Our Kids Play Hockey | Hockey Stories & Teamwork Tips Our Kids Play Goalie: What NHL Goalie Coaches See That Youth Goalies Miss with Steve Briere
🥅 What does an NHL goalie coach see that youth goalies, parents, and coaches often miss?
According to longtime NHL goalie coach Steve Briere, the answer isn’t just better technique, more private lessons, or perfect positioning.
It starts with focus. Athleticism. Joy. Compete. Ownership. And a genuine desire to stop the puck.
In this episode of Our Kids Play Goalie, Lee Elias and Mike Bonelli sit down with Briere, whose coaching career includes seven seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, three with the Seattle Kraken, and his current role with the Wisconsin Badgers. After working with goaltenders at the highest levels of the game, Steve shares what truly separates developing goalies — and why some of the most important lessons have little to do with butterfly technique.
🔥 Inside this episode:
🥅 Why “just stop the puck” is more meaningful than it sounds — and how technical perfection can sometimes get in the way of the actual job.
🧠 Why focus, athleticism, passion, and having fun are some of the first qualities Steve notices in a young goalie.
💪 How the meaning of “fun” evolves as players get older — from simply enjoying the crease to loving competition, improvement, and the work itself.
🚗 Why some of the most valuable hockey lessons happen during conversations between parents and kids — and why those conversations should often be about life, not X’s and O’s.
🌱 Why parents can cultivate a young athlete’s drive, but they cannot create it for them.
💡 How innovation, technology, video, vision training, and tools like NHL Sense Arena can help goalies find new ways to improve — without replacing the need for athletes to think for themselves.
🏒 Why goalie development must become increasingly player-driven: instead of constantly being told what to work on, young goalies eventually need to ask, “How can I get better?”
🤝 Why coaches who begin with “I don’t know anything about goalies” may unintentionally isolate one of the most important players on their team.
⚡ How coaches can design practices that respect goalie workload, recovery, development, and the enormous number of reps goaltenders receive compared with skaters.
❤️ And why love, belonging, friendships, leadership, and community matter all the way from youth hockey to the NHL.
One of Steve’s biggest reminders applies far beyond the crease: young athletes are going to be people much longer than they are going to be hockey players.
Develop the goalie. Develop the competitor. But most importantly, help develop the person underneath the mask.
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: What NHL Goalie Coaches See That Youth Hockey Often Misses
🎧 Whether you're raising a goalie, coaching one, playing the position yourself, or simply want to better understand the most unique position in hockey, this conversation belongs in your hockey education.
Listen, share it with your goalie community, and keep helping young athletes fall in love with the process of getting better.
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