“Hershey right spot for Holtby” |
| Posted: 10 Jan 2011 06:29 PM PST Young goaltender knows he needs to put time in at the AHL level before getting the call to the NHL.  Goalie Braden Holtby, shown deflecting a shot to the corner, has been a rock in the Bears crease as of late, recording back-to-back shutouts during recent outings for Hershey. (LEBANON DAILY NEWS GORDON OLIVER) That, basically, is Braden Holtby's job description. Except translating the job description into reality isn't quite that easy, although lately, it seems that it is. The second-year pro, a fourth-round pick by the Washington Capitals in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, put together shutouts in back-to-back starts while running his streak of scoreless hockey to more than 170 minutes in early January. Still, Holtby knows that can change at any time. Certainly the unexpected twists and turns his career has taken so far provide plenty of evidence of that. A year ago, Holtby figured to be the No. 5 goalie in the Washington organization. As a result, he was assigned to South Carolina in the ECHL to get playing time. Then came a series of injuries, and Holtby, after 12 games with the Stingrays, found himself back in Hershey. The guy who didn't figure to play much in Hershey instead wound up leading the Bears in both games (37), minutes played (2,146) and wins (25). Holtby's career took a different turn this season. After starting the season with the Bears, he was called up by the Capitals in late October and spent more than a month with Washington, serving primarily as the backup goalie but still playing in five games and putting together a 2-2-1 record with a 3.84 goals-against average. It might not have been exactly the way he wanted his first trip to the NHL to work out, but it was far from a disaster, and if nothing else, it served as a valuable learning experience."Anything but the NHL isn't where you want to be," said Holtby, "but in my situation, this is the place (Hershey) I should be, to get a full year where I can really try and make it known for sure that I can play in the next league above. "But it's great to be here. It's great hockey, and it's very challenging. I knew I'd be in Hershey all year this year, or most of the year, and my goal coming in is to play as well as I can and earn as many starts as I can. Hopefully, things will keep going my way." No small part of Holtby's success this season has been the steadily maturing defense in front of him, something he fully appreciates. As the Bears have improved defensively, Holtby, having a clear view of the way play is unfolding in the neutral zone, is finding it easier to focus on the puck. And having to face fewer odd-man rushes. "The big thing about not having odd-man rushes is you need that high third forward, F3," he said. "That was one thing that was probably our biggest struggle through the first half of the year. Some guys weren't committed to playing that F3, but in the last while here, everyone's bought in. "It always takes that way at the start of the year. You always have a few problems like that, and that was one of the things we addressed, and we're doing an awesome job right now." It has also saved Holtby from trying to yell instructions halfway down the ice. "As a goalie, you can see the whole play," he said, "so you can tell if you don't have a high forward, and it's frustrating because you can't yell loud enough for them to hear you. You can see the play develop. But these last few games, it's been a long time since I've wanted to yell down there." For Holtby, it's just a matter of improving his own game while helping the Bears win. "I really wanted to work on consistency down here," he said. "If you look at goaltending, there's not a lot that goes straight up. It's a very difficult position because you can see everything good when things are going well, but it's about adversity, and I think this year I've had a bit of that to deal with, so one of the things was after those games in Washington I was allowed to come down here and make sure I could bounce back so they're not scared to call me up again." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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