Tennyson Flanagan
Prospect Profile
Goalie Overview
Position
Goalie
Glove Hand
Left
Height
5’7″
Weight
140 lbs
Current Team
Waterloo Ravens U18AA
League
Ontario Women’s Hockey Association
Nationality
Canadian
Date of Birth
February 22, 2011
Hometown
Woodstock, ON
Grad Class
2029
School
Woodstock Collegiate Institute
Programs of Interest
Health Sciences
Kinesiology
High School Transcript
Academic Record
French90%
Phys. Ed88%
Science86%
Technology83%
English81%
Art80%
Nutrition76%
Math73%
Geography70%
Grade 10 transcript publishes at the end of the academic year.
Grade 11 transcript publishes at the end of the academic year.
Grade 12 transcript publishes at the end of the academic year.
Grade 9 final marks confirmed. Grade 10–12 transcripts publish at the end of each academic year.
Career Production
Statistics
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | GAA | SV% | SO | SA | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026–27 | Waterloo RavensU18AA | OWHA | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2025–26 | Waterloo RavensU15AA | OWHA | 41 | 28 | 5 | 8 | 0.88 | .952 | 15 | 745 | 36 |
| Career | Waterloo Ravens | OWHA | 41 | 28 | 5 | 8 | 0.88 | .952 | 15 | 745 | 36 |
2025–26 season: 41 games played, 15 shutouts, a 0.88 goals-against average and a .952 save percentage on 745 shots faced.
Performance Testing
Combine Results
Off-Ice Testing
Flanagan Age-class avg.
Grip Strength
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Broad Jump
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10M Sprint
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20M Sprint
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Pro-Agility (5-10-5)
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Anaerobic Power — Wingate Test
Flanagan Age-class avg.
Peak Power
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Fatigue Index
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On-Ice Testing
Flanagan Age-class avg.
Linear Sprint — Forward
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Linear Sprint — Backward
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Linear Sprint — C-Cut
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Lateral Push — Left
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Lateral Push — Right
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Iron Cross
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Combine testing scheduled — results populate here once the session is complete and verified.
2025–26 Evaluation
Scouting Report
Key Strengths
- Positional Presence: At 5’7″, Tennyson has real presence in the net, and she uses it the right way — by being square and set rather than scrambling. When her stance is dialed in she takes away the net simply by being in the right place, and shooters run out of room without her having to move. Size only becomes an advantage when it’s paired with positional discipline, and she already shows that pairing.
- Precise Base: Maintains a balanced athletic base with weight on the balls of her feet and inside edges loaded. That clean edge engagement keeps her first push sharp and efficient — she moves through her frame rather than fighting it.
- Explosive From Set: She’s not just technical, she’s genuinely athletic, and her stance is built to unlock it. Because her base stays loaded and balanced, she can explode into a save or across the crease with no wind-up. This blend of technique and athleticism is what lets her toggle between patient-and-square and reactive-and-explosive as the play demands.
- Vision & Tracking: Keeps her head level and still into the save, tracking the puck on plane. That calmness in the stance keeps her reads clean in traffic and lets her positioning do the work before her athleticism ever has to.
- Hands & Rebound Control: Her glove is consistent and dependable catching pucks on net, and her blocker is excellent at controlling redirects. Together they show how well she manages shots with her hands — pucks that hit her get caught clean or steered to safe ice rather than left loose in front.
Next Steps for Growth
- Consistency of Habits: Her stance is excellent, so the development priority isn’t fixing it — it’s protecting it. The key is staying mindful so the small details don’t quietly slip in: hands drifting toward the body, the base narrowing, the depth sinking. Keeping that awareness sharp is what keeps the elite version of her stance automatic on every shot.
- Study the Level Above: She’s ready to grow by watching how goalies at higher levels play within their game — how they stay compact and patient, and how they let depth and angles do the work before athleticism has to. Pulling those ideas from pro and NCAA goalies with similar builds and styles gives her a clear picture of the habits she’s working toward.
- Self-Auditing on Film: Turning that same critical eye on her own game is the next step. Regularly reviewing her film — checking side-to-side symmetry, depth, and hand height — makes her her own evaluator. For a goalie this technical, that self-awareness is what keeps her stance developing.
Key Strengths
- Challenge IQ: Her depth is driven by the play in front of her, not by habit. She isn’t afraid to challenge, but she knows when to — coming out to take away the net when the look calls for it and staying home when it doesn’t, so every challenge has a reason behind it.
- Controlled Movement: She’s smooth and balanced getting to her depth — calm and focus-oriented, never rushed or frantic. However the play moves toward her, the way she gets where she’s going keeps her square and under control.
- Connected Across: On east-west plays she stays connected, holding her depth as she moves laterally instead of drifting deep or getting caught too far out. She meets the puck from the same strong position on either side of the crease.
- Tracks the Play: She sees the play develop early and adjusts her depth before the puck arrives. That anticipation means she’s set and waiting rather than chasing the play to catch up to it.
- Composed in Traffic: When the play gets busy in front of her — screens, bodies, pucks moving through the slot — her depth doesn’t panic. She holds her spot and stays patient in the chaos instead of backing off or lunging, so traffic doesn’t pull her out of position.
Next Steps for Growth
- Force the Shooter: Right now her depth answers what the shooter does — she reads the play and gets to the right spot. The next-level jump is using her depth proactively to make the decision for the shooter: getting out with enough presence that they look up, see no net, and are forced into a pass or a low-percentage shot before they’ve committed.
- Depth Ceiling: She already knows when to challenge — the growth edge is how far. Fine-tuning the maximum depth she can gain on a given look lets her steal even more net without overcommitting. It’s about pushing her challenge point to its highest efficient limit: out far enough to take away everything, but never so far that she’s exposed if the play changes.
- Holding Depth: At higher levels, attackers use fakes, delays, and east-west movement to bait a goalie into backing off before the shot. The edge for her is reading which of those are real threats versus bluffs — only giving up depth when the puck actually demands it, and staying out on the ones designed just to move her.
Key Strengths
- Tracks the Carrier: She keeps her eyes locked on the puck through every handle, staying visually connected as the carrier moves across the zone rather than puck-watching or drifting to the body. In a game you’ll see her head and shoulders turn in sync with lateral puck movement, so her angle is already honest before the shot ever develops. This continuous tracking is what lets everything downstream — depth, squareness, seals — arrive on time.
- Sets Her Depth: She reads the threat level and picks the right height on her arc, challenging out to take away net on clean looks and retreating to protect against plays that can move her east-west. Watch how she isn’t parked on a static line; her depth adjusts to where the puck is and what the shooter can actually do with it. The result is a goalie who looks big to the shooter without over-committing past the point she can recover.
- Squares to the Puck: Her chest and core rotate to face the puck directly, presenting a full, flat surface rather than catching pucks on an angled or half-turned body. You’ll notice her shoulders stay level and pointed at the puck through movement, which keeps rebounds in front and predictable. Being genuinely square — not just close — is why pucks die in her chest instead of kicking to the slot.
- Post-to-Post Rotation: On plays that swing side to side she rotates cleanly across the crease, arriving squared and set on the far post rather than sliding in flat or trailing the play. Look for controlled, connected movement where her angle is re-established the moment she lands, not a beat late. This is the difference between beating a cross-ice pass to the spot and merely reacting to it.
