Right handed catching goalies

[TretiakCCCP20]

A little different topic. Pretty rare that you see a goalie that catches right handed. I'd say about 95% catch left (myself included). Just would like to get your guys' take on it. I think its a little weird. I could never catch right, it would just be too awkward. Here's a few famous goalies that caught right handed.

 

Grant Fuhr

Tony Esposito

Bill Durnan (Caught with both)

Tom Barasso

Steve Mason

Roger Crozier

Jose Theodore

Rick Dipietro

 

That's just a few I can think of. Think of anymore post them

[JR Ewing]

No more are coming to mind, but I remember seeing some work that had been done looking into the shootout. Right-handed catching goalies tend to do disproportionately well in that situation, for some reason.

 

JR

[TretiakCCCP20]

@JR Ewing

Really? I had never heard that before. Not sure why they would have an advantage exactly.

[Polaris922]

I think Vokoun does as well.  Not famous but a pro.  My 12 year old son does as well.     lol   It seems to throw shooters off a bit.  Like they're used to going one side all the time and here it's reversed.  At least in the youth games anyway.  

[TretiakCCCP20]

@Polaris922 You're right Vokoun caught right. And yeah its a bit tricky dealing with a goalie that catches right. Very uncommon.

[JR Ewing]

@JR Ewing

Really? I had never heard that before. Not sure why they would have an advantage exactly.

 

My guess (and that's all it is) would be that there are so few right-handed catching goalies, that shooters simply aren't used to seeing them in these sorts of one-one-one situations. When a shooter makes a moves which would present him a chance to shoot on the stick-side, these goalies are sitting there with their glove, ready to catch. Like I said, it's just my guess.

 

It certainly wouldn't be the only sport where left-handers have some advantages. Every baseball manager in the world loves a lefty with a good arm. Is it any coincidence that even though lefties are about 10% of the general population, we're about 25% of the baseball population? Southpaw boxers have been confusing fighters ever since people have been making fists. Etc, etc, etc.

 

JR

Edited September 20, 2013 by JR Ewing

[JR Ewing]

Double post somehow. My apologies.

 

JR

Edited September 20, 2013 by JR Ewing

[jammer2]

@Polaris922  I was gonna post Vokoun, you beat me to it. This should in all likelyhood produce, a rare game where both starters catch right handed, should Mason and Vokoun face each other this year, which they might.

[TretiakCCCP20]

Yeah, such a strange thing I just felt I had to mention it.

[goalnut3133]

I could never catch right, it would just be too awkward.

 

The catching I might be able to get used to, though would feel really weird...it's the stick handling with the left that would really just not work at all! It would be like trying to write with your left, too clumsy. I tried it when I was younger. It feels so much more natural to stick handle with the right.

 

And yah I agree, like some of you said above, the right-handed catching goalies do throw the shooters off, it's not something they take notice of automatically & they fall back to their natural shooting aim, it would take some getting used to in a game. I think it's also the same in reverse, left-handed shooters can throw off left-catching goalies, as they're more used to right-handed shots. I've seen that happen a few times where the shot placement surprised the goalie. Pretty tricky.

[TretiakCCCP20]

I seem to do better against the right handed shooters than lefties hahaha.

[jammer2]

  A lot of forwards visually picture where they are going to shoot on a righty catchers, so they will not be thrown off when their initial shot opportunity comes.

[bunnyman]

Full right goalies are hard to shoot against. Crikey- they are very hard to play against if you are a left hand shot.

[bunnyman]

The whole reason you don't see a lot of full right goalies is the reason why you see few left handed guitar players playing with a left hand guitar: not many lefties.

Even though I shoot left handed, every person selling equipment would ask if I threw baseballs left handed, therefore determining whether or not to be a full right goalie. In essence, the left hander shoots right with the left hand, kind of in a back hand motion.

[AlaskaFlyerFan]

The whole reason you don't see a lot of full right goalies is the reason why you see few left handed guitar players playing with a left hand guitar: not many lefties.

 

@bunnyman,

 

I think it has more to do with the availability of equipment.  There aren't many left handed guitar players because the left handed guitars are hard to find.  If left handed kids want to learn to play a guitar, most learn on a right handed guitar.  Same kind of thing with goalies.  Lots of youth hockey gear is used, loaned, or hand-me-down.  Unless your parents are rich (like Polaris ), most kids will get the used, loaned, or hand-me-down gear.  I can't remember ever seeing a right hand catching goalie in youth hockey when my kids played.

 

Along the same lines, back in the Russian Red Army hockey days, all Russian players were lefty because they only had lefty sticks in Russia.  That has since changed (righty sticks are available) but Russian players are still predominantly lefty shooters. 

 

I'm right handed.  I should be shoot left but I don't.  I shoot right because my first stick was a righty. (probably explains why I can't stick handle to save my life)

Edited October 24, 2013 by AlaskaFlyerFan

[bunnyman]

@AlaskaFlyerFan

And i don't disagree with your assessment; if anything, it validates what i have to say. There are few left handed people in relationship to righties (I forgot the figure, but it is low) and even fewer lefties who have no adapted to using right-handed equipment. In many cases, it is not as easy as flipping the mould- considerable re-tooling has to happen to make something left-handed. Note that the last four Presidents of the U.S. are left-handed...

The weirdest thing is that there are just as many lefty sticks as there are righty sticks. Not quite the same as golf clubs, for certain!!! I play drums leading with the left hand, am capable of writing with my left hand (though I smudge the page; though I can write in Hebrew with my left hand better because it reads right to left). I play guitar right handed because I have better dexterity with my fretting hand. I am ambidextrous favouring my right hand slightly (and mainly where it matters as far as stuff goes).

Had I played goalie, I would have ended up with both regular and full-right set ups. Why? To screw with opponents.

[LilHins]

I'm a right hand catch now. I have been playing goal for 7 years now. I didn't have my own equipment when I started I was using my ladies rec league equipment so I was catching left. I bought my own equipment 5 years ago. My boyfriend had asked me what I wanted for Christmas last year. I said new catcher, blocker and stick. So I have 1/2 a season catching right and I have improved quite a bit with my catching. I should have switched when I bought my own equipment.