Episode 209 with Brandon Bussi
Presented by the Hockey Shop Source for Sports Langley that new location rocking it and the hockey shop.com where I get all my stuff from South of the Border it’s inold radio the podcast Darren Mard along with the co-founders of inle magazine it’s Kevin Woodley and David Hutchinson Is On Assignment right now
You will be really excited to see where he’s at in subsequent episodes of inold radio the podcast what’s going on Wy I am uh being held together by duct tape and bailing wire and just trying to basically survive at this point at age 49 seven games in seven days including
Three over a 24-hour stretch is a little much and I am feeling the effects of my participation in the Cara World Cup here in Richmond but what a cool experience Darren uh I got to tag along and back stop the sportset team here locally against teams from Australia couple
Different ones from Finland I met people in goalies from Sweden England all over the world 95 teams from all over the world for this uh International recreational Hockey League quote unquote beer league tournament it’s been a fun but busy week and in the midst of that week I watched Jonathan Quick hit a
Milestone and covered another game so it’s been I’m going to sleep we’re going to get off the air here and I’m basically going to probably go for a nap in the hot tub for like 3 days for those that don’t know bailing w hold those Bales together it is strong it is tough
And you’ve got the right thing uh keeping you together when it comes and then you you can just cover it up or dress it up with a little duct tape it is strong unlike my groin it twings that makes the same sound like yeah there there few times I
Heard a little pop uh when people find out that it’s Kevin Woodley on that sportset team do they go I wonder if that’s the same Kevin Woodley from Ingle magazine inle magazine Engle radio the podcast well I think after my performances at this tournament they’re probably going this guy talks like he
Knows what he’s talking about how come he plays like that um no but I had some pretty cool moments I gotta say uh goalie from Australia we played against a team from Australia and this goalie was standing on his head at the other end they were a little overmatched and
Man he was good he was really good and then in the first intermission he came down or or I met him at the bench and we were talking and he asked me if I was Kevin for Engle and I was like it was the most I knew it I it was the most
Flattering and it was just like it was sincere like I’m not trying to do a cam here from the hockey shop and make my head super big but it felt so cool to meet goalies from all over the world that knew what we were all about uh some
Other goalies too that you know some that talked about like hey like at the beer league recck league level maybe some places where there aren’t that many goalie coaches like hey the magazine and the tips and the drills are are things that they used to help get better um
Goalie from played against the goalie from Finland in our final game and he came down and talked to me about gear and said that you know we’ll tease the the gear segment this week at the Hockey Shop um he watches them and says that you know he when new gear is coming
That’s one of the resources he uses to find out more information uh our reviews our in-depth reviews he talked about on the website but also the gear reviews we do quickly on the video over at YouTube with Cam and here on the the podcast pretty yeah pretty uh rewarding week
Like to know you get working in the business on the business um inle magazine isn’t a business Tas like it’s a passion but when you’re so busy with it you you you don’t really get to see that there’s an impact there and to sort of hear some of those stories uh it
Meant a lot like it meant a lot to me to hear some of those things and we get this every once in a while now we got some younger goalies coming up you know into the Junior and pro ranks that grew up with us that will share some of those
Stories and every time we hear them it’s like I don’t know it feels like we’re actually doing something a value here not just not just a bunch of guys horse around talking about go ending and having fun with a position we love so it to all those guys that came out and said
Hi at the Cara tournament um and introduced themselves thank you so much uh it made my week to hear that you’re a part of the family and you enjoy being a part of the Engle family so thanks to you well just uh speaking as uh neutral
As I can be you look at the pro reads and the tips and then the interviews on the podcast and why wouldn’t you use that as a resource and I’ll go back to your conversation with lenus alar if he’s getting things and adopting it into his game from the podcast and the
Interviews anybody can do it this guy’s going to win the vzna yeah that was and that’s been another cool moment over the past couple of weeks and I need to send lenus an extra thank you cuz um it just I mean it was Henrik lanquist and an interview with lanquist that resonated
With him and was just one small piece of him you know buying into some changes that have have helped his game this year and had a fantastic season but again like facilitating those interviews being a part of the goalie world the way it it
Means a lot to us that we are in your lives in the goalie world and part of the goalie Union and I don’t know that we say that enough like thank you to everyone that tells us that there’s a positive impact there because there are times when this is hard there are times
When it’s not easy to get guests every week for the podcast we 209 episodes in there are times where it’s not easy as a small company with just you know like you me and Hutch to get content up on a weekly basis and keep going and and and
Keep trying to grow it and so when people share that with us it yeah it I’m getting for cliped it just means a lot it means a lot to hear that stuff from everyone in the goalie Union and thanks for making us a part of your lives and
We can’t wait to continue for another decade or so we’ve got a really cool gear segment coming up this week talking about the 580 break and just where that came from uh and I’m excited about uh people getting to hear that with you and Cam and our feature interview this time
Around is Brandon busy uh from uh the Providence Bruins and the sorry Darren I mean Brandon busy from the brw uh Providence first year Pro I I I look at his name and I don’t know busy busy uh like it’s one of those ones that I’m
Going to have to hear and follow and really get involved with before I can confidently say busy well I got to say busy because I asked him and then I was pretty sure I screwed it up at the start of the interview despite having just
Asked him at the end of the day we’ll all I think we’re all going to end up knowing this name before long I can’t wait to share this interview uh his path to where he got today heavily involved with stop at goal tending talks about still going back as a coach and the
Value that has to him uh as a goenda little bit in junior wasn’t sure of his path and now here he is First full season as a pro he’s in the allstar game in the American Hockey League and you know Darren you know how big a jump this is every goalie
Will tell us what a massive jump it is from whether it’s junior or college to first year Pro is a bigger jump eventually then from American Hockey League to the NHL everything changes and so he has made it at an incredibly successful clip and it’s a really fascinating conversation to talk with
Him we get into a little bit of talk about the panda something he’s you know it’s funny we think of that as a technique that’s for smaller goalies um who can’t go into a reverse and seal short Side High so maybe they need that extra coverage of the overlap portion of
The panda and here’s a guy who’s 6’5 who integrates it in specific situations into his game so can’t wait to share that conversation we get into a lot of different things and Brandon was uh he was great just really open dialogue about his Evolution as a person and in
The position uh the panda I love uh also the overlap I’m trying to think of uh backward flow uh that you and lenus uh talked about being square with Bob as Senza uh that’s uh it all comes together some of it’s basic some of it’s long-term some of it’s uh new and and
Developing uh on the subject of of turning pro uh when you talk about the big jump does that make the expectations of Devon Levi a little unfair because he turns Pro and everybody’s watching what’s going to happen here yeah I I don’t know about unfair yeah maybe actually maybe that is
A good term like like I feel like the expectations are just um unfairly high right now for him and maybe not enough people are recognizing how big a jump that is and that doesn’t mean he’s not going to make it successfully and correctly because he is a special goalie
He is a special student of the game we’ve had glimpses into that um and so maybe he makes it more seamlessly than others but to expect it to be seamless is that that’s that sort of goes against what every goalie we’ve ever talked to tells us that jump is like right and I
Think the other part of that is to expect it to be seamless behind a buffalo team that I think we’re seeing right now just does not have enough defensive structure I keep hearing all these conversations about like what are they going to do with the goal tending
What are they goal tending has been the problem in Buffalo Devon Levi is going to be the answer like first of all that’s a lot of pressure for a kid who’s about to make the biggest jump in quality he’s ever made in his career although again that you can make right
Much exactly like um and yet again like there’s something special there so maybe he pulls it off um Craig Anderson’s top 10 in adjusted save percentage in the National Hockey League wow I didn’t know Eric comry before he gave up the 10 goals and they left them in
For all 10 was still plus. 4% in adjusted save percentage Eric comery has the lowest expected save percentage in the entire National Hockey League nobody has played behind a tougher defensive environment in the entire league this season than Eric comery you know what his expected save percentage is Daren
868 wow yes this and listen part of this is when you get your games and they’ve missed Key Personnel at Key times and Eric has been in net for a lot of those games I think their depth chart on defense seems to get thrown out of whack significantly when Matias Samuelson is
Out as as you know as a as a sort of defenseman who sort of lets everyone slot into the right place and a defensive defenseman who lets some of their more freely Wheeling offensive guys go play without worrying about their own end but but when I watch them
Play and when I look at the underlying numbers like they’re 31st in the National Hockey League and high danger chances against off the rush well where do our most dangerous chances come from usually odd man Rush chances who gives up the most dangerous in the NHL there’s
Only one team that’s worse than the Buffalo Sabers so it’s not just the expectations of making such a big jump It’s the expectations of being a savior behind a team whose problems I don’t think are necessarily goal tending that’s part of the issue here and and
And unless you have a a look under the hood at some of the adjusted numbers of some of the expected sa percentages I understand how people can see that because they look at Eric Comer’s raw numbers and they’re like Ah that’s not good enough yeah but like up until that
10 spot he was above expected and before his first injury he was almost a full percentage point above expected he was flirting with top 20 in the National Hockey League behind one of the worst defensive environments in in the NHL that’s not easy to do and I think until
We’re seeing these growing pains like it’s not I don’t think it’s a coincidence they’ve given up 10 seven and seven in you know in three of their last four games for all the talk about freewheeling and offense and dynamic and the new NHL and lowered save percentage