- Seals on Release: As the shot leaves the blade she closes her low gaps — pads to ice, body to post — eliminating the holes shooters hunt for at the release point. In-game this shows up as clean, quiet saves on plays where a fraction of daylight would otherwise be there. Her timing on the seal is tied to the shot, not anticipatory, so she isn’t opening new holes by committing early.
Next Steps for Growth
- Read the Shooter, Not Just the Puck: She tracks the puck well, but the growth is reading the shooter’s hands, blade, and eyes to tell a shot from a pass or a fake a beat earlier. Adding the body as a second read means she isn’t committing to what the puck alone is doing. Fewer bites on fakes, earlier reads on the real release.
- Keep the Hands Tight and the Frame Compact: Her structure is square and clean, so this is about protecting it — keeping her hands in close to her body rather than letting them drift outward and open small seams under the arms or off the blocker. When the play gets busy and the temptation is to reach, the aim is holding everything tucked and compact so there’s no daylight for a shooter to find. Tight hands, no wasted space, nothing to shoot at.
- Trust the Read and Commit: Once she’s made the read, the aim is going all-in on it instead of second-guessing mid-movement and arriving late or half-set. Hesitation between reading and reacting is what gets exposed against better shooters. Watch for her to hold her angle and commit through the save rather than hedging when the play speeds up.
Key Strengths
- Short-Side Seal: On plays down low and along the wall she takes away the short side completely, sealing the post so there’s no daylight between her pad, body, and the pipe. The puck dies into her seal on wraps and sharp-angle shots rather than sneaking through the near-side gap goalies so often leave. Shooters trying to beat her short side simply find no room there.
- Holds the Post Until the Play Earns It: She doesn’t cheat off the post early — not sliding out to a pass that hasn’t happened, not breaking her seal on a shot that hasn’t come. She stays connected to the pipe until the puck genuinely pulls her off, then closes the short side right at the moment of release rather than a beat before it. That patience is what keeps her honest against fakes and delays down low, and it’s why she’s so tough to beat on the plays that live tightest to the net.
- Consistent Setup: Her post structure looks the same every time — the same seal, the same body position, the same coverage, whatever the situation. That repeatability means shooters can’t find a soft look by catching her in a compromised setup. For a technician, that reliability under the pressure of a scramble is a real separator.
- Tracks the Puck Clean Around the Net: She stays visually locked to the puck as it moves behind and around the cage, turning her head and body with it so she’s never guessing where it’ll reappear. Because she tracks it the whole way, she’s already set and sealed on the right post the instant it comes back out front. That connection to the puck below the goal line is what takes away the quick wrap-and-jam plays that catch goalies mid-turn.
- Athletic Transitions: When the play forces her off the post she transitions off it explosively and under control, driving to the middle or across to the far side without losing her feet or her angle. Clean, powerful movement out of the post on plays that spring to the slot or swing cross-ice — her athleticism turns a post-attached position into a fast, connected recovery rather than a scramble.
Next Steps for Growth
- Push Precision: The next layer is fine-tuning the distance and angle of her pushes off the post so she arrives squared and set on the far side, not a hair short or past her spot. Her transitions are already explosive; the refinement is dialing in exactly where that power lands so every post-to-middle or post-to-post push finishes on her angle. Look for her to consistently stop set and square rather than adjusting after she arrives.
- Delays & Deception: As she climbs levels, shooters will use hesitation, delays, and looks to try to pull her off the post early — the growth is staying patient through that deception without breaking her seal. The aim is reading when a delay is a genuine play versus a bait, so she isn’t manipulated into opening the short side. In a game this will show up as her holding the post through a fake and still being sealed when the real shot or pass finally comes.
- Post Recovery Path: The refinement here is the path she takes getting back to a sealed post after an initial save or scramble — taking the most direct, connected route rather than a longer or looser one. Reestablishing the seal quickly and cleanly on second and third chances is what closes the door on low plays that get extended. Watch for her to re-attach to the post on the fastest line so she’s set again before the next look develops.
Key Strengths
- Post-to-Post Push: She drives across the crease post-to-post with power and control, arriving squared and sealed on the far pipe rather than sliding in flat or trailing the play. In a game you’ll see her beat cross-ice passes and east-west plays to the spot, landing set and on her angle the instant she arrives. That combination of explosive push and clean arrival is what makes her hard to beat laterally.
- Lateral Shuffle Control: On shorter adjustments she shuffles under control, staying square and balanced without overshooting or drifting off her angle. Watch how she covers small east-west distances with tight, connected steps that keep her set and ready rather than reaching or lunging. This control is what keeps her positionally honest on plays that move the puck just a few feet.
- Depth Recovery (low to high play): When the puck moves from below the goal line back out to the high slot or point, she recovers her depth smoothly, climbing back onto her arc to meet the new threat. In-game this shows up as clean, connected movement out from the net front so she isn’t caught deep and small when the play resets up high. Her ability to re-establish depth on the transition keeps her big for the shot that follows.
- Behind-Net Rotation: On plays that wrap behind the net she rotates with the puck cleanly, tracking it through the net and arriving sealed on the far post without losing her bearings. Look for her head and body to stay connected to the puck around the cage so she’s set and square the moment it reappears. That controlled rotation takes away the quick wrap-and-jam plays that catch goalies mid-turn.
- Rush Gap Control: She manages her depth and timing against the rush, challenging out to meet the shooter and retreating in rhythm with the play rather than getting beat by speed off the entry. Watch how she matches her movement to the carrier’s pace on odd-man and off-the-rush looks, staying square through the gap rather than backing in flat-footed. This gap management is what lets her control the shot rather than react to it on rush plays.
Next Steps for Growth
- Challenge Herself: The growth here is a mindset one — attacking the hardest moments in her current games rather than managing them. When a top line is on or the play breaks down into chaos, the aim is to compete to make the save look clean instead of just surviving the sequence. Look for her to raise her own standard in the toughest in-game reps, treating them as the ones that matter most rather than the ones to get through.
- Stack the Reps: The refinement is volume on her movement patterns — repeating post-to-post drives, recoveries, and rotations until the clean version is automatic under fatigue and pressure. High-rep work is what turns already-good mechanics into movement she doesn’t have to think about late in games. In a game this shows up as her tenth hard push looking exactly like her first.
- Train Up: This one is about her training environment off the game sheet — deliberately practicing against older, faster, more skilled shooters so her movement is stressed beyond what her level demands. Facing pro, NCAA, or older-tier shooters in training pushes her mechanics to develop ahead of her competition. That forward-facing practice standard is what makes the current level feel slow when she gets back to it.
Key Strengths
- Power From the Ground Up: Tennyson’s edge control is generated from her hips, not just her feet. The knee bend is deep, the weight loaded correctly, and the push-off comes from a position of genuine strength. What that produces is edge movement that has real power behind it — not just agility, but force with direction.
- Technical Foundation: Her edges reflect a goalie who has been taught correctly and has absorbed it completely. The technical precision of her edge work is visible in how cleanly she initiates, holds, and stops lateral movement. Nothing looks improvised. The edges are doing exactly what they’re supposed to do because she understands why they work that way.
- East-to-West Precision: Lateral edge work is where her technical foundation shows most clearly. She pushes cleanly across her crease, stays connected to her depth, and arrives at her destination already set. The movement isn’t reaching the right place and then getting set — she arrives set.
