The best NHL goalies right now, and what to copy from each

Every list of the best NHL goalies ranks them. This one doesn't bother. Each of these goalies does one thing better than almost anyone, and that one thing is something a young goalie can work on this week. Here's who, and what to steal.

Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg Jets): patience

Three Vezina Trophies (2020, 2024, 2025) and the 2025 Hart Trophy as the league's MVP, the first goalie to win it in ten years. Watch how little he moves: he's big, square and calm, and he lets the shot come to him instead of guessing.

Copy this: don't go down early. Stay on your feet in your stance until the shooter commits. → Rookie Series 01: Stance

Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay Lightning): explosive recovery

Two Stanley Cups (2020, 2021), the Conn Smythe in 2021 and the Vezina in 2019. When a rebound pops out, he's already moving to it, and he gets there set.

Copy this: after the first save, find the puck with your eyes and push to it with your lead leg. → Rookie Series 06: Butterfly & Recovery

Igor Shesterkin (New York Rangers): reading the play

Vezina winner in 2022. He seems to know where the pass is going before it's made, because he's reading the shooter's head, stick and options, not just the puck.

Copy this: in practice, before every shot, say out loud where the pass could go. You'll start seeing it in games. → Rookie Series 02: Shuffle & T-push

Juuse Saros (Nashville Predators): size isn't everything

Listed at 5'11", small for an NHL goalie today, and still one of the best. He makes up for it with speed, tracking and playing at the right depth.

Copy this: if you're smaller than the goalies around you, out-skate them. Clean, quick shuffles and T-pushes beat being big. → Rookie Series 02: Shuffle & T-push and our goalie skating post

Ilya Sorokin (New York Islanders): side to side

A Vezina finalist in 2023 and known for saves that shouldn't be possible: across the crease, post to post, still set when the shot comes.

Copy this: practise the T-push post to post, and stop square every time. A sharp stop is what makes a fast move a save. → Rookie Series 02 and 03

Sergei Bobrovsky (Florida Panthers): compete

Two Vezinas (2013, 2017) and back-to-back Stanley Cups with Florida (2024, 2025). When a play breaks down, he never gives up on a puck.

Copy this: no puck is lost until it's in. Make "one more push" a habit in practice, even on drills that look done.

Jake Oettinger (Dallas Stars): calm under pressure

Big, quiet and in control, with the best games in the biggest moments. Nothing about his body language changes after a goal.

Copy this: have a reset after every goal against: look at your stick, take a breath, back to your stance. Same every time.

What they all have in common

Every one of them has a stance they trust, skating that gets them there set, and a butterfly they can get up from. That's where all seven started, and it's where the Crease Goaltending Rookie Series starts too: seven lessons, from stance to puckhandling, with Coach Dave Dolecki and Coach Nate Colitto. See the Rookie Series

Want someone to watch your goalie and say which of these to work on first? Goalie coaching in Toronto