Hextall was also dirty. Smith was aggressive, but he was more subtle about it. Hextall was the first ever goalie to go over 100 PIMs in a season… I don’t think any other goalies have ever done that…
Washington Capitals 2009-10 = Quebec Nordiques 1994-95
--- D'ohboy
by MikeL-Pivonka on Nov 19, 2010 12:50 PM EST up reply actions
Between Kuznetsov and Vanek, Holtby’s offering two different avanues to questioning his judgment. Please pass the seasoning.
There's no 'i' in "team". But there's a 'nap' in "champion".
So he has that going for him…which is nice.
Tell your girlfriend to stop texting me.
by hotdog88gt on Nov 18, 2010 11:08 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
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