- Stops That Become Starts: Her edge stops are loaded, not passive. When she halts lateral movement, the same edge that stopped her is already preparing the next push. There is no dead moment between movements. The stop is the beginning of what comes next, not the end of what just happened.
- Aggressive Edges: Tennyson’s edges don’t just move her — they commit. When she pushes laterally or challenges out of her crease, the edge engagement is decisive. There is no tentative push, no half-committed movement. Every edge decision is made fully, which is why her movement looks clean under pressure rather than cautious.
Next Steps for Growth
- Edge Power at Higher Demand: The technical precision of her edge work is already elite. What the next level will test is whether that same power and precision holds when the physical and tempo demands increase simultaneously. Continuing to build the strength and conditioning foundation underneath her edges will keep them performing at the same standard when the game asks more of both at once.
- Recovery Edge Speed: There are moments — scrambles, broken plays, second efforts — where the edges have to solve a problem faster than the read can set them up. Developing the recovery edge speed to handle those specific sequences without losing technical integrity will add a dimension to her edge game that high-pressure situations at the next level will occasionally demand.
- Edge Conditioning: The technical foundation of her edges is already built. What the next level will ask is whether that same power and precision holds deep into games and across a longer, more demanding season. Continuing to build the lower body and core strength underneath her edges will ensure they perform at the same standard in the third period of a playoff game as they do in the first period of a showcase.
Key Strengths
- Seal Hold: Watch her on wraps and jam plays and the first thing you notice is how long the seal stays intact. Pad to ice, body to pipe, no daylight — she holds it right through the moment the puck could squeak under or through. Shooters looking to jam the near side find the door already shut.
- Break Timing: She doesn’t leave the post on a hope. When the play pulls her off, she breaks at the moment the puck actually demands it — not early to a pass that hasn’t happened, not late to one that already has. That timing is the difference between arriving set on the next spot and chasing it.
- Drive Angle: Coming off the post, her line to the puck is direct and honest. She drives to where the shot is, not past it or short of it, so she finishes square instead of adjusting after she lands. On plays that spring to the slot she’s already on her angle when the puck gets there.
- Post-to-Post Speed: This is the athletic tool. She covers the far side fast — full-crease recovery on a cross-crease play, arriving sealed rather than sprawling. When a play swings hard east-west, her speed is what turns a broken sequence back into a clean one.
- Far-Post Set: Speed only counts if it finishes set, and hers does. She lands squared and sealed on the far pipe, not sliding through it or drifting past. The puck meets a goalie who’s already stopped and structured, not one still gathering her feet.
Next Steps for Growth
- Reaction Break-Offs: The refinement is the scramble break — leaving the post when the play blows up unpredictably rather than developing on a clean read. Right now her best breaks come off plays she can see forming; the growth is the same decisiveness when the puck squirts loose off a rebound or a deflection down low. Look for her to break off the post as cleanly on chaos as she does on structure.
- Live Walkout Reads: When a puck carrier walks out from behind the net, the read is shot-or-pass in a fraction of a second, and that’s the layer to sharpen. She recovers well; the next step is committing to the walkout and reading a beat earlier so she’s set for the correct threat instead of splitting the difference. In-game this shows up as fewer half-commitments on net-front walkouts and more clean saves on the play she’s already diagnosed.
- Double-Recovery Reps: Second and third chances are where low plays get extended, and the priority is re-sealing the post fast enough to close the door twice. Her first recovery is strong. The growth is the second one landing just as square as the first, on the most direct line back, so a scramble that lives doesn’t find her half-set on the follow-up.
Key Strengths
- Balance as Foundation: Everything she does starts from a balanced base, and it shows. Weight centered, edges loaded, never caught leaning — her positioning holds up because the platform underneath it is solid. When a goalie is this balanced, the hard saves stop looking hard.
- Movement on Demand: She can go the instant the play asks her to. Because her weight sits centered and ready, there’s no gathering step, no re-loading before she pushes — the balance is already there to fire from. Plays that catch other goalies flat-footed catch her loaded.
- Position Retention: Contact, traffic, a bumped crease — she keeps her structure through it. She absorbs a push or a screen without losing her feet or her angle, so the save still comes from a square, set body rather than a scramble. Net-front chaos doesn’t knock her off her spot.
- Composed Second Effort: The first save is rarely the whole story down low, and her balance is what carries her to the second. She stays centered through the initial stop, which leaves her able to drive to the rebound instead of falling away from it. Watch her recover into the next save calm and structured, not flailing.
- Technical Athleticism: This is where her two identities meet. The athletic explosion never costs her the technical base — she can fire across the crease and still land square, because the balance ties the athleticism to the structure. That marriage of the two is her separator.
Next Steps for Growth
- Balance as One: The refinement is making the whole sequence feel like a single balanced motion rather than balanced pieces strung together. Her stance, her push, her recovery are each strong on their own; the growth is the seam between them disappearing so a save and its follow-up read as one continuous, centered movement. Look for the transitions to stop having edges.
- Attention to Detail: At her level the balance gains hide in millimeters — hand height, hip position, how square the landing really is. She’s already balanced; the next step is auditing the fine details that separate very good balance from automatic. That’s film-room, rep-by-rep precision work, not a rebuild.
- Refining for the Next Level: The pace and skill of the level above will test her balance in ways her current one doesn’t — faster east-west, harder contact, quicker second and third chances. The growth is training ahead of where she competes now so it holds up when everything speeds up. Build it for the level she’s headed to, not the one she’s in.
Key Strengths
- Locked-In Focus: Her eyes find the puck early and stay there. From the moment it’s on a blade she’s visually connected — not guessing, not drifting to the body — so her read is honest before the shot ever develops. That focus is the quiet foundation under everything else she does.
- Sees Through Screens: Traffic doesn’t blind her. She works to find a lane through or around the screen, dropping and shifting to keep eyes on the puck rather than guessing at where it went. Watch her fight for the sightline on point shots with bodies in front — she’s tracking, not hoping.
- Reads the Release: She picks the puck up off the blade at the release point, not a beat after. Hands, blade angle, the moment it leaves — she’s reading the shot as it’s born, which buys her the split-second that makes hard saves look controlled. Clean release reads are why she rarely looks late.
- Tracks Into Save: The puck stays on her eyes all the way to the body. She follows it into the glove, into the chest, into the pad rather than closing on it early and hoping — so pucks get caught and controlled instead of kicked loose. That all-the-way tracking is what keeps her saves quiet.
- Resets to the Rebound: When a puck does spill, her eyes find it again fast. She reacquires the loose puck and re-tracks it into the second save rather than losing it in the scramble. Down low, that quick visual reset is the difference between a controlled rebound and a scramble goal.
Next Steps for Growth
- Scout the Shooters: The next layer is carrying intel on specific shooters into her tracking — who rips it, who’s pass-first, who owns a release that beats goalies clean. Her tracking is built almost entirely off what unfolds live; weighting it toward known tendencies lets her be ready for the likeliest shot before it happens. Look for her to anticipate a shooter’s go-to rather than treating every look as neutral.
- Pick Your Moment: Not every shot needs to be tracked the same way — some demand she challenge and attack the puck, others ask her to sit back and let it come. The growth is choosing that gear based on the shot and the situation instead of tracking one uniform way. In a game this shows up as her matching her aggression to the threat, calm on the ones she can absorb and assertive on the ones she should meet.