The teams that are having success now as we get into the grind down the stretch have structure and defensive identity I watched this in Vancouver and and gained a new appreciation for it free wheeling firew wagon hockey does not you can score a ton but you’re not going to win
When it counts unless you have some semblance of structure in your own end and I don’t see it right now with the Buffalo Sabers and I think their goalies at times fairly but a lot of the times unfairly are wearing that based on the results from people who can’t see the
Underlying numbers like we get the benefit of seeing with clear side analytics I’ll take my goalie hat off for a second but I I do appreciate what Buffalo has done in this rebuild in in putting the emphasis on upfront and scoring goals and then going back as
They grow into it they’ve got everything they’re selling a product they’re entertaining uh winning fans back I I get why they did it I do the goal tending will hopefully come and the structure will hopefully come but they knew that this was going to be part of
It when they adopted that strategy and that’s you know and that’s well said and that’s fine but the fan base seems to be placing all the emphasis on the goal tending and an educated look will tell you that the goal tending hasn’t had the support it’s needed and I’m not not
Surprised that down the stretch when when the teams that understand how to play tighten up they’re on the wrong end of a lot of lopsided scores because you can’t force that offense against teams that understand how to defend at a higher level and eventually we see this
Here in Vancouver right like this is the danger at times too of allowing young talented players to just focus on one thing the Canucks pson Hughes even besser and like all their young players players that came up together were propped into offensive roles where and celebrated for succeeding in those
Offensive roles and it’s not until the last couple of months and some of these guys are three four years into their Pro careers that they’ve been held to account defensively and structurally and are starting to build an understanding under Rick toet you can still do that offensive stuff but these other things
Non-negotiables in terms of not turning pucks over in certain areas being on the right side of the puck these these are not systems things these are habit things that sometimes young players can get away with not having in their game eventually if you want to win they have
To be there and I think the sabes are they’re they’re fun to watch they remind me a little bit of the Islanders when douge weight was there every night was an All-Star Game wide open offensive skill and they’ve got a ton of talent but I still think for all the talk of
Offense in the NHL you need the other side of the puck to succeed and in this case maybe I’m overly critical because the goal tending has borne the brunt and when I look at the numbers it’s not all the goal tending we’ve got a great situation happening over at the Hockey
Shop Source for Sports Langley the hockey shop.com we’ll get to that in just a second uh with Cam and what’s uh occurring over at the new location but you got to celebrate uh Milestone with Jonathan Quick this week yeah it was pretty cool um amidst all my games
Played uh and barely surviving I got to cover a couple and Quick’s 375th Victory second all time Among Us born goenda the game you know you’re seeing this obviously firsthand Darren covering the Vegas golden knights um it wasn’t a obviously the way it ended in La
Wasn’t ideal and and that was his exact quote but to come into Vegas and have the success he’s having immediately to see him hit a milestone like that he’s he’s only what 16 now behind Ryan Miller for Tops all time among American born goenda and they weren’t flattering the
Adjusted numbers but count out Jonathan Quick at at at uh at your own Peril right like he’s he’s succeeding with Vegas he’s a great story and um the media is absolutely salivating over the potential of a Jonathan Quick uh Los Angeles Kings meet up in the playoffs
And I just I just I was for him to hear him talk about that Milestone and what it meant to him and just you know to the names on that list he talked about but then also the names that helped him get there he reflected on that a little bit
And just yeah it’s all it’s always neat to see big goalie moments whether it’s lenus elmark scoring a goal or Jonathan Quick you know surpassing John vanbrook and moving into that spot it’s always cool when you get to see it personally and even more so cuz I’m still a fan of
The game and obviously of the position to to get to be in that room to ask a couple of those questions after and see the smiles on their faces cuz to see I don’t say jaded and I mean me not them but you know it becomes a little
Formulaic in post games at times to see that smile to see that sincerity to see that Joy um it makes me smile too so you got to see the Vancouver Victory by quick he came in in the lake going against Calgary and locked down a victory for the Vegas golden knights in
Relief of Logan Thompson with 6 minutes to go in the third I can’t think of a more awkward position to be in for Jonathan Quick in particular the way that he is sliding around and flexing and those hips and knees and everything and it like like it honestly looked like
He played the first 50 uh four minutes of the of the game it was seamless it was amazing for a longtime starter to come in Off the Bench that late in the game like that’s a big ass and I’m sure like if you’re vas you’re probably
Nervous right like cuz he does play such an active style yeah but you know what we probably shouldn’t be surprised cuz he’s also a pro so we probably made sure that everything stayed loose throughout the game despite the fact he had no expectation to go in because that’s what
Pros do and in terms of those hips I I’ll actually throw back to a column I wrote for nhl.com earlier this season I always do a a quote unquote annual Christmas column and sometimes we talk about gear guys get under the tree you know that spark their passion for the
Position but every every couple of years I will just ask goalies around the league if you could take one thing from another goalie any goalie in the NHL put it under the tree and have it in your game that day what would it be and you
Get a lot of like Carri Price’s movement Andre vasil’s explosiveness you know pein’s glove hand this year I got from thater dempo Jonathan Quick’s hips just because of the way he moves uh and way he has moved throughout his career way he still mov this late into his career
The positions he can get into the flexibility the power the end range power so we shouldn’t be surprised that you know to do that to do that as long as he’s done it requires commitment physically and to your sorted to your craft and so as much as I would probably
Have been nervous watching him come off the bench that late in a game we also probably should have expected that if anybody was going to have done the work to make sure they wouldn’t put themsel in a vulnerable position it’s probably Jonathan Quick uh there’s a a combination of smiling and then shaking
My head when I watch them like how does that happen in practice too how does that happen be before we move on you looked at the the list of top American Born goenda name that uh that you just loved reflecting on uh when when you looked at
That uh top five top 10 list uh or or a name that uh that you hadn’t thought of it in a while mine was was was Mike RoR yeah you know that RoR was one you know the the other one who who’s up there and
He’s not going to end up being the top five but like he’s up there in games played in the top five was I think we forget about just how good Craig Anderson has been for how long uh and the Resurgence I talked about him having top 10 adjusted numbers this season you
Know a little further down like like Connor heluk right like you know I yes there were some other names in there Tom barasso I didn’t that name hadn’t crossed my mind in a while yeah baraso for sure and and he you know U had a
Hell of a career that I think we forget about far too often I you know but honestly like um like I was looking more at it from like who’s got a chance to catch oh you know like I was thinking the old guys yeah no no and and and I didn’t consider
It that way certainly Ryan Miller who’s not an old guy but uh just because I followed his career like there’s a part of me that’ll be sad you know if and when he’s not on the top of that list but I was when I looked at who’s got a
Chance like Connor heluk at 233 you know and yet there’s still 60 wins left to get to get there which is like if you have 53 win Seasons you’re still not there so it shows you how like that shows you how hard it is to get that high up you think of the
Teams that quick played on as long as he’s played how long it’s taken to get there you know like the fact that I look at heluk and I think he’s already I think like 11th on the list in wins and I’m like it’s not a slam dunk and this
Is a guy having a vzna level season this year and I’m like it’s not a slam dunk he gets there so it makes me appreciate what Miller did and what quick is doing right now that much more to see how hard it is to be at the top of that list cuz
When you splice a list a little bit like that like oh okay American Born golender right like I don’t know that we appreciate that accomplishment as much until you look at you know how hard it is to get there like he’s he’s he’s got a shot at 400 like that’s you know think
Look at the guys like Anderson how much 300 meant to him last year look at how much we know 300 means to yaroslav hak who’s now sick shy of that right like the chance to get to 400 is remarkable so um incredible careers for all of them
And I again a little part of me thinks about the future like you know uh USA hockey with its uh 50 and 31 program they want to have 50% of the NHL starts by the year 20131 and you know we we you look at a thatcher Demco coming up um as
The next wave once a Jonathan Quick is done like are they going to get there there’s a lot of young goalies around the league uh with American birth certificates we focus on Russia but the USA has done a really good job with this go tening as well uh let’s uh take a
Break as in uh looking at the 580 break as things happen over at the Hockey Shop a source for sports Langley the hockey shop.com spring break sale first of all make sure you check out uh all the specials that they’ve got on over at the hockey shop.com or if you’re lucky
Enough to live in the Lower Mainland or be visiting the Lower Mainland to play in a beer league tournament from other parts of the world cuz a couple of the guys have reached out and said where’s the best hockey store for us to go like the Finish team was asking me where
Should we go I’m like there’s only one place to go yeah cuz your goalie is going to be happy and they’ve got 34,000 Square ft of hockey at the Hockey Shop player stuff as well um NHL merchandise skates sticks apparel undergarments like if there’s something
To help you be a better hockey player or a better goalie they’ve got it at the hockey shop and the hockey shop.com so that’s where I sent all these teams from the International Tournament um out to Langley to see the Hockey Shop in person but if you’re not lucky enough to be
Able to do that check them out at the hockey shop.com cuz in addition to all the gear they have they’ve got an expertise and that includes cam who wanted to do something on the 580 break we’re seeing it make a Resurgence we talked last week uh with the launch of
The Hyperlite 2 line and the fact that in Bowers Pro customizer you can get what they call their Vapor 90 break which is a 580 and interestingly enough James Ryme was just in town we had him show us his he’s one of the sort of most infamous guys using
