NHL goalies prepare through individual combinations of physical activation, on-ice movement, visual or hand-eye work, mental focus and opponent-specific coaching. There is no single league-wide routine: reported approaches range from timed off-ice drills to a gradual on-ice progression. The goal is readiness, not completing the most elaborate checklist.
What a starting goalie’s preparation can include
Preparation usually addresses several needs, but the balance and sequence vary by goalie. The documented examples below are individual practices, not a required NHL schedule.
- Physical activation: stretching, mobility and movement that help the goalie feel ready to skate and move in the crease.
- On-ice feel: edgework, balance and save-like motions to tune movement and coordination.
- Vision and hand-eye work: eye exercises or ball drills to engage visual tracking and coordination.
- Mental focus: visualization or other personal habits that help a goalie settle attention without adding distracting tasks.
- Game reads: coaching that addresses the opponent and the situations a goalie may face.
How physical and visual warm-ups differ
Gradual movement on the ice
Sergei Bobrovsky’s reported routine offers one example of an on-ice progression. In a 2024 profile by the Florida Panthers and NHL.com, he was described moving around the rink with edgework, held C-cuts and balance work, arm movements, save-like motions and mobility stretches on his pads. Bobrovsky said the work helps him get into practice and “get in sync with my mind and my body on the ice.” He developed the routine about seven years earlier after working with independent goalie and movement coaches to revise his regimen and reduce stress on his body. It is his approach, not an established standard or a medical prescription. Read the Florida Panthers/NHL.com profile.
Off-ice vision and hand-eye drills
NHL.com’s 2019 reporting on Braden Holtby describes visualization in a quiet room, rubber-ball throws against a wall, dynamic stretches and eye exercises that shift focus between points. Other goalies profiled in the same story pared back similarly elaborate preparations. Balls are one documented drill tool; the reporting does not suggest every goalie uses them or that any particular product is required. Read NHL.com’s report on goalie routines.
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Why more routine can become counterproductive
A routine is useful only insofar as it supports readiness. In the 2019 NHL.com report, Thatcher Demko said repeated tennis-ball work left him sweating, with a sore rotator cuff, and tired before games. He later simplified his approach, saying, “I’m not a worse goalie because I can’t juggle a tennis ball as well as I did last game.” The article reported his save percentage with Utica was .884 before the change and .913 for the rest of that season; those figures do not show that simplifying his routine caused the improvement.
Jimmy Howard also described cutting back after a sports psychologist told him he had too much going on in his visualization routine. These examples point to a practical distinction: a personal cue or drill can help someone focus, while an expanding checklist can consume energy or encourage overthinking. They do not establish which routine is best for other goalies.
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How coaches prepare goalies for the opponent
Pregame preparation is not only a ritual or warm-up. Seattle Kraken goalie coach Steve Briere has described goalie sessions that cover technical work, game reads and how to approach an opponent. Team practices also let goalies work against their own team’s attack. Briere says he does not want goalies consciously sorting through technical instructions during play: “Most of the time, I don’t want the goalies thinking during the game. They have to be just reacting.” His account describes a coach-specific method, not a universal pre-start meeting or checklist. Read the Kraken/NHL.com interview with Steve Briere.
What changes when a goalie is backing up?
A goalie who is not expected to start may still need to be ready to enter after an injury or a starter’s poor performance. NHL.com’s 2020 reporting says goalies often keep much of their physical preparation, including movement and stretching, visualization and ball drills, whether starting or backing up. The examples show personal differences rather than a fixed rule: Cam Talbot said he skipped a pregame nap when not starting, while Demko said he emphasized mobility more when he was starting. The report also describes non-playing nights as potential mental rest, even when a goalie continues hard practices or extra work on other days. These are accounts from 2020, not a current league-wide count of what goalies do. Read NHL.com’s report on mental rest for goalies.
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Routine, superstition and personal habits
Not every repeated habit is a technical or physical preparation method. An Associated Press report published April 29, 2025, described Avalanche goalie Scott Wedgewood’s between-period sequence as a personal way to switch into game mode: “That’s just been a game-on, turn-the-engine-on, type thing.” In the same report, Logan Thompson described moving away from superstitions that could make him overthink. These anecdotes illustrate how personal habits differ; they are not evidence that one approach improves performance. Read the Associated Press report.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the available examples can—and cannot—show
Published accounts show a range of individual routines and coaching methods, but they do not provide a representative survey of NHL goalies, a league-mandated schedule or controlled evidence that a particular ritual raises save percentage. For example, NHL.com noted that Holtby added guitar to his routine early in the 2015–16 season, when he tied Martin Brodeur’s single-season record with 48 wins. That context does not establish that guitar or another routine produced the wins. Likewise, Bobrovsky’s profile noted his 32 saves in Florida’s 3–0 Game 1 win over Edmonton in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final; that game result is not proof of the routine’s effectiveness.
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