- Match the Save: Reading the shot is one thing; matching the right save selection to what she’s tracked is the next. The refinement is letting the read drive the response — glove, blocker, seal, or freeze — so the save fits the shot she saw rather than a default reaction. As she climbs levels, that read-to-save connection is what turns clean tracking into clean outcomes.
Key Strengths
- Puck Absorption: Pucks that hit her die. She takes the sting off with soft chest and glove, letting the puck settle into her rather than ricocheting back into the slot. When a goalie absorbs this well, whole scoring chances end on the first save with nothing left to play.
- Controlled Kick Saves: On pucks she can’t catch, her kick has a purpose. She steers the puck off her pad to the corner or the wall instead of straight back to the shooter, so the redirect goes where the danger isn’t. That directional control on kick saves is a technician’s touch, not luck.
- Rebound Placement: She thinks about where the puck goes after it hits her. Glove, blocker, pad — she works to put rebounds into low-danger ice rather than the middle, closing the sequence rather than extending it. Watch how few of her rebounds land on an open stick in the slot.
- Second-Save Coverage: When a rebound does sit, she’s ready for the follow-up. She stays structured through the first save so she can cover the second chance square and set, not falling away from it. Down low she closes the door twice, not once.
- Post-Save Recovery: She gets back to a set, sealed position fast after making the save. No lying in the crease, no lost beat — she reacquires her feet and her angle quickly so she’s ready before the next look develops. That quick reset keeps scrambles from turning into goals.
Next Steps for Growth
- Freeze Timing: Her freeze reads are already sound; the growth is holding them in the biggest moments. Late in a tight game, on a penalty kill, with the building loud — that’s when the decision to smother versus play the puck gets harder, and that’s where she can sharpen it. Look for the same calm whistle-management in high-pressure minutes that she shows in the first period.
- Save to Breakout: The next step is treating a controlled rebound as the start of her team’s offense. When she steers or holds a puck, the growth is placing it where a defender can retrieve it cleanly in high pressure moments, turning a save into a breakout. That puck-placement awareness is what makes her a goalie who helps her team exit the zone, not just survive shifts.
- Trust the Athleticism: She already moves fluidly between technical and athletic — that’s a strength, not a gap. The growth is letting the athletic side out more often, showing the compete level and intensity she’s got under the calm. She makes tough saves look easy, and while that’s a gift, it can hide how hard she battles — so the aim is letting the desperation and drive show on the plays that call for it. Coaches fall for a competitor, and this is where she puts that on tape.
Key Strengths
- Size as Foundation: At 5’7″ she plays every inch of her frame, and she plays it square. She doesn’t rely on size alone — she pairs it with position, so being in the right spot is what makes her look big to the shooter. Room that should be there for the shot just isn’t.
- Depth Control: She picks the right height on her arc for the threat in front of her. Out to challenge a clean look, back to protect against a play that can move her — her depth reads the danger rather than sitting on a fixed line. That constant adjustment is why she takes away net without over-committing.
- Post Seal: Down low she shuts the near side completely. Pad to ice, body to pipe, no daylight — the puck dies into her seal on wraps and sharp-angle shots instead of finding the gap goalies so often leave. Shooters looking short side find nothing there.
- Butterfly Coverage: In the butterfly she fills the net low, pads flush and sealed to the ice with the body stacked square behind them. There’s no hole between the pads, no light under the arms — she covers the bottom of the net cleanly on shots that beat her upright. That low coverage is what takes away the shots aimed at the ice.
- Lateral Coverage: She covers the width of the net on east-west plays, arriving square and sealed on the far side rather than trailing the pass. When a play swings cross-crease she’s set on the new angle when the puck gets there, taking away the open side a passing play is built to create.
Next Steps for Growth
- Top Coverage: The refinement is the top of the net — closing the high glove and blocker looks that shooters at the next level will hunt. Her low game is elite; the growth is making sure the same coverage extends up top, so she isn’t giving away the shelf on plays where she’s set and square. Look for her hands to stay high and active on shots she has time to read.
- Compact Frame: As shooters get more skilled they’ll attack the small gaps — under the arm, between the elbow and body, the five-hole seam. The growth is tightening those seams so her structure has no holes to exploit, keeping the frame compact through the save. In a game this shows up as her closing the little windows before a shooter can find them.
- Patient Positioning: The next step is trusting her position enough to let the shot come to her on plays where she doesn’t need to move. She’s athletic and can cover ground, so the temptation is to add motion — the growth is staying set and square when stillness is the stronger play. Coaches will notice the goalie who makes the save look calm because she was already exactly where she needed to be.
Key Strengths
- Short-Side Lock: On wraps, jam plays, and sharp-angle shots she takes the near side away completely, pinning pad and body to the pipe with no daylight between them. Watch the puck die into her seal on plays down low rather than sneaking through the short-side gap goalies so often leave. Shooters hunting the near post simply find the door already shut.
- Release-Timed Seal: She closes her low gaps at the moment the shot leaves the blade, not a beat early. Because the seal is tied to the release rather than anticipated, she isn’t opening a new hole up top by committing before the puck moves. In a game this shows up as clean, quiet saves on the plays that live tightest to the net.
- Consistent Seal Setup: Her seal looks the same every rep — same pad position, same body-to-post connection, same coverage regardless of the situation. That repeatability means shooters can’t catch her in a compromised setup and find a soft look. For a technician, the reliability of her structure under scramble pressure is a real separator.
- Pad-to-Ice Integrity: When she’s down, the pads lie flush to the ice with no light underneath — knee to toe, sealed to the surface. That flat coverage kills the low leaks that beat goalies on cross-crease and sharp-angle shots. Pucks meant to slide under simply die in her pads instead.
- Quick Re-Seal: After the first save she reforms her seal fast, reacquiring her feet and her structure before the next look develops. On extended plays down low she isn’t left broken in the crease — she rebuilds the wall quickly and meets the second chance square and set. That reset is what keeps scrambles from turning into goals.
Next Steps for Growth
- Sealing Through Deception: Her seal reads honest shots cleanly, but as she climbs levels shooters will use fakes, delays, and look-offs to pull her off structure before the puck actually moves. The growth is holding her seal a beat longer through the bait — reading which delays are genuine threats and which are designed just to break her early. In a game this shows up as her staying sealed through a fake and still square when the real shot or pass finally comes.
- Seal-to-Seal Path: When a play pulls her off one seal to reset for the next, the refinement is taking the most direct, connected route between the two rather than a longer or looser one. Traveling the fastest line means she arrives already sealed and square instead of adjusting after she lands. Watch for her to be set on the new spot before the puck gets there, not a beat behind it.
- Deep-Scramble Seals: Her first re-seal is strong; the priority is the second and third landing just as square as the first. On plays that get extended in tight, holding full pad-to-ice structure deep into the scramble is what closes the low door twice instead of once. The aim is a fourth-effort seal that looks exactly like the first.
Key Strengths
- Reads the Entry: She diagnoses the rush as it crosses the blue line, sorting speed, support, and puck location before the play gets to her. Watch how she’s already processing the threat at the entry rather than waiting for it to arrive at the top of the circles. That early read is what buys her time on plays that develop fast.