It and why he likes it there’s going to be something coming from another company this year that may make it even easier to get a 580 style break I’ll tease that I’m not allowed to say just yet um so we decided to get into the roots where’d it come from
Where did it start with Cam was telling me all these stories about Patrick W and I gave cam a homework assignment I said I want you to reach out to the Le faves and get the story and he did and so we’ll tell it now with Cam at the Hockey
Shop welcome back to the Hockey Shop Source for Sports we’re here in Cam’s crease goolie Utopia whatever you want to call it I think I know what cam wants to call it we’re talking 580 gloves why are we talking 580 gloves because everybody’s talking 580 gloves
Okay I I’ll go with that cam has a little history lesson he wanted to teach us I was talking the other day about like the origins of the 580 Clove from the the lefes and so I sent him out with a little homework project I said get a hold of the lefes Patrick
Michelle I don’t care who get the answers so cam did on the origins of the 580 glove before we get to the magical Origins and how this glove was developed let’s first actually let’s first remind people that if they can go back and check out our other video it’s up there somewhere
We have a glove break video that walks through all the different glove breaks including the 580 so you can always check that out to see how it compares to a 590 or 600 and St some of the other nomeclature from other brands but in
Terms of what a 580 is I’ll go with you Cam here what what differentiates a 580 why do we call it a 580 that would be my question I just asked you coo 580 so now we’re re Winding Way Way Way Back it is 2003 the co 580 series came out so uh
The F family looking to innovate come up with a new break angle organically came up with this style of glove for that series at the time so coo 580 that’s where this name 580 glove has originated when we refer to it as a 580 break but technically that’s incorrect because
It’s a 90° break on your hand literally thumb up fingers out bringing those fingers in and that finger into Palm closure which we also on a 590 provides a more powerful closure it it allows you it gives you more leverage in your hand than say a 600 Brak where it’s
Fingertips to fingertips which is a little more your power is sort of lost out on the edge of your fingers it’s that strong right how do we make a fist that’s our strength right there so it’s that fingers into palm and the 58 has that but it also
Has that distinct sort of pocket that sits up high and duck bill fold over at the top that’s your that’s your distinct like when you see that that’s when you know you’ve got a 580 glove whereas a 590 is going to be more of a straight line out there so there’s
There’s the 580 there’s what we know now um I’m going to let you get to your story time I’m going to let you get there but first to know because it is becoming increasingly popular again we see it all over the National Hockey League we’ve seen this over the last
Five six saw a real rise of it with CCM a lot of the CCM guys in the National Hockey League switched to it over the past couple of years um but first off again again we’re teasing the origin story because cam did his homework and he hasn’t done homework in life
But where who can who can’t get it Juniors for example dad not available at the moment dad sees this and he’s like I want 580 for my kid not now not now custom orders where can you get 580 true in a in a in a custom order will make a
580 that is correct CCM in a custom order will make you a 580 correct also new B Pro custom is now offering their version of a vapor 90 break which is similar to 580 it’s basically designed James rymer’s worn it for years um and where did James Rymer start
Wearing a 580 break Story Time with Kevin Toronto no good guess no he tried Roberto leango 580 CCM when he was in Florida and was hooked he even wore the 580 CCM and then got bow to make him one just like it so now that we established
The where you can get it there’s one more you’re missing what am I missing Warrior there yeah okay 6.1 something similar along that line and ter for the closure of hand okay so back to the Contin so what’s added in my opinion now to a bit of its mythical status and why
You’ve got mythical status I do thank you um so the glove went quite a long time after this Co 580 series um a few select guys using it again long Longo py comes to mind did Patrick W where you told me this whole thing started with Patrick
Yes then that was starting with with him as well I mean there was also that that story kind of going around that he wanted a glove that he could catch you know pucks going up by his ears as he was dropping down and kind of originating and pushing through you know
What we started to know as modern butterfly you know what was a modern butterfly style at the time that said face went a long time without having anyone new ordering that glove from those original guys that started with that 580 fast forward a number of years
But Broski Rings Rings him up and says I want a 580 why 580 glove that 90° break presents forward fingers up without really having to move or change your wrist around we look at the way modern gold tending has evolved and wanting to keep that fingers up hands forward pocket up facing your
Shooter position that glove is basically doing it for you as you’re having it out big benefit here I’m cutting off that top corner I’m keeping that glove forward I’m not having to really my wrist back or sideways to be able to create that good angle to cut off that
Top corner and that one by your ear that you normally can’t get to cuz your glove ends about here oh hello hello my friend so now we start to see some of the benefit and why so a number of goalies have made that switch number of goali
From CCM now transferring even over into tr’s world as well a number of some of the bower guys have had that kind of um secret 90 Dee break for quite a long time too as well as you had mentioned James Rhymer honestly like for me this is become one of those again mythical
Status because it was something that you just couldn’t get for the longest time I’ll give you a mythical there and it slowly started been kind of released to the general public um and I will tease it’s going to be released to the general public we’ve already talked a little bit
It’s going to be released to the general public even more with one of the launches this summer exactly so for me I in my opinion I find it’s one of the best gloves in terms of for like gripping the stick and also playing the puck two as well we had Marty turko on
The podcast last week we did one of the best all time guess what he wore 580 glove evidently Mike Smith inspired by Mr Turco himself 580 glove 580 glove I mean hey for the amount that’s happened with him everything like that i’ still name me a better guy that could fire the
Puck than who Mike Smith or Marty turle yeah there you go there’s two of the best all the time 580 done can you tell me why it grips so well so when you grab the stick because that pocket’s already facing up and forward I can put a ton of
Leverage into that stick from me just pushing through with the bottom of my wrist it hooks right into that brake and keeps the shaft of the stick facing up and pointed up along with okay the break so a reminder closes fingers into Palm gives you that
Sort of pocket up and above the hand which can help you sort of Protect by the ear over top of the shoulder when you go fingers up on a high safe pocket up nice and high can be custom ordered with true cm and now power correct Warrior has a
Version a similar version to it it’s 6.1 Junior cannot get it it’s senior only right now we’ll see if that changes with that launch I teased earlier um coming up later in the summer 580 break there you go cam we got a little sort of modern what’s going on with it now why
Is it popular and also a history lesson thank you Cam for doing homework I’m going to phone your grade seven teacher because they’ll be shocked Mrs toer is going to be thrilled by the way give us a call 64589 8299 or 1800 567 7790 check us out atth hockey
Shop.com as you can see they actually have some ordered stock in store now they have a few in true I think he might have one CCM kicking around make sure you give him a call to find out what he’s got now and how to order custom if you want to get yourself
A 580 glove now that’s some cool backstory on a 580 yeah yeah it wasn’t you know like we didn’t get quite no Nostalgia Lane it wasn’t maybe cam was teasing me about all these stories about goalies gone by we didn’t get as deep as I would have
Liked at the end of the day um it’s interesting to see it come back as strongly as it has we talked about Rymer using the bower version and now they’ve made that something public can get for the first time this year um I just think the demand is such now that companies
Have to have that as an option goalies like the way that glove closes they like having the pocket in that location as as players are not necessarily looking High glove but trying to put it by your ear over your shoulder having a pocket where if you get to a fingers up position the
Pocket actually kind of bends over or or or is positioned over your shoulder by your ear to catch those types of shots um has increasing value and there’s just we talk with turo right like like in terms of how it closes on Puck and helps with Puck handling like there’s just
There’s a reason that glove was so popular I’m a little surprised the popularity went away not as shocked to see it come back right now and so the good news for the rest of us schbs who aren’t in the uh National Hockey League with uh unlimited gear and custom
Options is more and more of us are going to be able to get it can now through the bower customizer the pro customizer and will be able to get it soon through through other brands as well so it’s kind of exciting times for fans of the
580 and thanks to cam for walking us through why we should be excited about more companies offering it uh to us in the public well if we’re allowed to hand out assignments I would like you or Cam to tell me because it got me think thinking with with the 580 break uh the
Old gm21 or the gm40 uh the the Cooper glove like it it was in all the uh old goalie pictures you’ll you’ll see these gloves what what do you think that break was in in the gm21 I’m going way back here but is before there was even like
Break Styles I guess I think um the good news is see I’m too young I’m not 50 I’m not 50 yet so I don’t I don’t know what you’re talking about I can’t tell you what that break angle I don’t know that I’ve ever had one on the good news is
Hutch is so old that he’s got one sitting in his house in the backdrop in the office so once he’s back from Special Assignment I think we’re going to have to get him to measure the break angle on that old piece of leather he’s got on the wall behind him and and see
Whether it’s a 590 my guess is it’s all going to be like a 600 is more like a first baseman’s mitt like if we’re trying to make baseball comparisons and a 590 like is more sort of fingers into Palm there’s a big part of me that feels like
In the old days it’s probably going to be a little more like a first baseman’s mitt than a 590 that might be more like a catcher mitt that might that would be my guess but we’re going to have to get out the protractors and uh and figure
This one out it is a slab of leather like that’s the best way to describe the the old the old gloves and I always wanted the the pocket with the the mesh in it not the uh closed pocket you know what I’m talking about the and
And it’s I it was my dream my my absolute dream hey here’s one thing on the 580 break that I will talk about a little bit because right now for the most part it’s available in custom I think it closes better with a single
