Coyotes’ Kuemper rusty in his return to ice
Goalie gets back to work at Gila River Arena
Throughout a spring of video conference calls with various Coyotes players in quarantine, one common question is asked: How are you staying in shape?
Now that some Coyotes players have returned to the ice at Gila River Arena for Phase 2 of the NHL’s return-to-play protocol, the various answers to that question are being put to the test in playerdriven workouts.
For goaltenders, especially Coyotes starter Darcy Kuemper, replicating workflow without access to ice is close to impossible. It made for a rusty reunion when Kuemper got the chance to suit up this week.
“Conditioning isn’t really the issue,” Kuemper said on Thursday. “It’s just that, you know, you get out there for the first time in a couple months and you kind of have to re-teach yourself how to play goalie.”
Kuemper, who stayed at his home in the Valley during the NHL’s season pause, said that by the end of his first onice session he was feeling close to normal again. Still, he had gone an inordinate amount of time without skating, as have many NHL players during the last few months.
A high-ankle sprain suffered as a teenager kept Kuemper off the ice for about two months during his junior career. Kuemper, who finished among NHL leaders in several goaltending statistics this season, said that hiatus ranks as the only comparison for the three months he just went without a playing surface due to the pause induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, most hockey individuals have found ways to replicate their profession. Some, including Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet and league veteran Patrick Marleau, have taken up rollerblading. For forwards and defensemen, a bucket of pucks and a net in the driveway works just fine.
But what is a goaltender to do? How can they practice techniques such as the butterfly and edge work without an ice surface and goal posts drilled into it? How can they stay sharp without seeing shots?
“There’s not a whole lot you can do to work on skills off the ice,” Kuemper said. “It makes it more important now that we’re back on the ice to take the time to focus on getting a lot of timing back and specific movements. When it comes to training camp, you’re not trying to learn those; you more want to be refining your game.”
A popular off-the-ice exercise for goaltenders involves bouncing tennis balls off a wall and catching them to mimic the hand-eye coordination used making glove saves on the ice.
Kuemper said that, although he’s taken part in such exercises, it’s a far cry from the real deal. Still, Kuemper believes there should be enough time to hone his skills before the expanded 24-team postseason format begins.
“We’re allowed to have some time now to work on goalie-specific drills,” Kuemper said. “I think you’ve just got to take advantage of the time you do have on the ice to be as ready as you can.”