- Adjusts Her Depth: Her depth answers the speed of the attack. On a controlled carry she challenges out to take away the net; against a fast entry with options she retreats in rhythm rather than getting beaten to the middle. She matches her height on the arc to what the rush can actually do, so she’s never caught too deep or too far out for the play in front of her.
- Sets Her Angle: She squares to the puck carrier through the entry, staying honest to the shooting lane as the rush drives wide or cuts to the middle. Her chest stays pointed at the puck so she’s covering the shot before she ever has to worry about the pass. The angle is right early, which is what keeps everything downstream on time.
- Tracks the Attack: Her eyes stay locked to the puck through the rush, following it from carrier to receiver on plays that move laterally off the entry. She isn’t puck-watching one spot and losing the play around it — she’s connected to where the danger travels. That continuous tracking is why cross-ice looks off the rush don’t catch her flat.
- Executes Her Decision: Once she reads the play she commits. On a shot she’s square and set; on a pass she drives across and arrives sealed rather than half-caught between the two. She isn’t hedging in the middle hoping to cover both — she diagnoses the rush and plays the threat she’s diagnosed, all the way through.
Next Steps for Growth
- Count Attackers on the Rush: The refinement is reading the numbers early — knowing how many attackers are coming and what that gives the puck carrier before the play arrives. Understanding whether it’s a clean shooting look or a carrier with a trailer and a cross-ice option lets her weight her positioning toward the real threat instead of playing every rush the same. Look for her to know the carrier’s menu of options before she has to react to it.
- Train Different Odd-Man Scenarios: This one is about her reps outside of game day — deliberately drilling the range of odd-man looks she’ll face as she climbs, from 2-on-1s to 3-on-2s to the delayed odd-man that regroups and comes again. Rehearsing each setup until the correct positioning is automatic means she isn’t solving the puzzle live for the first time in a game. The more scenarios she’s already seen in training, the fewer that surprise her when they matter.
- Scout the Opponent: The next step is carrying intel on the opposing rush into her reads — who drives wide, who cuts middle, which players shoot off the entry versus dish to the trailer. Right now her rush reads are built almost entirely off what unfolds live; knowing tendencies ahead of time lets her anticipate a team’s go-to entry before it develops. In a game this shows up as her already leaning toward the likeliest play rather than treating every rush as neutral.
Key Strengths
- No-Flinch on Point-Blank Shots: When the puck gets to the slot and the shot comes from in tight, she holds her ground. No turning away, no flinch, no eyes closing on a puck fired from ten feet — she stays square and lets it hit her. That fearlessness on point-blank looks is what lets her structure do its job when there’s no time to react.
- Depth on Point: When the puck is worked out to a shooter in the slot, her depth control is right where it needs to be. She reads the feed and settles at the height that takes away the net without leaving herself exposed to the low play, so she meets the shot big rather than backing in or overcommitting. That clean depth on the slot look is why the shooter finds so little room.
- Tall & Square Stance: In the slot she stays tall and presents a full, flat surface to the shooter rather than dropping early or collapsing into the shot. She holds her frame up and square so there’s no easy room over the pads or off the shoulders. Staying big through the moment is what makes a slot shooter run out of net.
- Tough to Beat Down Low: Shots aimed at the ice from the slot die in her pads. She seals the bottom of the net cleanly, pads flush and stacked square behind them, so the low shot a slot shooter counts on simply isn’t there. Beating her under the pads or through the five-hole from in tight is a hard door to find.
- Under Arms Sealed: The small gaps a slot shooter hunts — under the arms, between elbow and body — stay closed. She keeps her arms tight to her frame so there’s no light where a quick-release shooter looks to sneak one through. Those seams are shut before the shooter can find them.
Next Steps for Growth
- Glove & Blocker Under Fire: The refinement is high-hand coverage against shooters who make picking corners their trademark. The higher levels are full of snipers who hunt the high glove and high blocker, so the growth is more reps in training against shooters focused up top — pulling her hands into the fight so the shelf isn’t there. Look for her glove and blocker to stay high and active on the looks she has time to read.
- Passing Play Scenarios: The next step is training against the range of slot passing plays she’ll see more of at the next level — the cross-slot feed, the bumper play, the give-and-go that opens a new shooting lane. Drilling those setups until the movement is automatic means she’s arriving square on the second look instead of chasing the pass. The more of these she’s rehearsed, the fewer that pull her out of position live.
- Show the Compete: She makes the hard slot save look calm, and that composure is a strength — but the growth is letting the battle show on the plays that call for it. When the puck is loose in the blue paint and bodies are crashing, the aim is visible desperation and drive, not just quiet efficiency. Coaches fall for a competitor, and the slot is where she can put that fight on tape.
Key Strengths
- A Signature Strength: This is one of the best parts of her game. When bodies pile up in front and most goalies start guessing, she stays composed and keeps finding the puck — traffic that turns a save into a coin flip for others is just another shot for her. If you’re building a scouting file on her, this is the line you underline.
- Stays Mobile to See Around Traffic: She doesn’t accept a screen — she works to beat it. Dropping, shifting, leaning to steal a lane, she keeps repositioning until she’s found eyes on the puck rather than settling for a blind guess. That constant hunt for the sightline is why a screen in front of her is so much less effective than it should be.
- Willing to Move Bodies: She’s not afraid to clear her own space. A hack, a slash, a bump to move a screen off her sightline — she’ll do the dirty work to see the puck rather than waiting for someone else to clear the front. That willingness to compete for her own view is a real edge in the tight areas.
- Never Loses the Puck: Once her eyes are on it, they stay on it through the chaos. Bodies crossing, sticks in lanes, pucks moving through the slot — she tracks it clean where other goalies lose it in the mess. That refusal to lose the puck in traffic is the foundation everything else in this part of her game is built on.
- Unshaken by Screened Shots: A shot she can only half-see doesn’t rattle her. She stays square and structured on screened point shots instead of collapsing or bailing early, so the puck meets a set goalie even when she picks it up late. That composure under a screen turns dangerous looks into calm saves.
Next Steps for Growth
- Talk Screens Through Pre-Game: The refinement is making front-of-net communication a game-day habit — sitting down with the d-core before puck drop and setting the expectation for clearing bodies out of her sightlines. The best goalie-defense pairings have that conversation before the game, not during it. Look for her to own that dialogue so her defenders know exactly what she needs from them in front.
- Get Loud With Your Defense: When the D don’t clear the slot, the growth is demanding it — getting loud and intense with them in the moment rather than quietly wearing the screen. She’s composed by nature, and that’s a strength, but the front of her net is one place where a sharp voice serves her. The aim is a goalie who holds her defenders accountable to clearing her house.
- Controlling Rebounds Through Traffic: She’s already good at handling pucks that fight through traffic — but this is a skill you can never be too good at. The refinement is more reps on shots arriving through bodies in tough-to-handle spots, building the rhythm of absorbing and steering them clean when she picks them up late. The more of those she banks in training, the more automatic the controlled rebound becomes when it counts.
Key Strengths
- Shuts Down the Wraparound: When the puck comes around the net she’s already there. She beats the wrap to the post, seals pad to pipe, and takes away the jam before it’s a chance — no daylight for the puck to sneak through on the near side. Shooters trying to stuff it home on the wrap find the door shut every time.
- Composed Below the Goal Line: Play down low doesn’t rush her. She stays calm and patient when the puck works below the goal line, holding her post and her structure instead of overreacting to movement behind her. That composure keeps her set and connected while the play tries to pull her out of position.