T I think that I do I do that’s my opinion if I was ordering it I’m I and I had the option I’d be tempted to go singlet te I think that the way it closes and maybe maybe it doesn’t matter to Performance but that distinctive sort
Of little the way that the the pocket sort of folds over on that straight 90° angle when you close the glove I think it happens a little easier like it’s harder to do that when you’ve got a Double T the Double T doesn’t want to fold over quite in the same manner and
Maybe that actually doesn’t matter cuz the Puck’s supposed to already be in there when it closes like that doesn’t change the position of the pocket when it’s nice and open and and and accepting a puck so maybe performance-wise it doesn’t matter but I want my 580 to look
Like a 580 when it closes and I think that happens more often with a single T So at much like my performance at the carho World Cup uh International Beer league tournament it was all about fashion not function when I’m choosing that Singley it’s funny as I was listening to you tell the
Story about the car cop I was wondering did those other goalies know that you were Kevin from Eng because you were pimped out in all the best coolest equipment they they definitely recognized the gear from from photos it was it was the equipment that ticked
Them off and then uh all of our test stock comes with like we don’t get you know when you get your custom gear you get your name on it um our gear doesn’t say Woodley or Hutchinson well for for David um it it says in Go Magazine so
It’s a bit of a tell there the other part is I’m a double te guy uh Rhymer does is is he single t or I think ryer might actually be a double te and I’m embarrassed to say because I just um yeah rymer’s and and but he he hammers
On that pocket and so when he holds it up flat it’s kind of messed up looking like like there is no the pocket I totally agree with you on that the pocket does not bulge out like to accept the pocket it’s actually flat and it looks like it’s it’s going the other way
Yeah it’s I you know what let’s just we’ll call this a tease um we’ll let James Rymer I don’t know if I asked him that question to be honest I did this video with him of the 580 break and I’m not sure I asked why it look his look
His pocket looks so bloody messed up but’s unique yeah definitely definitely well you’ll see it close you’ll see it working in the locker room in our video all right sens Arina feature interview uh sens Arina VR is Brandon busy from Providence Bruins uh set us up for
What’s going on at sensoren sensoren VR well they got their three times free buy any plan and get a free mounter sleeves free 10-day trial and free shipping offer right now over at sens Arena um you’ve heard us talk about sens Arena over the years and all the things that
It can help you do improve your reaction time improve your Puck tracking improve box control reading the release with Pro Shooters right up to the NHL tracking plays um you’ve heard us talk to NHL goalies about the way they use sense Arena even in season to stay on top of
Their game and as we head in the offseason I think it becomes even more important uh I’m going to forget the name of the parent who sent us a note last year um but talked about how his son they they committed to sens Arena going into the off season or Midway
Through the offseason and how his son who he really wanted to have a summer he didn’t want him to spend the whole summer in goalie camps he wanted him to do other things play other sports and how just by exactly we pre we physical literacy we hear from
From um experts at all levels about the importance especially at Young ages but he also there’s pressure there right you got tryouts coming up and so he didn’t want to be totally disconnected from the game he wanted to be able to perform and make the top team when Tri outs came so
They went was sens Arena and they used it as part of their offseason plan to allow him to not get worn out by goal tending not get burnt out by goal tending because it’s fun that’s the other thing sens Arena does that we don’t talk about they create a competi
You can you can lock in on specific training modules and I am focused and I am going to be like like the pro goalies do you know using it for box control just watching pucks go by them and then using the replays to see by how much
What’s their net coverage like you can dig into the finest details or you can just track pucks make saves have fun compete against other people keep track of your numbers you you can enjoy it you can do it without ice time you can do it without the expense of having to hire a
Goalie coach and get it on the ice and attend Camp after Camp after camp and his son made the top team and they credit a lot of it to sens Arena and the fact that it kept him engaged with his eyes engaged his hands engaged play reading some of the other skills that
You can develop there without having to spend the whole summer on the ice so as we head into the offseason is just one more uh reason to give sense Arena a try and it’s a really great time to or time to try it three times free buy any plan
And get free Mount or sleeves free 10-day trial free shipping and as always when you check them out at sens Arena online uh make sure you use the code ig50 that’s Ino mag 50 ig50 to save even more at checkout sens Arena you can check them out at sens arena.com perfect
Time of year if if you haven’t already you can also give it a trial uh you don’t have to commit completely they’ve got two price points you have to go right into the Pro Plan you can start with the starter plan lots more options than ever before for you to add sense
Arena to your game and ask for our sensoren sensoren VR uh customers who are listening to the Ingo Radio podcast uh box control I’m terrible like I I just can’t figure it out uh honestly I I look and I do I try and fill it up I there’s something missing that that I’m
Not getting so if anybody has tips on elevating your box control technique or filling out that net please send them to to Hutch or myself or or Woody and uh I love to hear uh different techniques to help you out with the Box control o this
Sounds like a perfect time for a tease because I think we can do some lessons there Darren when you we’re going to try and drag you up to Vancouver for and we’re not got the dates confirmed yet but tendy Fest we’re going to have t Fest returns to the Hockey Shop this
Summer there’s a blind tease be more information coming uh and we’re going to try and pull out the sense Arena sets at tendy Fest for people to try and we can work on Darren’s box control while we’re there please it’s it’s like I I I’m I
Try and chalk it up to just I’m thinner my my head’s thinner my I just can’t do it it’s it’s just bizarre uh so we’ve got a great interview and this this really does remind me of the first conversation that you had regarding Jeremy Swan and I didn’t know Jeremy
Swan from Swan Jeremy at the time and I was captivated by it but and there’s a lot of those similarities in today’s discussion today’s feature interview with Brandon busy yeah and I love this right like Hey listen we want to have NHL goalies on here and NHL goalie
Coaches on here every week but I love when we get to connect with the Next Generation the guys that are coming up um because then when they arrive we have the backstory we know and we can see it coming I was so cool when I knew who
Jeremy Swan was when he burst on the scene I’m like I I know who this guy is exactly so we educate ourselves but also we get a sense of the paths they’ve taken to get here and it’s a bit of a unique one for Brandon and um a lot of
Lessons along the way like I said there’s going to be some off the ice and some on the ice uh some mindset advice in here uh some tactical advice I love that he digs into the technique side and also like hey goalies as you’re coming up don’t get too big for your britches
Even if you’re playing junior or whatever you know those goalie schools whether you were getting paid to coach at them or volunteered or whatever they have real value as you evolve as a golender there’s still value to going back and teaching and Brandon got into
That in his work at stop at go ending and how he sees value in being a coach with other young kids and how it can help him actually become better as a goendale for the Providence Bruns he’s having a hell of a rookie season hell of
A first year Pro season already been an AHL Allstar can’t wait to introduce you now to Brandon booy yes he’s got a great first name uh from my hometown so I never forget that uh Brandon and busy is with us on inle radio the podcast the feature interview presented by sens aren sensoren
VR really excited to Welcome to the Engle Radio podcast First Time guest first year Pro Brandon busy I got that correct this time Brandon Providence Bruins first year I guess just first off welcome to the show thanks for taking the time to join us thanks for having me
I appreciate it what’s this been like like from College last year to a late season contract uh with Providence to American Hockey League Allstar in your first year First full year of professional hockey what’s the path been like what’s been you like I’m guessing there’s been a lot of lessons along the
Way what are some of the ones that jump out to you the most yeah it’s definitely been a been a long journey uh an exciting one though for sure uh I guess the journey kind of started back in uh Juniors played my first year u8 with the
Long Island dolls and over the course of uh 3 years kind of bounced around the uh the null with the tight ends and the Amal bulls and then found myself uh in the ncdc for a little bit with palal so uh during that time uh while I thought I
Was mature enough and ready to make the jump I found out quickly that I still had a lot to learn about how to be a goalie uh just how to be the person I am now through trial and error so a lot more uh hard memories than good memories
But all that stuff kind of just built built me into the person I became going into my last year juniors in mosan where I think uh I can look back and say my hockey career started taking off from that point okay so let’s let’s rewind a
Little bit and look at that what like what are some of the you know lessons that you can share um for others maybe going through the same like what was it that allowed you to make that jump and have that takeoff start for you how much
Of it was on the ice and how much of it you know rather than between the crease was between the ears um good 5050 uh I felt like my skill set was there but obviously making the jump from youth to Juniors there’s uh a big skill Gap you know you’re still
You’re playing against some older guys uh an age difference that you you don’t see when you’re playing against the kids the same birth here as you but obviously mentally uh was where I needed to grow the most um I’ve have always been very hard on
Myself I’m a bit of a perfectionist in a way which obviously you can’t but it’s good to strive towards it but I was the kind of kid early on that really took losses to heart or bad performances and it would lead to you know me holding grudges or even tough nights where it
Affected me a lot more than it should have and it led into the practices and the future games and you know I was kind of hinted at by you know coaches or people around me that you you need to work on your mental strength but while hearing that you you
Don’t always know how to figure that out right and I I don’t know exactly how I figured it out I just kind of going through the the ups and downs of it and the being traded and being released in going to the ncdc which wasn’t um necessarily a setback in my eyes but
Some people or some goalies in the hockey world it was it was a bit of a demotion and a bit of an ego slap you know um going through those tough times really helped Build Me Up and toughen me up in a way to where I got to a point
Going into my last year Juniors with a bit of uncertainty um and just pretty much getting a a Hail Mary opportunity from mosan who said that they needed another goalie essentially for me to be the backup goalie um and that you you could be the guy if you come in and put the
