ORLANDO, FLA – In the world of hockey, no player position gets as much scrutiny as the goalie. The final line of defense, netminders have the unique opportunity to turn around his or her team’s fortunes with a key save.
Former NHL goalie Curtis Joseph at the Solar Bears Celebrity Classic (Photo courtesy of Linda Hamilton/Hockey Rockin Chick Photos)
On April 4th, one of the best goalies to ever strap on the pads in the NHL, Curtis Joseph, came to Orlando to participate in the Solar Bears Celebrity Classic at the Amway Center. Joseph played 19 seasons in the “show” including two stints with Orlando’s NHL affiliate in Toronto. His record of 454-352-96 with a 2.79 goals against average and a .906 save percentage puts him among the game’s elite. He also has an Olympic gold medal from 2002 when Team Canada bested the rest of the world at the Salt Lake City games.
Having been a goalie at the highest level, the man hockey fans know as “CuJo” has a very good idea of what it takes to be the best.
“There are lots of good goalies but you want to be great. You want to be the difference maker,” Joseph said. “A lot of it has to do with your mental make-up, your desire to be the best and your desire to learn and improve.”
Solar Bears goalie Maxime Clermont (Photo courtesy of F. Medina & G. Bassing / Orlando Solar Bears)
The Solar Bears have a very good tandem of netminders in Garret Sparks and Maxime Clermont. Sparks, a Toronto prospect, is currently fifth in the ECHL with a 2.42 goals against average to go along with a 20-7-2-1 record, a .934 save percentage and four shutouts. Clermont, a New Jersey Devils farmhand, has a 9-6-2-2 record with a 3.01 goals against average, a .900 save percentage and two shutouts to his credit.
Both goalies have had stretches of absolute brilliance in net. Clermont went more than three full games worth of playing time without allowing a goal in regulation. Sparks had a stretch of five games in which only two shots found the back of the net behind him.
With Joseph in town, it only made sense to ask him what he thought of Orlando’s twin backstops. Friday night he got to see Clermont play and was pretty well impressed with what he saw.
“I watched the game Friday night and he (Clermont) played really well I thought,” Joseph said. “He was really solid technically. None of the goals (a 4-3 overtime loss to South Carolina) were his fault.”
Solar Bears goalie Garret Sparks (Photo courtesy of F. Medina & G. Bassing / Orlando Solar Bears)
Sparks did not dress on Friday, giving him an opportunity to spend time with Joseph in team owner Joe Haleski’s suite. Although he had not seen Sparks play prior to talking with ProHockeyNews, Joseph said he learned quite a bit from the conversation.
“I can tell you he’s a sharp guy, a smart guy. You’ve got to be mentally tough,” CuJo said about Sparks. “It sounds like he has all the physical attributes. If he has the talent, he should be easy to work with.”
Both Clermont and Sparks have been caught in a numbers game that has pushed them to the ECHL. Joseph said that the two should use the opportunity to work on their skills and make the Devils and Leafs take notice of them.
“You want to have that hunger and feel like somebody is scouting you every night. You want to feel like I’m going to make the difference and I want to be recognized. You’ve got to have that desire within you to want to be the best and to move up quickly,” he said.
Curtis Joseph watches the action in the Solar Bears Celebrity Classic (Photo courtesy of Linda Hamilton / Hockey Rockin Chicks Photos)
“If you’re good enough, they’ll find you. If you dominate, they’ll find you or they’ll move a guy.”
Joseph went on to say that he thinks the Toronto system from the top down is in good shape as far as goaltending, putting much of the blame for the Leafs regular season results on issues outside of the blue paint. He added that in his opinion, the way Toronto is currently using its three levels of the affiliation system (NHL, AHL, ECHL) can only mean good things for all three teams in the future.
“You have to have a goal to move up the ladder. You have to have a goal to be the best. You have to set goals and achieve those goals,” Joseph said. “It’s great to have a system that brings you up through it. It’s very important. I think it makes a lot of sense.”
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