BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. – As Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky dances across his crease in the Stanley Cup Final, diving and contorting to make save after save, one of his longtime goalie coaches is watching with pride from 1,000 miles away, in a sports bar high atop the Rocky Mountains.
Hannu Nykvist is a special guest this week at a goaltending retreat in Breckenridge hosted by the Goalie Guild, a nonprofit that provides coaching education, scholarships and more. Nykvist has coached high-level goalies in Finland for decades, has worked with Bobrovsky during summers since 2016 and was smiling from ear to ear as his pupil put on a show in Game 3 against Edmonton on Thursday.
“When I see him make those saves, his entire history flashes before my eyes,” Nykvist told The Athletic. “It’s not just the one save. I see all of the hours working on techniques, all the hours invested in building that athleticism, and all the work to build that mindset. I understand why he makes those saves, and it’s a beautiful thing to see.”
Bobrovsky’s incredible play this postseason is the consummation of the efforts of one of the most dedicated, hardest-working players in the sport. His career has been marked by dramatic swings. He hit a low point just two years ago, when he began the playoffs on the Panthers’ bench. Now, he’s now one victory away from claiming hockey’s ultimate prize — the Panthers can win the Cup if they beat the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4 on Saturday — and putting an exclamation point on a Hockey Hall of Fame-caliber resume as one of the best goalies of this generation.
Those closest to Bobrovsky believe he has weathered the ups and downs of his career thanks to an undying desire to constantly improve. All elite goalies work hard, but Bobrovsky’s love for the grind – on the practice ice and in the weight room – stands out to goalie coaches and players that have worked alongside him over his 14-year career. At the NHL level, Bobrovsky has worked closely with Panthers goalie coach Robb Tallas, who has been in that role since 2009, and the Panthers also have a great resource in Roberto Luongo, who oversees their goaltending operation as a special advisor.
Nykvist also has witnessed the grind first hand, and he pulled the curtain back for a peek at how the Russian netminder has built himself into the terminator of a goalie that has looked unbeatable at times in these playoffs.
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Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovksy, through the eyes of a coach who helped make him nearly unbeatable