Work in and going into that off seon I went to stop it for the first time spent the whole summer there with Brian and the whole crew um had a refresh of my offseason on the ice and off the ice as well as I finally kind of had like a mental
Clearing and I took everything a day at a time I enjoyed the moment I was in and didn’t harp on negatives at all and from that point on I kind of just carried that mindset throughout now letting go of results and performances is you know it’s like a lot
Of things goalies we talk about next shot mentality easiest thing to say really hard to do at times um how did you learn to let go of past stuff like you talked about going to stop it was there anyone that helped you with it was it just you realizing the damage it was
Doing is there anything you can pass along at you know it’s one thing to say it’s another thing to do were there any techniques or tips that you found along the way allowed you to more easily let go of past uh I would say Obviously being at
Stop it you you you’re around a lot of really good goalies that first year off the top of my head you know uh Joey dord was obviously there training uh Devin coie was there um we had had who else do we have we had deia you
Know a bunch of other guys that have had professional experience other D1 goalies division 3 uh successful goalies and just being able to talk to them and hear their stories um where it was able to help me a little bit for sure but I think enjoying the moment and where I
Was was very important for me to not harp on the negatives right I had the opportunity to go to a USL uh training camp I could have been in a lot worse places as a as an age out who really hadn’t proven anything uh I was living a great
Life you know uh those were the positives that I took every day from being there and where I am now to where I’m getting to play hockey for a living at the time you know before going to school I could be doing a lot worse things so kind of having the more
Positive mindset like that uh has really helped me what about on the ice um we we’ve talked a lot about between the ears what about between the pipes um how’s your game evolved you know through Junior to now you’re a big golender at 6 foot5 full right so I got questions
About whether that was ever a problem for you in terms of finding gear um but but first off just how’s your game evolved uh up to your time with stop it uh and over the past couple of years I’m guessing there’s been an ution going into the Boston system as well I know
Bob asza was just through here a couple weeks ago and there’s some things that they like to teach a little differently absolutely I think the I think I really liked where my game was at in juniors I think the more the results at the time were the mental side
But going to stop it I think it reassured of a lot of the things that I did think I was good at as a goie as well as now I had that really good fine tuning to what I needed to do to succeed at the next level and every year that
I’ve gone to stop it whether it’s becoming a faster skater or my hand positioning my stance whether my feet are too wide or too um too uh close to each other um whether to play uh an rvh or the panda now right all those things I’ve been learning over the last five
Years of being there to help ease myself into the levels as I’ve begun to progress like what works what doesn’t work you know some things worked in juniors that weren’t going to work in college I needed to make that adjustment and now I’m going through that this year
What worked in college isn’t always going to work at the pro level can you give us give us an example from Junior to college first of all of something that you were able to do in junior that you realized whether quickly or over time just wasn’t going to work the same
In college the big thing for me is that I felt like I was uh I scrambled a lot as a goalie I relied too much on my athleticism while I’m feel like I’m a very good skater for my size uh I was way too willing to fall my butt and go
To desperation that at the college level you’re not getting away with that when you play North Dakota four times a year Denver four times a year St Cloud the Luth all those teams in the nchc they’re going to take advantage of you if you’re not holding your feet because those
Players are faster smarter stronger they’re going to make you pay for those mistakes so I dealt with that definitely Abed my freshman year and I felt like my next two years of school I was able to get a lot better at that and that’s also helped me here at the pro level I’m
Imagining there was probably a point especially at your size at 6 fo5 where the ability to scramble the willingness to go to athleticism and battle and compete was probably seen as a big strength how do you make that transition like what are some of the keys that
Allowed you to sort of probably not like do it less I’m guessing but also like not lose it completely in your game but not rely on it as often were there were there drills you liked I’m guessing you’re just all about you said holding your edges but also when you are on your
Knees moving on your knees rather than reaching but what are some of the things that allowed you to because it’s easy again it’s another one of those things it’s really easy to say but sometimes that’s tough to do absolutely and scrambling is going to be part of the
Game it’s going to happen over the course of over the course of a game and there’s games where it’s going to happen more obviously you don’t want to rely to falling on your butt or if you’re all over the place because it means that things are getting hectic
Right but that’s the nature of games sometimes it just happens that way uh they not necessarily I didn’t work on anything to different in practice I think it was just constantly reminding myself to recover do the things where you’re not relying on desperation to gain trust in yourself that when the
Game time comes you can do a quick movement to get to a spot rather than resolve in having to do something uh chaotic because then the chaoticness creates more problems whether it’s rebounds and stuff so I think it’s more of creating good habits in practice than necessarily a drill okay so just mindset
And practice like having that mindset of yeah I’m not going to reach I’m not going to scramble I’ve got time to make a proper butterfly push across the crease here and even if it was a time in practice where as we know the shooters love their re BS and all that stuff it
Can get crazy uh just forcing yourself to do a butterfly slide in this situation where maybe you might not have a chance but now I’m building the confidence and the trust that I can do it when game time comes I was going to ask too because practices do tend to be
More wide open if anything a lot of practice environments can lead to some of the other habits where it is so unpredictable and so wide open that we’re forced to scramble so it must have taken a certain level of discipline um to force yourself into that absolutely
Uh practi this is obviously the best time for go or any player right to work on things that uh they could be struggling in but at the same time it’s also where bad habits can be created so it’s the balance of trying to focus on
What you want to get better at that day while not you know letting something something else become worse from it it’s interesting you said you were a bit of a perfectionist early on and that was problematic and as we talk about scrambling and the reality that it’s
Going to come into games like it’s such an imperfect game right like you can’t always make perfect saves I’m I’m guessing like if you’re a perfectionist they can be a tough position for you because you’re striving for it all the time but the willingness to let go of it
Is often seen as a strength and something that we have to do every once in a while if we want to reach higher levels exactly exactly I I’ve been able to find more of the balance between um I guess I’ll say self- coaching it might be the wrong word but being able
To process what has happened and let things go or be like I made a mistake here but this is what I was thinking and learning from it instead of being a perfectionist but the fun part about being a goalie is that you could play a game and you could feel like you played
Really good and give up five goals on 30 shots and then the next game you can give up one goal and 25 shots and be like H I didn’t really have my stuff that game so uh it’s the fun part of the the position we play I was going to say
Recognizing that is a is a is a big part of being able to succeed at higher levels I mean one of the things I’ve talked to guys with right up to the NHL is when you get into those runs where you know you feel okay but all a sudden
Pucks are going in I mean it’s a game of bounces too to to recognize that there are moments when you don’t need to change your foundation when things might go bad but you but you’re fine and you don’t need to chase change for the sake of change exactly and it’s it’s tough
You know I as a goal you never want to give up a goal ever of course but at the level that I’m at now and the level that I played it uh played in in the past there there’s good players out there some of those guys are going to make
Plays and you got to tip your cap to them and go on from it so okay I want to get into draft I want to get into Michigan I want to get into Providence but I want to ask I didn’t I didn’t rewind here how’d you become a goalie um
You know I know you’re from Sound Beach which I think is on Long Island so growing up on Long Island um who were the heroes what Drew you into hockey and then into the position and what age uh so my dad played my dad played goalie
When he was younger uh so I think he was a big influence in the me getting into being uh playing hockey and being a goalie but he never pushed me towards it uh I played roller hockey I think I started when I was about five played for
Two years just wck League you know a little bit during the week mostly over the summer and then uh at about seven I went to ice hockey uh and I would always uh do this Clinic it was a Saturday morning one of the local youth rinks uh
Saturday morning at about 8:00 a.m and we would go out there a little bunch of mites out there just skating around and we’d always end with like those half ice games and for some reason I was always the kid that wanted to play goalie in my
Forward gear uh my dad said that I needed to learn how to skate be a really good skater you know how to do your crossovers uh backwards skating all that stuff so I trained really hard to become as good of a skater as I could and past
All these obstacles he put in front of me and uh I was rewarded with some goalie gear and got that at about uh 8 and went into travel hockey and have him look back sense okay and so being a full right was that ever problematic I don’t
Know if you ever saw we we we did an interview with Andre vasileski not a lot of people realize he should be a full right but growing up in Russia they couldn’t get the gear and that’s why he catches with his left hand what about
For you was it ever an issue where you know needing to get the gear and get the full right or I guess have we gotten past that in terms of stuff being more accessible yeah I think we gotten past that but again personally at a young age
I don’t know what hurdles my dad had to go through or potentially what extra money he had to spend uh to get the full right stuff it was actually more of a challenge because I uh I played baseball too growing up and I was a catcher uh it
Was actually harder to find a the opposite glove for a catcher believe it or not um versus finding the goalie gear so I can believe it I can believe it well that that leads me right to again I want to get to the pro stuff and and the evolution through college but other
