Potential vs Experience

So here's a question to consider...if you were the GM of a hockey team, who would you want in the pipes as your starting goaltender?

More generally, what type of goaltender would you want as your #1 guy? A young, energetic goaltender with tons of potential... or the proven, experienced veteran who has a track record of winning?

A couple of recent happenings prompted some thought on this topic, one of which was the New Jersey Devils' recent contract extension of Cory Schneider; and the team's decision to not re-sign NHL legend Martin Brodeur. Another newsworthy event is something a little bit more local to me in Europe...

This past week, I watched a few highlights from the newly formed Champions Hockey League. The league is essentially a season-long tournament consisting of teams from various top-tier leagues scattered around Europe. The teams play interleague games throughout the year when there are openings in their regular season schedules. The tourney is currently in its preliminary round-robin stage (eleven groups of four teams). After the initial pool-play stage, the top 16 teams will advance to compete in a single-elimination "bracket" to decide who gets to raise the European Trophy in early February. There are three different ways that a team can qualify for the Champions League explained in detail on the league's wikipedia page.

The European "Champions Hockey League" tournament consists of 44 teams from 11 different leagues. There are 8 teams each from Sweden's and Finland's top leagues; 6 teams each from Switzerland, Czech Republic, and Germany; 4 teams from Austria's top league (including one team from Italy); 2 teams from Norway's Ligaen; and 1 team each from the top leagues in Denmark (Metal Ligaen), Slovakia (Extraliga), United Kingdom (EIHL), and France (Ligue Magnus).

After browsing the league's webpage and looking at some of their rosters, I noticed a few familiar names. Some of you may recognize a few of the former NHL goaltenders as well... guys like Martin Gerber, Jussi Markkanen, Sebastien Caron, and Mikael Tellqvist to name a few.

#OldGoalies trending ???

I did some number crunching. I found the average age of the starting goaltenders in the Champions League was well above 30 years old. The average age of forwards and defensemen was about 25...

That's five full years younger than the average starting netminder!

Jussi Markkanen during the playoff run in 2006. Markkanen was one of three Oilers' goalies to play in the Stanley Cup Final series that year. The 39-year old currently plays for Saimaan Pallo (SaiPa) in Finland's Liiga.

Martin Gerber sporting his all black "Darth Vader" mask for the Ottawa Senators during the 2007-08 season. The 40-year old netminder played 229 games in the NHL and is now backstopping the Kloten Flyers of the Swiss NLA.

Markkanen and "Darth" Gerber are both in their fourth decade on earth (ages courtesy of eliteprospects.com), so they definitely were not the youngest guys on the goalie market this summer. So why did top European teams offer very generous salaries to these over-the-hill athletes?

It could be for the same reason that Martin Brodeur brought his sixth-seeded team to the Stanely Cup Final nearing the ripe age of 40 just three years ago. And why the then 37-year young Tim Thomas, in 2011, won the Conn Smythe trophy as his team secured the Stanley Cup in a seven game series against the Vancouver Canucks... These goalies have experience. They've been there before, and they know how to win in high pressure situations.

On the other hand, it's very possible that a young goalie can do the same. Patrick Roy, Ken Dryden, and Cam Ward each won the Stanley Cup during his rookie season. But these types of goalies are a rarity. General managers in the European circuit are now banking on the guys with "big game" experience more times than not.

So remember, goalies: think of the art/science of goaltending as a marathon, not a sprint. Don't be discouraged if you have a rough few games or even a challenging year. It is all part of the learning process that will make you a better goaltender in the long run. Goaltenders can find out a lot about themselves and their weaknesses when they lose, so sometimes losing is a necessary evil in order to learn what needs improvement. But that's only half the battle. Your persistence and effort in refining your craft of stopping pucks must come next, and as you develop you'll turn losing into winning.