MAX Hockey

Some call it a style, some say it’s overused, we know it’s a way to make a save. It sounds like we’re cooking something up. What makes a good butterfly?

Currently, the butterfly is the preferred save choice for most goalies. From this position your goalie can make a variety of saves: blocker, chest, glove, stick and pad saves. Here’s a few notes to pay attention to when coaching your goalie in this save position:

• Chest should remain up with the shoulders leaned slightly forward. Do not let your goaltender’s butt sink towards their heels as this will create an imbalance to make lateral movements and saves.
• Controlled movement down to the ice, it should not be a flopping and slamming of the knees to the ice
• Leg pads will be flared out and flush to the ice with the knees close together, the pads can slightly overlap to secure the five hole.
• Hands will remain out in front of the body and the stick will remain roughly one foot in front of the goalie at an angle.

And probably the most common issue or question with the butterfly is normally equipment. Why isn’t your goalie’s leg pads flaring out? Equipment is a topic I try to let others handle. But for this post, let’s briefly dive into a couple potential problems.

• The first simple one is they’re not flaring their legs. Feet should remain wide and land on the insides, not the top of their knees.
• Second is equipment where the straps are too tight especially around the tops of your goalie’s legs near the knees. Keep these loose enough for rotation.
• Third is check how your goalie’s toe of the pad is secured to their skate. If this is too tight whether it’s lace, bungee etc, it will not allow the pad to rotate.

The above video is a great demonstration, but also brings up another good point about any save selection. The movement to the ice especially for a butterfly should be driving the knees straight down to the ice, NOT sliding forward or backwards. Laterally is acceptable if that’s the movement you need to make to adjust the angle. Notice it was “drive” the knees. Not flop down. Watch to make sure your goalie isn’t flopping to the ice each time. It should be a controlled movement.

Now that we’ve covered a lot of aspects of the butterfly let’s try to neatly wrap it up into a few key points that make a good butterfly:

• Controlled, no flopping and butt sagging
• Upper body and hands ready for saves
• Pads flared and five hole closed

Three points to focus on with your goalie to ensure every butterfly is a successful save selection and has them prepared for follow on movements. Thanks for reading and let me know what questions or comments you have!