- Sealed on the Cutback: When an attacker curls off the goal line and cuts back to the middle, she stays sealed to the puck through the change of direction. She doesn’t bite on the first move and open a gap — she holds her post until the play genuinely demands she leave it. That patience on the cutback is why she isn’t beaten by the delay-and-tuck plays down low.
- Tracks It Along the Goal Line: Her eyes stay glued to the puck as it travels the goal line, so she’s connected to it every foot of the way rather than losing it behind her. Head and body turn with the puck around the cage, which means she’s square and set the instant it reappears. That tracking is what takes away the quick plays that catch goalies mid-turn.
- Kills the Sharp-Angle Shot: From below the dots she gives shooters nothing. She seals the short side completely on tight-angle looks, pinning body to post so there’s no room between her and the pipe. The shot that tries to beat her from a bad angle just dies in her seal.
Next Steps for Growth
- Playing the Puck Behind the Net: The foundation is already there — she’s capable of handling pucks behind the net, so the growth is trusting it. The refinement is not letting a beat of hesitation creep in on the retrieval, committing to the play with the same decisiveness she shows in her crease. Look for her to attack pucks behind the net rather than second-guessing whether to go.
- Supporting the D on Retrievals: The next step is pre-game communication with the d-core about retrieval support — sorting out who takes the puck, where she’ll leave it, and how she signals a defender under pressure. Getting those details straight before the game turns her into a third option on the breakout rather than a bystander. The aim is a goalie whose defenders always know what help they’re getting on a retrieval.
- Reading Low-Play Deception: As the competition sharpens, attackers down low will use fakes, delays, and look-offs to bait her off her post before the puck actually moves. The growth is reading which of those are real threats versus bluffs — only giving up her seal when the play truly demands it and holding through the ones designed just to move her. In a game this shows up as her staying sealed through a fake and still square when the real play finally comes.
Key Strengths
- Smothers the Puck Without Leaving Scraps: When she decides to cover, the puck is gone — swallowed clean under the glove or into the chest with nothing trickling loose. She doesn’t fumble the smother and leave a crumb sitting in the paint for a crashing stick. That clean freeze is what ends a scoring chance for good instead of extending it.
- Reads When a Play Needs to Die: She has a feel for the moment a play is better off dead — a dangerous scramble, a puck sitting in traffic, a shot she’d rather bury than bat back into the slot. Rather than gambling on a puck that isn’t worth playing, she covers to force the whistle and kill the danger. Knowing when to stop a play instead of prolonging it is a mature, situational part of her game.
- Covers Confidently When Bodies Are Crashing: Traffic in front doesn’t make her tentative on the freeze. With sticks hacking and bodies falling around the paint, she still gets a confident glove or body over the puck instead of pawing at it and hoping. That composure covering under pressure is what keeps a wild net-front from turning into a second chance.
- Leaves Nothing Loose in the Blue Paint: She’s disciplined about the puck she can’t see — locating it and covering it rather than assuming it’s dead. Pucks under her pads, behind her, tucked against a skate get found and frozen instead of left for an attacker to dig out. That awareness of loose pucks in her crease is a quiet strength.
- Uses the Freeze to Control Tempo and Clock: She treats the whistle as a tool, not just a safety valve. A quick cover to force a line change on her terms, a held puck to bleed a few seconds off a lead, a freeze to slow a team that’s building momentum — she reads when stopping play serves the game state, not only when it serves the save. That sense for using the freeze to manage tempo is a goalie thinking about the scoreboard, not just the puck.
Next Steps for Growth
- Holding Freeze Reads Deep Into Tight Games: Her freeze reads are sound; the growth is keeping them sharp when the game tightens. Late in a one-goal game, on a kill, with the building loud, the smother-versus-play decision gets harder — and that’s where the refinement lives. Look for the same calm, correct freeze reads in the final minutes that she shows in the first period.
- Owning the Whistle in the Loudest Minutes: The next step is commanding the stoppage in the biggest moments — being decisive about covering a puck when the pressure and noise are at their peak rather than getting sped up. When the play is frantic, the goalie who confidently takes the whistle steadies her whole team. The aim is her owning that moment rather than reacting to it.
- Matching How She Covers to the Situation: The refinement is letting the situation shape the freeze — a quick cover to force a change, a held puck to bleed clock, a fast play to a defender when her team wants tempo. Right now the freeze is mostly about safety; the growth is making it a tactical choice that fits the score and clock. That’s the difference between a goalie who stops the puck and one who manages the game with it.
Key Strengths
- Controls the Puck on the First Touch: When she goes back for a puck, she settles it cleanly on the first touch rather than kicking it into a scramble. That clean first contact buys her the split-second to make a play instead of chasing a puck she just bobbled. For a goalie, first-touch control is what makes everything downstream possible.
- Reads the Retrieval Before She Arrives: She’s scanning before she gets to the puck — checking her shoulder for the forecheck, locating her defender, knowing her play before the puck’s on her stick. That pre-scan means she arrives with a plan instead of turning to find pressure already on top of her. Reading the retrieval early is what keeps her out of trouble.
- Handles Pucks Cleanly Off the Wall: Rims and dump-ins off the wall don’t fluster her. She reads the carom, meets the puck at the right spot, and controls it off the boards rather than letting it die in her feet or skip past her. That comfort handling the wall puck makes her a real help on the breakout.
- Gets to the Retrieval Ahead of the Forecheck: She reads the dump early and beats the forechecker to the puck, arriving with time rather than getting there step-for-step in a battle. Winning that race is what turns a retrieval into a clean breakout instead of a scramble along the wall. Her anticipation on the dump is what gives her defenders an easy out.
- Settles a Bouncing Puck Under Control: A knuckling, bouncing dump-in is one of the harder pucks to handle, and she manages it. She gets her body and stick behind the bad hop and kills the bounce rather than swatting at it, so a tricky puck becomes a controlled one. That ability to tame a bouncing puck keeps a hard retrieval from becoming a giveaway.
Next Steps for Growth
- Committing to Retrievals Without a Beat of Hesitation: The skill is there — the growth is trusting it fully. The refinement is cutting out the half-second of indecision on whether to go, committing to the retrieval with conviction so she’s controlling the puck instead of arriving late to it. Look for her to attack the retrieval decisively rather than second-guessing the go.
- Winning Retrievals Against a Hard Forecheck: The next step is handling the retrieval when a forechecker is bearing down and time is short. Making a clean, calm play with a body closing fast — reversing, rimming, or eating pressure to buy her D a beat — is what separates goalies who help under a heavy forecheck. The aim is the same poise on a pressured retrieval that she shows on an uncontested one.
- Building Out the Reverse and Rim Toolkit: The refinement is expanding her menu of retrieval plays — a crisp reverse, a hard rim, a firm stop-up for a defender — so she has an answer for every forecheck look. The more options she can execute cleanly, the harder she is to pin, because the forecheck can’t take away a play she hasn’t got. Widening that toolkit turns her into a genuine puck-moving asset behind the net.
Key Strengths
- Reads the Pressure Before She Touches It: She knows where the forecheck is before the puck’s on her stick. That early read of the pressure means she’s choosing her play against real information rather than turning blind into a forechecker. Seeing the pressure first is what lets her make a smart decision instead of a panicked one.