Sports uh back catcher I mean I remember Cory Schneider talking about growing up playing ball and being a back catcher similarities at all or just you know skills that you see translating from one to the other we see a lot of kids you played goal at 8 but clearly didn’t just
Play goal um I think it can be problem atic at times that we see kids now only playing one sport and only playing one position as young as the age of eight or nine yeah I think it’s important to play multiple Sports my main two were hockey
And baseball uh I I was only a little league guy though I wasn’t a travel baseball I was just the local around town Little League got the play for probably like seven or eight years and I loved it baseball uh I just love the sport it was so much fun playing growing
Up but I had to give it up at uh after seventh or eighth grade uh hockey did become my commitment and I was okay with that I didn’t feel like uh I was pressured to do it or like I don’t want to do this over the summer it was more
Of a choice where I enjoyed the sport enough where I didn’t mind doing it you know 365 days of the year well and and by grade seven and eight that’s a different conversation than eight or nine years old right too you had an opportunity to play other sports um
Coaching uh goalie coaching at an early age did you you have any was Dad did he did he walk that line did he coach you a little bit technically how was that balance I know it for for some dads it’s easy for some dads it’s tough to you
Know stay in that lane and and but also wanting to have a have a positive influence what what were your influences growing up in terms of you know you became a great skater playing out as we as you started to add goalie specific stuff what was your experiences there
Yeah my dad was definitely uh the main guy for me uh again playing go growing up but he he was so important to me because he also learned as I got older you know I would attend goalie camps in different different places and he’d come with me and he’d have the notebook out
Uh writing down the drills not necessarily like how I was doing in them but writing down all these drills and then come season time you’d be the goalie coach of my team and we’ be working these same skating drills same shooting drills um so he was a real
Student of the game as well and I owe a lot of credit to to him for being where I’m at today for him pushing me uh and he did an exceptional job of the balance between being a father and a coach while it can be hard and it can get crossed
Sometimes as a little kid you know uh you could be like why is he so hard on me uh I wouldn’t change anything uh the way he treated me uh in the hockey side of things he did it exception job gending would have changed I’m guessing
I mean not knowing your dad’s age but just obviously a generation older go tending would have changed so much from when he played it to when you played it um did he still play at all or was he still on the ice or was when you were
Younger so he would coach uh a little bit just the the men’s league stuff I would actually go with him a handful of times to the early morning and watch him play and uh and see how he was feeling after for playing at his age so
That was fun I just love that you talked about him being a student of the game because the position would have changed so much and we see it a lot in minor hockey and youth hockey where whether it’s parents or volunteer coaches the way they played 20 years ago they try
And bring it in and and hey there’s still elements that ring true skating and movement and all those things but the positions changed so much so I love the story of him sort of going to school with you it sounds like you guys grew in the position together exactly it’s the
Best way to put it not to mention I I I’ve also had gone to a lot of other goalie coaches throughout the time too some on Long Island some in Canada so the opportunity to go and hear these different perspectives and for us both
To learn it uh was big okay so we talked about you know the evolution of your game a little bit but I I never asked you what would you say is the foundation of your game when when someone says you know how do you play what are your what
Are sort of the anchor points for you when you’re playing well um I like obviously I’m a big guy so I like to try and use my frame and being a skater I don’t necessarily think I play aggressive but I want to challenge Shooters I don’t want to give
Them time and space so I rely on my skating to get the points fast and ultimately I’m a battler I I think now especially at the professional level if if you’re not if I’m not battling my hardest every second I’m going to pay for it so I’m always getting compete
Whether it’s looking through screens in TI people in front of me I’m going to fight for my ice and all and all that stuff so I think that that uh are some of my keys the one I’m really on you can see that when we talk about
Understanding your frame and being a 6 fo5 go tender and and being aggressive it’s not the old days maybe even when your dad played where aggressive meant you’re you start at the hash marks on a rush I’m guessing probably still in connected to the crease heels out toes
In type of thing how have you developed an understanding of how much net you fill we we there’s different philosophies we hear about box control from the swedes or at least it started there how how have you built that understanding of hey like if I’m here you talked about glove positioning how
That’s evolved if I’m here if my gloves are here I don’t have to move that much how have you how’s that sort of manifested itself in your game over the years uh I think that’s kind of come through trial and error to be honest and
Um stop it I won’t say stop it like uh percentages thing uh going there train but I feel like I’ve learned a lot of percentages just from working the different situations all the stuff that we train with over the summer that it it I’ve better understood how to play
Situations and in that trust my body and know when I’m here I’m in the right position so uh I guess the scenario would be for me the the evolution of what we call the panda and the rvh right while I don’t always use the panda as
It’s demonstrated now or I I’ll call it the overlap now I’ve been able to learn when I feel I need to use overlap and when I need to use rvh uh so I’m not overusing one or the other as we’ve seen nowadays the rvh has not been
Problematic but maybe been overused in a sense yep so I think that’s one of the situations where I’ve learned how my body is what works best for me and how to not overuse one of the other in certain situations do you see a benefit there in terms of unpredictability like
Um doing different things at different times not only in terms of tools in the toolbox for you and what’s comfortable in certain situations but not always at the pro level especially where pres Scouts become more in- depth not always doing the same thing so Shooters know
What to look for do you see a benefit there you know what I never really thought of that honestly um maybe uh I’ve just play the game and I just go off the situ situations and I just react I’m one of those guys during games where
I can look back in video and I realize I made a mistake in a situation whether it’s like a butterfly versus a te push to get somewhere but I’m just in the moment of games I just go with what I do okay so into college you get the
Opportunity at Mogan you make the most of it um get a chance to go to Western Michigan that decision that process that uh what led you there so the very beginning of Juniors I didn’t say this during that time uh when we were talking about earlier but I was committed to St
Lawrence okay which was an unbelievable opportunity the coaching staff there was awesome um but through those two years of me struggling a bit and going through ups and downs uh I also change as a person and what I uh and and what I felt I saw in a school so once my season
Started in mosan and things were going well uh I thought that I could find an opportunity at a different school that was going to give me a good degree as well as potentially give me the opportunity to play at the next level and that’s nothing against St Lawrence
And that coaching staff that was there they were all unbelievable it’s a great school I have nothing bad to say about them but I felt like I could explore my options to see a better fit for who I was now obviously when you commit at 18
Versus 20 while it might not sound like you change a lot oh huge Junior Hockey you change a lot yeah you can be a totally different person in two years at that age so having Western Michigan reach out to me being in an nchc school to be honest
I had never heard of them prior to them reaching out to me which is really funny now looking back at the experience I had at school but I hadn’t really I didn’t know much about them they’re an hour and a half away from mosan I went to visit
Andy Murray was the head coach at the time uh and I fell in love with the school instantly like it’s knew I I knew it was where I wanted to be and I didn’t look back what’ you take talked about school and and programs what did you end
Up taking uh I was an account accounting major uh I still have one more year of school so I need to go through all that to finish my degree but that is the plan nice awesome during that time you went to a development camp with mini and 2019
Obviously undrafted uh what was that experience like and was there any as as you go through this evolution in college anything that was new to you your first taste of an NHL Pro Camp it it was a bit of a surreal experience again for going
Through the ups and downs I had just uh went through and in a year span I kind of turned the trajectory of my career pretty quickly were you thinking NHL at all like at that like as you as you’re going through those ups and downs like
As your mind at all thinking the NHL Pro Hockey is in my future at all or was it really that quick from USHL NCAA to Boom I’m in a Dev Camp a year later um you know I think everybody’s goal is to play professionally and play in the NHL so I
Don’t think I ever lost sight of that but okay living in the moment it was more about just going to school finding a school that was the right fit getting my degree that was what was more important to me uh going to Western Michigan I didn’t look at it as oh I
Only want to go to the you know NHL or play pro it it was just a a spa where I could look at and be like if I do the right things you know I’m a good student athlete I put in the time on the ice this could be a possibility you never
Know a kid from Long Island at the age of eight years old it’s your dream but you don’t know if it’ll ever happen you just work for it and you enjoy the sport and have fun um but going to Minnesota’s development Camp was a surreal experience
Um it it was it was great to learn from the people there and get the first taste of like wow like I I’m you know doing doing something special here there a bit of a confidence boost okay and so you get through your third year at Western
Michigan uh I’m guessing there were more than one opportunity you know um in terms of turning pro walk us through that decision get the offer from Boston you signed at the end of that season and and spend some time with Providence were there other opportunities did you have
Choices to make and and what’s that process like uh because you’re still a young man these are Big choices you haven’t finished University you said you got another year you’ve obviously matured a lot over that span but these are still really big decisions at a really young age I know I wouldn’t have
Been ready to make decisions like that at that age hell I’m damn near 50 and I probably wouldn’t be able to figure it out yeah it was stressful for sure yeah you know there’s uh a lot of things that you think about during those few days
Cuz you really only have a few days you don’t you don’t know what’s on the on the table you’re just so focused on your season and when it comes to a crushing end in the regional final next thing you know within three days you need to make
