Butterfly slide - From practice to practical use

Espoo 8.2.2003

Butterfly slide has been one of the hot goaltending topics recently and this very effective move is definitely here to stay. Majority of the top goaltenders have adopted this move as part of their saves repertoire and young up and coming prospects like Kari Lehtonen are good examples on how to use this move effectively.

Here's some advice on how to develop your butterfly slide to become an integral part of your saves selection:

• Just like with all other moves the key is the number of PROPERLY executed butterfly slides, i.e. learn the proper technique and then start adding repeats to "automate" your move
• Start with very simplistic drills like in the practice video (below left) as it will allow you to focus on your move alone, not timing, reading the puck etc
• Add lateral passes and other elements once your have learned the proper technique
• Once you have the learned the technique in the simple drills start analyzing your game and find situations where the move will work best for you
• Start using it in those situations and continue your game analysis preferably with goalie coach so that you will identify the proper usage of the move based on your skills. Look at the example video (Break away) where 88 born youth goalie uses the butterfly slide on break away situation