- Picks the Right Option Ahead of Time: She tends to have her play picked before she needs it — the open defender, the safe rim, the puck she should just leave. Deciding early means she executes on time instead of double-clutching while the pressure closes. That pre-selected option is a sign of a goalie who processes the play quickly.
- Keeps It Simple When Pressure Arrives: Under a hard forecheck she makes the simple, safe play rather than forcing a risky one. She’ll take the sure rim or the reverse over a low-percentage feed through traffic, protecting the puck instead of gambling with it in her own end. That discipline to keep it simple is what keeps her decisions from becoming turnovers.
- Decides Fast Rather Than Holding the Puck: She moves the puck on time instead of holding it and inviting pressure. She’s not the goalie who freezes on the decision and lets a forechecker catch up to a play that was there a second ago. That quick release under pressure is what keeps her defenders out of trouble.
- Commits to the Play She’s Chosen: Once she picks her option she plays it all the way through rather than second-guessing mid-motion and fumbling the execution. She trusts the read and delivers the puck with conviction, which is why her plays arrive clean instead of half-hearted. That commitment is what turns a good decision into a completed play.
Next Steps for Growth
- Widening the Range of Options She’ll Choose From: She defaults to the safe play, which is right for her level — the growth is adding more tools to choose from as her confidence grows. The refinement is developing enough comfort to make the occasional higher-value play, the quick up to a breaking forward, when it’s genuinely there. The aim is a bigger menu without losing the discipline that keeps the safe play as her default.
- Using Deception to Beat the First Forechecker: The next step is adding a look-off or a subtle fake to move the first forechecker before she plays the puck. Selling one play to open another is what lets a goalie beat pressure rather than just surviving it, and it’s the layer that separates puck-movers at higher levels. Look for her to start manipulating the forechecker instead of only reacting to him.
- Letting Score and Clock Drive the Decision: The refinement is factoring the game state into her play — safe and simple protecting a lead, a touch more aggressive when her team needs offense, killing time when the situation calls for it. Right now the decision is mostly about the pressure in front of her; the growth is letting the scoreboard shape it too. That’s a goalie managing the game, not just clearing the puck.
Key Strengths
- Sees the Whole Ice From Her Vantage Point: She uses the best seat in the building. From the net she reads the whole play developing in front of her and processes threats her skaters can’t see with their backs turned. That panoramic view is the foundation of everything she offers as a communicator.
- Calls Out Coverage as Plays Develop: She talks the play, not just the puck — calling out a back-door threat, a late man, a switch her defenders need to make. Those calls give her skaters information in real time rather than after the damage is done. A goalie who directs coverage as it unfolds makes her whole defense better.
- Directs Her Defenders Through Retrievals: She’s a voice on the breakout, telling her D who’s on them and where the pressure’s coming from. A clear “time” or “reverse” or “man on” from behind takes the guesswork out of a retrieval and keeps her defenders out of trouble. That guidance is what makes her a partner on the exit, not just a spectator.
- Keeps a Steady Voice Under Pressure: Her communication holds its composure when the play heats up. She doesn’t go silent or panicked when the zone gets busy — the voice stays steady and clear when her defenders need it most. That calm under pressure is what makes her defense trust and act on her calls.
- Gives Her Defense Something to Rely On: Her defenders know they’ll get information from her, and that reliability changes how they play. Trusting there’s a voice behind them lets them focus forward and play with more confidence. Being that dependable presence is what makes her communication a genuine asset, not just noise.
Next Steps for Growth
- Turning Up the Volume in Chaotic Moments: Her calls are clear — the growth is making sure they cut through in the loudest, most frantic moments. When the net-front is a scramble and the building’s loud, that’s exactly when her voice needs to be at its sharpest and most insistent. Look for her to rise in volume and urgency as the chaos rises rather than getting swallowed by it.
- Holding Defenders Accountable at the Net Front: The next step is demanding what she needs in front of her — getting loud and insistent when her D don’t clear a screen or tie up a stick. She’s composed by nature, and that’s a strength, but the front of her net is one place a sharp, demanding voice serves her. The aim is a goalie who holds her defenders accountable to keeping her house clean.
- Establishing Expectations With the D Before Puck Drop: The refinement is making pre-game communication a habit — sitting down with the d-core before the game to set expectations on coverage, retrievals, and net-front work. The best goalie-defense partnerships build that understanding before puck drop, not in the middle of a shift. Look for her to own that conversation so her defenders know exactly what she needs when the game starts.
Key Strengths
- Sees the Whole Picture: From the net she takes in the entire sheet, reading everything that develops in front of her while the play is still forming. Nothing happens in her end that she hasn’t already clocked. That wide-angle awareness is the platform every read she makes is built on.
- Reads the Game: She understands what’s happening beyond the puck — the pattern of an attack, the shape of a breakout, where the play is trying to go. She’s processing the game as a whole, not just chasing the black dot around. That feel for how a play wants to unfold is what lets her stay a step ahead of it.
- Anticipates Pressure: She senses the danger before it arrives — the back-door threat loading up, the forechecker bearing down, the seam pass a beat before it’s thrown. Reading the pressure early means she’s set for it rather than surprised by it. That anticipation is why she so rarely looks caught off guard.
- Game-State Aware: She knows the situation she’s playing in — the score, the clock, the man-advantage, the moment. That awareness shapes how she plays the shift rather than treating every second the same. A goalie who feels the game state is one who makes the right decision for the moment, not just the puck.
- Processes Fast: She takes in a lot and sorts it quickly, turning a busy, developing play into a clear read without getting overwhelmed. The information doesn’t pile up on her — she filters it fast and acts. That processing speed is what makes all her awareness usable in real time instead of a beat too late.
Next Steps for Growth
- Carry Opponent Intel Into Every Read: The next step is bringing pre-game and in-game scouting into her awareness — who shoots, who dishes, which line is the threat, what a team’s go-to looks like. Right now her reads are built almost entirely off what unfolds live; knowing tendencies ahead of time lets her weigh her awareness toward the likeliest play before it happens. Look for her to start anticipating a specific threat rather than reading every situation as neutral.
- Read the Bench and Line-Change Windows: The refinement is extending her awareness beyond the ice to the benches — reading a line change, an offensive-zone matchup, the moment a top unit hops over the boards. Knowing who’s coming on and what they want to do lets her brace for the danger before the puck’s even in play. That’s a subtle, high-level piece of awareness that turns a change into an early warning.
- Turn Awareness Into a Proactive Weapon: She sees and processes everything — the growth is using that read to make the play happen rather than just be ready for it. The aim is taking all that information and getting proactive: influencing a shooter, steering a play toward help, setting a trap instead of reacting to what comes. That’s the difference between a goalie who’s aware and one who uses her awareness to control the game.
Key Strengths
- Cool as Ice, Whatever the Game Brings: Blowout or one-goal nail-biter, bad bounce or hot streak — her temperature never changes. She plays every situation at the same steady setting, and that flat, unflappable baseline is the defining trait of her game. Nothing about the moment moves her off her level.
- Refuses to Ride the Emotion of a Goal Against: A puck in the net doesn’t drag her down with it. She doesn’t slump, sulk, or press to win it back — she absorbs the goal and stays exactly where she was emotionally. Refusing to ride that dip is what keeps one goal from becoming two.