A a really big career decision um you have to evaluate am I ready for the next level uh do I have more to learn at the college level all that stuff going through your head you know it was it was pretty back and forth but I felt
That I had learned so much from college that I was ready to make the jump to learn more at the pro level if that makes sense I I achieved enough at school where I felt my game was in a spa where now I needed to go to the pro
Level and make those adjustments um and ultimately Boston gave me the best opportunity uh just a great organization from the top down and having the opportunity right now to work with uh dunny uh you know every day has been awesome and it’s helped me so much and having that opportunity was just too
Hard to pass a lot of guys talk about uh I’ve talked toy a lot of guys over the years they’ll talk about Junior to the AHL or college to the AHL being an even bigger jump than the AHL to the NHL like that first taste of pro how did having
That late season opportunity help you prepare for this year were there Lessons Learned in that late stretch with Providence that you were able to take into the summer so that this year you were that much more prepared absolutely can you share a few I can’t I can’t stress how important
Those five games were for me the biggest change was just the the amount you have to work in a game specifically with traffic in front of you now you’re playing playing against men everybody right College yes we’re playing against older people and it’s hard but the
Margin of error is so much smaller at the pro level trying to find a puck from the point when you have five people in front of you is that much harder and it was eye opening getting in those games to be like wow like this is a lot more
Difficult and I think focusing on my foot speed was even more important over the offseason getting the spots faster whether it’s just a D2D pass from the uh the point getting from one side of my crease to the other side a little bit faster whether it’s a few milliseconds
Could be the difference between the puck going in or you making a save well and it all compounds too right because if that it’s funny because I’ve see guys that like ah it’s point to point I got time but if that next guy moves it really quick and you’re behind on the
First one you can get behind pretty fast at the pro level exactly exactly so I think it was important for me to work on my foot speed and doing things a lot faster so that in the game it would feel slower for me and easier that was a big
Thing that I worked on over the summer and it it’s hard to work on the battling through traffic over the summer right but I I’d say that knowing that kind of mentally prepared me for my offseason training or what I needed to do if that
Mak sense yeah no it does and and so you you talk about that battle battling for Sight lines and some of is just compete and I’m guessing it’s 6’5 it might be a little easier than some of us that have to look around screens rather than over
Them but are there any tips because there are philosophies in terms of finding lanes and sometimes it’s just I got to find a lane but you know I talked to some goalies this year talking about sort of looking off the shoulder of a guy so that when you do go down if
You’re on the corner of the shoulder you still maintain a sight line as opposed to being right behind them like there any tips on how you manage traffic and how you find pucks other than just competing mhm yeah so in college early on my freshman
Year while I was big I was a big look low through screens and I felt like it caused me to slouch or get smaller and give up goals high so as I you know my years went on at Western became a look over the shoulders guy I’m 65 I’m big I
Can do that getting to the pro level I found out you need to just find the puck there’s no right way about it most of the time am I trying to look over absolutely but I’m not afraid to get down the look either because I need to
Find that puck if I can see even the littlest bit of that Puck come off from the release I know that I can project where it’s going or figure out where it’s going to go rather than just guessing all the time the other transition in terms of managing screens
At the pro level is these guys will like you know often you have to pick a side on a screen and these guys are good enough that they work with their D to try and force you one way to go another have you figured like is that part of
The learning curve too like you as much as you just got to find it being smart about when you shift over over and around a screen becomes important because you’ll have the guy in that’s standing in front of you and the guy shooting the puck they’ve worked on this
Too now absolutely and I think that it’s it’s hard to train it I think it just comes more with doing it all the time playing the position for years you just feel the Tendencies out right you have a guy in front of you and he’s a little
Bit off your left shoulder uh the pucks on you know the right side of your crease wherever and you have a little more traffic to your left you know I can look right and the shots probably going to go right because the shooter doesn’t have the lane to go into the traffic so
That’s just one scenario but there’s a lot of those little things you pick up on during a game where you’re looking over a screen and you can feel the pressure on one side or the other and you can essentially project where you think the shot’s going to go anything
Else you’ve had to adapt to as you as you get up to that level working with Mike Dunham any little details it sounds like you use video a fair amount in terms of self analysis I don’t know uh how often dunny’s down there if it’s full-time different organizations are
Different or if he’s just part-time is there still an element of self- coaching for you when you’re watching that video If he’s not around all that stuff I mean I watch every one of my games with dunny dunny’s with us 90 95% of the time he’s
Still does a little bit of a scouting but he’s always with us for Skates um I think the biggest thing over the course of a year is it’s hard to change your game a lot you don’t want to be making any major changes during the year
Because that could lead to a little bit of uncertainty in your game or flat out like you’re doing too much so I think it’s important to kind of know what works for you right now and just try and find those bad habits that might be creeping into your game whether it’s
You’re sliding a little bit too much or you’re being aggressive in this situation find these Trends during games and kind of get ahead of them before they become a real problem now I’m going to assume you were at camp with the Bruins as well I I didn’t look that up
So I’m just guessing would have had some experiences with uh with goalie Bob as well uh Boba s Senza uh anything it’s funny we had we had lenus and and sway in here recently and catching up with them the concept of recoil is that something it’s earlier in career have
You have you looked at that as well the idea that we have a little drift in our game um which to be honest the first time I heard it I thought sounded counterintuitive to a lot of what’s taught right now set Square set Square it’s all about that playing with a
Little flow is that something you’ve tried to adapt or add to your game or is that more a down the line thing no I’ve been working on it it’s big in the the uh Boston goalie system and I think it’s extremely beneficial when done properly uh I’m still learning it to make sure
I’m doing it correctly every single time but I’ve noticed situations in games where I’ve added it and it’s become massive in success and that being said there have been situations on like a two-on one goal where they might go across you know they pass it across and
They score and it’s a tough save to make in general but we can pause the video and we’ll look and be like hey if you had a little more recoil here rather than getting flat footage you might had a better chance and uh I fully agreed
With it so I think it’s something I’m still working on in my game but when I’ve been able to do it and I’ve been getting more comfortable with it it’s been leading to more success that’s for sure the first time you heard it what was the reaction because because again
Like I said like I’m not sure I just don’t think it’s taught all that much and yet now I’m looking around the league and you know I won’t give away names but you know we had another Elite top end NHL goalie in here recently and when I started to pay attention it’s
Subtle but he does it too yeah I I was open to it I wasn’t somebody you know I’m very open to trying different things whether or not it works or not I find out over time that was that’s also the fun part about going to stop it over the summer there’s
Some new things that are taught strictly off of a trial and it works for some people and it doesn’t work so I’ve been able to find things that work and try things that I’m just like hey I don’t know if this is going to work for me and it’s okay everybody’s different but
Trying to recoil early on I struggled with it that’s for sure but that’s the time for practice that’s the time for training camp right we’re getting ready for the season uh I was overdoing it too much I was going back too much I felt like I was moving when trying to make
The Save which is weird but as I’ve just continued to work on it and been able to pick and choose when to use it uh I’ve become more and more comfortable with it as the years gone on I guess that’s key right tools in the toolbox whether it’s
The panda in the summer or an overlap or a little bit of recall always being willing in a position that constantly evolves to try new things and figure figure out which ones to add to your toolbox you have to you just absolutely have to I remember when I was younger
Probably around 11 or 12 I could be wrong with my age but uh the the VH the VH became this massive thing and I always used it I definitely overused it as a kid I can remember a handful of times I gave up goals because I got all
Jammed up and then all of a sudden the rvh comes out you know we see quick doing it who’s just a freak athlete at the time being able to do these things that a lot of goalies look at like oh I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that
And now that’s become the new Revolution but then that became a little overused this time went on now we’re going to the overlap so always willing to learn and make changes to a game that’s evolving very fastly as we can see with the amount of talented players out there now
I don’t know what you call it in Boston I’ve heard I mean we got call it reverse tracking with in Clark here and Vancouver uh other goalie coaches would just call it a double seal but I’m guessing at 6’5 when that plays behind the net you also have the ability to
Probably just put a skate on each post uh yeah for sure uh I’m a big try to look over one shoulder person when the Puck’s behind the net to some extent I think I’m fast enough to get post to post but that is one of the perks
Obviously of of my size is being able to move less than sometimes just because I know I could take up space love it I love it like well I guess picking a should like we you mentioned Jonathan Quick right like the way he does it off the blocker side where he actually turns
Inside the net to keep everything in front of him to that that works for him I’m guessing at 6’5 that might be a little bit more challenging yeah every everybody’s different and Everybody Plays the position differently and it’s just all about finding what works for you that’s that’s also been the fun part
About me coaching over the Summers with stop it I coach a bunch of kids from the ages of like six or seven to college students is like you you can’t coach one person or one goalie you know one goalie to all these different kids because everybody’s a little different right
