Editor’s note: Sheng Peng is a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on Twitter at @Sheng_Peng.
Goaltending is a touchy issue for many NHL coaches to discuss.
They defer their netminding decisions, often, to their goaltending coaches.
Which is why, in most cases, Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky gives non-answers about his goaltending, unless he’s speaking positively about it.
“I thought he made some saves,” Warsofsky said, carefully, about Yaroslav Askarov’s performance in a 6-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night at SAP Center. “There’s not much that he can do on some of those.”
Warsofsky’s expertise is forwards and defensemen and special teams and systems. What happens after all that, when the puck gets to his goalie? That’s on Askarov or Alex Nedeljkovic, or above them, director of goaltending Evgeni Nabokov or goaltending coach Thomas Speer.
The media, however, rarely receives access to Nabokov or Speer. We’ve asked.
Typically, organizations want the general manager or head coach or scouting directors to be the public voices of their specific aspects of organizations. But, you rarely see a goaltending coach speaking on behalf of the organization. Maybe we should see that more, because of how siloed the goaltending position is.
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