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Valley: In your experience, what makes an elite goalie better than the average NHL goalie? Korn: “Right now, and even a few years ago, the skill between NHL goalie number-one and number-60 isn’t that dramatic. Think about it. Maybe the top guy is a little bigger, a little faster or a little stronger. But it’s not that. What separates guy number-one from number-60 is largely mental. And it’s not only the capacity to handle the mental pressures or anxiety and key moments in games, but it’s also the mental capability of recognizing patterns, reading and reacting, and the senses that they have to have to be successful. There’s so much that occurs between the ears that really end up separating number-one from number-60, way more than the physical body.” Valley: What are the mental traits that you see in all the top goalies that make them elite? What does the process look like for them? Korn: “That’s hard because a number of guys have been very successful for different reasons. Sometimes it’s skating ability, sometimes it’s their size. But in general, first and foremost, all of these guys absolutely love to play. You have to throw them off the ice some days in order to manage their ice time. In a long season of 82 games, with as much as our top guys play, we need to manage their ice time. They’d stay out there all day if we let them. I’ve coached some guys that were more talented than some of the top guys, but they didn’t love to play. They didn’t love to compete. They didn’t love or embrace the challenge, but the elite guys love it. Secondly, they put in the work. When you get paid for something, it’s considered work. But when you go out on the ice, that’s not work. You love to play and it’s no longer work. It requires effort that is beyond the average person’s imagination, but the effort isn’t work. And when the effort isn’t work, it is embraced way more because it is so gratifying. I think the names in your book – Vokoun is one of them and Mason is one of them and certainly Pekka is one of them – they all absolutely love to play and they love everything involved with the game. They love their equipment, they’re educated, they know what other guys in the league are doing, and they’re goalie geeks.” Valley: So we look at these successful guys, and I wonder what obstacles have you had to see them overcome? Have any of these successful guys seen nerves get in the way? Is there any other mental or emotional attribute that the successful guys have? Korn: “I look at a guy like Vokoun, who has OCD. At one time it was becoming debilitating for him because he was paralyzed by it. We actually diagnosed him and got him on meds and while it reared its ugly head, it gave him a chance to succeed. I remember hearing stories about Dominik Hasek being with Chicago where he almost headed back to the Czech Republic. I never asked him about that, but he had a really good career in Buffalo. There was a time where the Sabres traded for Grant Fuhr and Hasek was left exposed in the expansion draft that year, and I think it was Ottawa and Tampa Bay that came in and they both had a chance to pick him up, but they didn’t. It was the next year that Fuhr hurt his knee and Hasek went on to win his first Vezina Trophy. I remember when Vokoun was traded and Mason was the anointed starting goalie, but he didn’t handle that very well. He cared so much that he put enormous pressure on himself and no longer enjoyed playing. It changed his outlook. He was no longer the underdog; the guy battling to play. He was ‘the guy’ and he couldn’t handle it at that point. It wasn’t until he got to St. Louis and had another crack at it that he learned to manage those feelings, those expectations. It’s not easy.” Valley: So let’s talk about a guy like Hasek. What made him so special? Obviously he had a ton of skill on the ice. But what made him so elite? Korn: “He was extremely competitive. From the physical skill standpoint, he was extremely quick. He had lightning legs, he was contortable and he was able to seal the ice very well. But we had a goalie who was his backup that was actually a better athlete than Dom. His name was Andrei Trefilov. He could jump higher, run faster, and was actually even more flexible in some ways. But we never heard of Trefilov, did we? We heard of Hasek. And why? Because Hasek had a very short memory. He’d give up a goal and it was gone. He never fretted about it – he didn’t worry about those things. They did a story on him at one time and they found out he was a genius. He tested extremely high for IQ and would have been in the Mensa Club if he tried to join. And I think that genius translated to things like his ability to read and react to the game, and knowing what would happen next. His composure is what allowed him to use that information in a positive way and not panic. When Dom first got to Buffalo, I can still remember him playing an electronic chess game, and that translated on the ice because he was always one or two steps ahead of other players. Not that he showed his hand, but he understood – like maybe Gretzky did in his position – what was more than likely going to happen next, and it gave him a leg up on everyone else. As far as mental toughness, he never really fretted about much. If he was North American, we would have called him eccentric because he really had no real sense of time. He was late all the time and was always disheveled, and as coaches we know those kinds of guys, they really don’t fret or worry. He was just alive, so nothing really got in his way. Fuhr was similar to that, and I used to say that Grant was a 14-year-old adult. Not in his maturity, but how many 14-year-olds get nervous? Kids don’t get nervous. They play and have fun. The pressure from the crowds or their parents or contracts or drafts and scholarships aren’t there. That’s how Grant played, which is probably why he would make more ‘big saves’ late in a game than almost anybody in his career. Not that he had a great save percentage or goals against in today’s era, but it always seemed like when the game was on the line, he knew how to make the big saves because the pressure never paralyzed him in any way shape or form.” Valley: Obviously those guys had their fair share of bad games. How would Hasek react after giving up four or five? Korn: “No different than Brodeur or Roy or the other greats. I always say that true starting goalies never have two bad games in a row. The reason for that is simple: those guys that I mentioned never competed with their backup, they competed with themselves. They always challenged themselves and they embraced the opportunity to be the guy, the man, the difference-maker. They loved it and enjoyed it and that’s what they thrived on. Some people get paralyzed by the pressure, but elite goalies get motivated by it.” Valley: Everyone knows that you couldn’t score on Hasek in practice. Was he always that competitive? Korn: “From the minute I met him, he was always extremely competitive on the ice. Off the ice, he was a bit more laid back. I guess he got real competitive in cards when they played, and he was also very competitive against the chess game he played. But he really got to show his real competitive nature in front of the crowds. My favorite Hasek story came during his first year with the team, and this is when I knew he was special. I was standing in the corner to Dom’s left on his glove side. He was in the net and we were on a smaller ice surface. He had begun a little competitive battle with a guy named Donald Audette. Dom hated when pucks were in the net, and Donald liked to push his buttons, so they had this little war that began. I can still remember the play clearly. I’m standing to his left, Donald is to Dom’s right and in line to roll through a drill. A line is coming down on Dom 3-on-2, he’s at the top of the crease, and from the right corner, Donald snapped one at the empty net behind Dom. I’m watching this, and I actually got nervous because I saw the puck coming towards the crease and was afraid it would come behind him, right by the post, and maybe hit me. I’m watching this, and then suddenly I see Dom turn to his right, and in one motion, knock the puck right out of the air with the paddle of his stick, then quickly turn back and stop the 3-on-2 after that. I knew immediately at that moment that this guy was special. First of all, he was aware of what Donald was doing out of the corner of his right eye. Secondly, he had the eye-hand coordination required to knock that thing out of the air, which was pretty special. Thirdly, obviously he played the 3-on-2 right away and made the transition and stopped it.”