Everybody’s Body Works a little different size and stuff so it’s fun being able to talk with these guys and essentially learn from them too because it makes me think oh well how would I do this and maybe what I do won’t work for them so it’s fun banter in a way I love
That I I didn’t realize you were actually also doing some coaching there is that something that as long as time permits because of those lessons like do you think that’s something you’ll continue in your pro career like do you see the benefits of those conversations even as
You established yourself you know as a pro absolutely I and I love i’ coach over the summer if I can every summer obviously time permit with right everything that will be going on now just being a professional versus the college side but uh I think it’s just a
Good opportunity and i’ I’ve made so many good friends that stop it with all the coaches there and all the goalies that like it’s just a fun place for me to be over the summer all right hey I’ve kept you way too long Brandon but I did
Want to ask one last one um just because I I love the message um the mask and having the puzzle pieces on the mask and what that means to you and maybe you could share it with our audience just you know I know you’re new to the Pro
Game like it’s only your first year um but having the ability to spread some awareness uh about autism and your experiences with it why is that important to you yeah it’s um as go we have this freedom to be creative with our helmets it’s one of the one of the
Perks that a lot of people like to get into being a goalie because they have that freedom but uh it’s something that started my sophomore year of school where uh I decided to go to theme of an Autism Awareness helmet uh and it was originally just intended for personal
Reasons my younger brother Dylan has autism he was you know diagnosed at a young age and it it’s been a big part of my life my relationship with my brother is really close close unfortunately with co uh and me being away from home the opportunity to see him is less um but
It’s nice to know that I got a piece of them with me and as time’s gone on uh it’s become a bigger deal out in you know in terms of recognition uh to the fans to just people everywhere that you know on social media and it’s more of a thing where
I I tell my story and if it can relate to people can make them feel better hearing the the good and the bad times about it because of the difficulties of it um they hear my story and it can create a little bit of positiveness or
An ability to relate uh that I’ve done my job if that make sense no it totally does it totally does started personal but as your exposure and brand goes you have an opportunity to take something personal to you you and relay a positive message and awareness at the same time
Exactly I love it I love it I love this entire conversation I know our audience is going to as well Brandon so thank you very much um congratulations on a great first year Pro many more to come uh we look forward to see to keeping in touch
And watching you continue to grow in the game and yeah just can’t thank you enough for spending the time with our audience here today thank thank you so much for having me this is awesome follow Brandon’s career as it rolls along now that you are fully briefed on
His background and what is coming up uh for the Providence Brewing golender uh did you did you see what happened in Ottawa this week and and wins happen debuts happen in strange occurrences and then Dylan Ferguson managed to combine the two but years apart yeah I can’t
Believe we actually forgot about this at the start of the podcast um cuz what a cool moment um we’re actually going to have an article up later well hopefully by the time this podcast goes live featuring Dylan Ferguson and the Seven lessons he learned from his first NHL
Start how about Into the Fire 48 saves in your first NHL start after all that Dylan has been through uh if you saw on the sportset the national broadcast of the game Pete fry the goalie mindset guy was there in Pittsburgh with Dylan to watch that and just shows you how
Connected Pete is to his clients to hop on a plane and make that trip and want to be there for his guy uh as he gets an opportunity that you let’s be honest right like he got that he was what 18 or 19 years old when Vegas called him up
And he got that relief appearance in Edmonton that that first year where they ran into all the goalie injuries um and it hasn’t always been a smooth path from there he won a Kelly cup in the ECHL when he was in Vegas’s franchise doesn’t get qualified uh basically spends most
Of this year on a PTO uh in the American Hockey League with Toronto gets traded not at the NHL level he gets traded at the American Hockey League level last month from Toronto to ottawa’s farm team Ottawa signs him after running into injury Troubles of their own he’s in the
NHL there’s a really cool story I don’t want to tell it at a turn here because I’m not sure they’re comfortable with it but there’s a really cool story about how him and Pete fry sort of mapped this plan out and how it came to be
Um you know within a time period that they had mapped out and to take that moment and stay in the moment as well as he did while being absolutely like inundated with Shots by a Pittsburgh Penguins team that’s trying to get into the playoffs you know Crosby
Malcin Point blankers like what a what a performance by Dylan Ferguson um and what a big night for him for Pete for everybody around Dylan and one that’s well deserved by everybody that’s worked so hard to get him there I mean Dylan’s a guy who we do the goalie mindset
Seminars Dylan shows up in person like he’s there because he believes in what they’re doing he wants to help other kids and also he sees value in sort of sharing that environment with other goalies who are professionals that have come out to those seminars with us so um
You know just all the credit in the world to Dylan for sort of managing to manage a moment that would have been overwhelming for a lot of people this is where all that work on your mindset pays off and for Dylan it paid off in a 48
Win in his first NHL start what a moment I find it appropriate that he had the blue trim still uh on on the pads but he but he had the mask because you go back to his first appearance against the Evon oers when he was called up he
He had the cam loops uh gear and the cam loops mask at that time so he’s been in the NHL twice and it it just almost sums up his battling journey and and uh finally making it through but things don’t all fit fit perfectly but he’s
Still making the most of it in the National Hockey League yeah you know H listen the cam loots thing like I never I forgot about this and we got to give some love to someone else too like how about the factory that the cam loops Blazers have become for rending and Dan
DePalma the gending coach there deserves some love for that too it’s funny because I almost forgot that Connor Ingram came through there when Connor was in town earlier this year and we were just chatting casually that was one of the things he talked about about all the structure and all the elements in
His game we’re succeeding now and he’s having a hell of a year with the Arizona Coyotes um how much of that started with Dan De Palma so when we think of Dylan Garand and Dylan Ferguson and Connor Ingram and all these goalies that come through cams I’m sure I’m missing even
More because I’m not that bright a lot of them talk about that Dan DePalma connection so for everyone involved and I know when you know a guy like Dan you know as much as Pete flies to Pittsburgh you know that Dan would have been tuned in and watching that one too because he
Stays connected to all his guys as well and would have been as happy as any of us were for Dylan Ferguson having such a big night and such a big Spotlight I’ll get in trouble if I don’t mention uh from the weat Kings Tyler plant uh the Brandon week Kings he’s the
Goalie coach there he was in Vegas for Yuri peta’s uh first home start and and was on hand because they’d worked together a long time ago so those ties Run Deep uh uh just piggy backing that reminded me of of something like that of the the bond that that guys have love it
I love it and Hey listen like you know Dillan was a long time coming and a lot of work to get there so has Yuri peta’s been but you know these one-off starts we’ve talked about it before like one quick game towards the end of the season
And a lot of people don’t make much of it or don’t think too much of it sometimes they get a few games in man like I can’t tell you how many guys over the years Stuart Skinner is another prime example that one start late in the season can just be like the launching
Pad for guys they seeing it for real uh at the NHL level not in a preseason not in an exhibition game I just does something to some goalies where it’s like okay either hey I can do this like I’m ready right now or I can do this but
This needs to get better and then they grind through the summer and like they just I’ve seen or it doesn’t go great and it shows you exactly what you need to do yeah either way we’ve seen it just it becomes a rocket ship right like that that moment those moments are so
Important and so they become launching pads maybe not that year but in the next year or maybe even the next year in a bit um and I think a people forget about the importance of those late season starts and those moments and for a lot of guys they’re so crucial hey David
Hutson uh was on the phone with us right before we recorded this episode and he wasn’t able to be on because he’s on assignment right now but the last thing you and I said to him was we’re going to be brief we’re going to make this simple
We got the uh Brandon busy uh interview and we’ve got this great gear segment and and we’ll be in and out and it’ll be easy for you to edit while you’re on assignment we we never follow through through I’m at no sorry Hutch this is not an not an easy although we didn’t
Have any M we didn’t have that many M we it’s one take we didn’t have any mistakes was seamless on that regard it’s just I was my usual blah blah blah self so there’s a lot of talking and I and I mash you word for word today cuz we’re having fun Darren
That’s why right it’s like dad’s dad’s way we could we could party all day sorry Dad there’s more work to be done uh thanks to Brandon for joining us so what an awesome story there and uh and for you to be able to follow uh Brandon
Along now is going to be awesome over with the Providence Bruins and Beyond congratulations to Dylan and Jonathan Quick as well and to uh you the go tending uh fraternity appreciate your patronage and uh make sure you stop by the Hockey Shop Source for Sports langly the hockey shop.com and you use that
Sense Arena and we’ll talk to you next week on Ingle radio the Podcast N
Episode 209 of the InGoal Radio Podcast, presented by The Hockey Shop Source for Sports (https://www.thehockeyshop.com/collections/goalie-hockey-equipment) , features standout American Hockey League rookie pro Brandon Bussi of the Providence (and Boston) Bruins.
In the feature interview, presented by Sense Arena (https://www.sensearena.com/for-goalies) , Bussi walks us through a path to pro that featured more twists and turns than most, sharing openly how he matured and evolved through each step in junior and college before turning pro at the end of last season. Bussi also talks about his evolution as an AHL All Star as a rookie this season (18-4-4 with a .926 save percentage that ranks second in the league) and how he’s incorporated new tools over the years, including the Panda as a 6-foot-5 goalie, and why going back to goalie coach at Stop-It Goaltending in the summers still has value even as a professional goalie now.
All that, plus a trip to The Hockey Shop Source for Sports for a history lesson on the origins and evolution of the 580-break glove, including some historical notes from the Lefevre family.