- Never Lets the Shooter See Her Rattled: Whatever she’s feeling, the shooter gets nothing. Her body language stays calm and confident, so an attacker never reads frustration or doubt and never gets the lift of thinking she’s cracking. Giving the opposition no emotional edge is a quiet, real weapon.
- Composure That Sharpens Her Decisions: Calm isn’t just how she looks — it’s how she thinks. Because her emotions never spike, her reads stay clean when a rattled goalie’s would blur, and she makes the right play on the freeze, the retrieval, or the scramble instead of a panicked one. The steadiness protects her decision-making when the game gets loud.
- Holds Her Level From First Whistle to Last: Her composure doesn’t wear down over sixty minutes. The frustration of a tough first period or the drain of a long, busy night doesn’t accumulate on her — she’s as even at the final buzzer as she was at the opening faceoff. That durability of temperament is what makes her trustworthy deep into a game.
Next Steps for Growth
- Let the Competitive Fire Show on Tape: Her calm is a strength — but the growth is letting the fire underneath it show on the plays that call for it. The composure can hide how hard she competes, so the aim is letting the drive out in the big moments where a coach wants to see it. Look for her to pair the ice-water with a visible edge rather than only the calm.
- Don’t Let the Calm Tip Into Complacency: The watch-point is making sure her even keel never dulls her urgency — that composure stays a tool and doesn’t quietly become a flat, going-through-the-motions gear. On a quiet night or with a lead in hand, the risk for a naturally calm goalie is coasting, so the growth is keeping the internal intensity high even when her demeanor stays cool. The aim is calm on the outside without ever easing off on the inside.
- Use Her Calm to Set the Team’s Emotional Tone: The refinement is turning her composure outward — letting that steady presence settle the players in front of her, not just herself. A calm goalie can be the anchor a bench leans on in a tense game, and the growth is using her demeanor to steady the group. The aim is her composure becoming the team’s, not just her own.
Key Strengths
- Short Memory: A goal against is gone the moment it’s in. She doesn’t carry it to the next shot, the next shift, or the next period — the memory clears and she’s back to a blank slate. For a goalie, that short memory is one of the most valuable traits there is.
- Resets Fast: It’s not just that a bad moment doesn’t stick — it’s how quickly she’s back to neutral. There’s no lingering shift where she’s still shaking it off; she’s locked in again by the very next puck. That speed is what keeps a mistake from ever getting a chance to compound.
- All-In on the Next Shot: Her focus snaps forward the instant a play ends. The next shot gets everything she has regardless of what the last one did, because that’s the only puck she can still affect. That forward focus is the engine that drives the whole reset.
- Composed Body Language After a Goal: The reset shows up in how she carries herself. No slamming the stick, no slumping in the crease, no letting the frustration into her posture — she stays physically calm and gets set, so nothing about her tells the building she’s rattled. That composure is the visible proof the reset is real.
- Answers Adversity: When something goes wrong, she responds. A goal against is often followed by her best stretch of the game rather than a slide — she meets the setback by raising her level instead of sinking with it. That answer-back in her is what makes her so hard to keep down.
Next Steps for Growth
- Anchor the Reset to a Repeatable Routine: Her reset already works — the growth is anchoring it to a deliberate routine so it holds up under the worst pressure. A consistent physical reset, a set of the pads, a look to the corner, a breath, gives the mental reset something to lean on when a game gets hard. Building that repeatable cue is what makes the reset bulletproof rather than just reliable.
- Hold the Reset Through a Bad Stretch, Not Just a Bad Goal: She resets well after a single goal — the next step is holding it through a rough patch, when two or three go in or the whole game tilts. Staying level across a bad stretch is harder than shaking off one bounce, and that’s the piece to sharpen. Look for the same clean reset after a tough ten minutes that she shows after a tough shot.
- Use Her Reset to Steady the Skaters Around Her: The refinement is letting her reset settle her teammates too. When she visibly shakes off a goal and locks back in, that calm tells the players in front of her to do the same — so the growth is making the reset something her team can see and feed off. The aim is her composure after a goal becoming the bench’s cue to move on with her.
Key Strengths
- Wants the Hard Game: The big matchup is the one she’s drawn to. A top opponent, a hostile building, a night she’ll be tested — she leans toward those moments rather than hoping to dodge them. That appetite for the challenge is the first sign of a goalie built for the games that matter.
- Her Level Rises With the Stakes: When the game gets bigger, her play gets better, not shakier. A playoff game, a rivalry, a showcase — the weight of the moment seems to sharpen her rather than shrink her. A lot of goalies hold their level under pressure; hers actually climbs.
- Owns the Decisive Moment: In the minutes that decide a game, she wants the puck on her stick. She doesn’t quietly hope the danger goes to the other end — she steps forward and takes the moment head-on. That willingness to be accountable when it’s on the line is what makes a coach trust her in a tight third period.
- Doesn’t Tighten Up When It Counts: The nerves that grip other goalies in big moments don’t seem to reach her. Where pressure makes players grip the stick tighter and start guessing, she stays loose and lets her game come to her. That steadiness under the brightest lights is a temperament you can’t teach.
- Carries Herself Like the Moment Is Hers: There’s a presence to her in the big game — a poise and a body language that says the stage doesn’t faze her. She doesn’t shrink into the net or play small when the building is loud; she takes up her space and looks like she belongs in the moment. That command of the crease when it matters is something opponents feel and teammates lean on.
Next Steps for Growth
- Make the Big-Game Standard Her Every-Game Standard: She rises for the big one — the growth is bringing that same level every single night. The refinement is treating a mid-week game against a middling team with the same edge she brings to a showcase, so her floor climbs to meet her ceiling. Look for her to make the big-game version of herself the standard, not the exception.
- Let Her Presence Lift the Whole Room’s Belief: The next step is turning her big-game presence outward — letting the team feed off the fact that she’s at her best when it matters. A goalie who visibly relishes the big moment gives her whole bench belief, and the growth is using that presence to lift the group, not just her own play. The aim is her confidence becoming the room’s confidence in the games that count.
- Bring the Same Edge to the Ordinary Nights Too: The refinement is carrying her big-game compete into the ordinary ones — the forgettable Tuesday, the game her team should win, the night nobody’s watching. Elite goalies don’t have an off switch based on the opponent, and the growth is closing any gap between how she plays up and how she plays down. That consistency of edge is what turns big-game ability into a nightly reputation.
2025–26 Season
Game Film & Highlights
Frequently Asked Questions
After hockey, Tennyson Flanagan plans to pursue a career in the health sciences field. She also wants to stay involved in the sport by coaching, training, and mentoring younger goalies.
Outside of hockey, Tennyson Flanagan plays other sports including basketball, rugby, badminton, and beach volleyball. She also enjoys spending time with friends and family and travelling to new destinations where she can learn about different cultures and local wildlife.
Tennyson Flanagan trains with Steven Derkach.
Tennyson Flanagan likes to inspire younger goalies to reach their potential. She works and volunteers at goalie camps and training sessions and also volunteers at a local long-term care home. She participates in community fundraising initiatives such as the Coldest Night of the Year (CNOY).
Scott MacDonald
Coach by Trade. Observer by Nature.
Independent scouting and player development. No team, no league, no agency — every report built on what’s actually on the ice. Profile evaluated and written by Scott MacDonald for The Hockey Observer.