A goalie’s positioning is built on three key concepts:
✅ Angle – Staying on the puck’s direct line to the net.
✅ Squareness – Ensuring nose, shoulders, and feet are square to the shooter.
✅ Depth – Managing distance from the crease based on the situation.
📌 Why It Matters: Proper positioning reduces the need for desperate saves and makes goaltending more efficient and consistent.
Mastering Angles & Squareness: The Key to Elite Goaltending
Goaltending isn’t just about getting in front of the puck—it’s about being in the right position at the right time. To do that, goalies must understand the critical elements of angles, squareness, and depth. It’s not enough to simply “cut down the angle.” At elite levels, goalies master the combination of these three elements to minimize scoring chances and maximize save efficiency.
What Does It Mean to Be “On Angle”?
Being on angle means the goalie is perfectly aligned between the puck and the center of the net. In other words, the goalie is positioned along an imaginary line from the puck to each post, effectively reducing the shooter’s view of the net.
This alignment is essential for taking away shooting lanes, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle. Goalies need to adjust their angle constantly as the puck moves.
Being on angle is the first step before considering depth or squareness, ensuring the goalie has the best chance to cut down shooting options.
Is this goalie on angle? He is! This is a photo taken from the pucks view and we can see that he is positioned in the middle of the net. However, he is not square, so that’s what we need to talk about next!
What Does It Mean to Be Square to the Puck?
Squareness ensures the goalie’s nose, shoulders, chest, belly button, and feet are all directly facing the puck. This positioning maximizes coverage and improves rebound control.
Imagine drawing a triangle:
The base of the triangle is the goalie’s shoulders.
The apex is the puck.
When a goalie is square, this triangle is perfectly balanced, allowing them to use their full body to block the shot and direct rebounds to safer areas.
Common Mistakes:
Rotating too much or not enough during lateral movements, leading to poor rebound control.
Staying square to the shooter instead of the puck.
Being late to get square, resulting in desperation saves or poor positioning.
✅ Key Tip: Always be square to the puck, not just the shooter. This ensures the most efficient use of body coverage and more predictable rebounds.
Is this goalie square to the puck? Yes! His nose, shoulders, chest, and feet are all square to the puck. The problem? He is way off his angle!
Let’s Talk About Depth - The Pillar of Smart Positioning!
In goaltending, depth refers to how far out or deep a goalie plays in the crease relative to the puck. Proper depth management is crucial for maximizing net coverage and giving yourself the ability to make second chance saves.
Depth is important because it helps goalies:
✅ Cut down shooting angles – Appearing bigger to the shooter and taking away high-percentage scoring areas.
✅ Manage rebounds – While we hope to have good rebound control with every save, we know that is not always going to be the case. Good depth decisions give us a chance to make second and third chance saves when we need it most.
✅ Improve reaction time – Staying deeper when anticipating lateral plays or quick passes will will you to beat more plays on your feet and be in a good position to make a save.
Mastering depth means knowing when to challenge a shooter and when to stay back to maximize efficiency and control.
In the photos, you can see the goalie playing at different depths.
Top Left: Aggressive Depth
Top Right: Base Depth
Bottom Left: Conservative Depth
Bottom Right: Defensive Depth
Some coaches may give a diagram on when to be at what depth, but I do not believe in this approach. A goalie needs to be able to read the game and make these depth decisions. There is no one size fits all answer based on where the puck is on the ice because a static diagram doesn’t account for passing options, handedness, or any other factors we face in a game that (should) effect our depth decisions.
I hear a ton of head coaches in youth hockey telling goalies to play more at aggressive depths when in reality, if we watch pro games, more and more goalies are playing at base and even conservative depths because they can read the game at such a high level, and because the modern game is so fast and skilled. We will talk more about depth and decision making in the depth management section, but understanding the 4 levels of depth is the foundation of this pillar of positioning.
There’s a Reason We Say Angle, Squareness, Depth in that Order!
Angles Before Depth – Prioritizing Positioning
One of the most important principles of positioning is “Angles Before Depth.” This means a goalie should first get on the correct angle to the puck before gaining depth to challenge the shooter.
Consider a scenario where the puck moves laterally across the zone. The goalie has two options:
Option 1: Move in a straight line from the top of the crease to maintain depth while getting on angle.
Option 2: Move through the crease to get on angle and square first, then adjust depth if time allows.
The second option is the correct choice. Getting on angle quickly ensures the goalie is aligned with the puck, reducing the risk of leaving the net exposed. If the goalie attempts to gain depth first, they might not have time to be set and square, leading to poor positioning and more goals against.
✅ Key Tip: Angle and being square is the priority—depth is secondary and should only be added when it won’t compromise positioning.
Choosing the Right Time to Gain Depth
Once on the proper angle, a goalie can cut down the angle by gaining depth if they have time, effectively moving closer to the shooter to reduce the visible net behind them.
This tactic is used to:
Appear larger to the shooter, taking away high-percentage scoring areas.
Force quicker decisions by limiting the shooter’s time to react.
Challenge shots by reducing the distance between the puck and the goalie.
However, gaining depth also comes with risks:
Increased vulnerability to lateral passes since the goalie is further from the posts.
Reduced recovery time on rebounds or dekes due to a longer slide distance.
Knowing when to gain depth is just as important as knowing how. Goalies should only move out aggressively when the shot is the primary threat and no pass options are available.
In the clip above, we can see Alex Lyon pivot and shuffle through the crease on this long lateral pass to get on angle and square to the shooter first before gaining some depth. He knew his priority was to get on angle and square first, and since the shooter gave him time, he was able to add some depth to take up more net and shut down a quality opportunity.
In this clip, Connor Hellebuyck is facing a 5 on 3 penalty kill and shows elite Goalie IQ. He understands that Dallas is going to try and get the most high quality shot possible, so he plays at a conservative depth anticipating both passes. Not only does he arrive at the second pass on angle and square, he even has time to gain depth because he was a step ahead. Had Hellebuyck played too aggressive of depth on either passes, he likely would have been late and given up the short side on the shot. This is a great example of smart depth and understanding the situation.