As a goaltender and in many walks of life, a young man’s deeds becomes an old man’s wisdom.

I remember the very first time I watched Chris Osgood play a playoff game in the NHL. It aired on ESPN2 and featured the Detroit Red Wings against the San Jose Sharks in Game 7 of the 1994 Western Conference Quarterfinals. With the game tied 3-3 late in the third period, Osgood went to clear a puck around the boards, but it landed on Jamie Baker’s stick and ended up in the back of Osgood’s net.

In what would go down as one of the biggest playoff upsets in Red Wings history, Osgood, a baby-faced rookie at just 21 years of age, stuck the dagger in his own back. A first-round exit for the best team in the Western Conference was not the way to establish a presence in the NHL.

As I sat and watched this as a wide-eyed 12-year old just learning the game, I couldn’t fathom or comprehend the pain that Osgood felt. When the post-game interviews took place, I witnessed a young goalie, burdened and crushed by the tragedy of an untimely mental mistake, crying in his stall. At that moment, for a reason I can’t really put into words, I decided to become a goaltender.

Why was this loss, this mistake, this experience of pain a motivating moment in my life? Although the answer is somewhat amorphic, I always come back to the same point. It was one of the rare moments in professional sports where raw human emotion and a player’s true character was displayed for the world to see.

From that day on, I was out on the streets in Dallas playing street hockey and learning how to skate. I had plastic pads, a baseball glove, a Mylec blocker and plastic goalie stick. Osgood’s play in that game was always on my mind. I emulated his style, I always tried to make flashy glove saves and I donned a Red Wings jersey despite derision and chirping from all of my friends. And I didn’t care, because I loved the underdog and the adversary.

All I remember saying to myself was, “I can’t wait to watch the Red Wings next year. I can’t wait to see how Osgood bounces back from this. How does someone so inexperienced recover from something so back-breaking? Would he ever overcome such a tough goal? Will he ever amount to anything?”

So whether it was the raw human emotion of caring about someone who experiences pain, or whether it was just witnessing a moment in which someone you like suffers a tough break, an instant emotional connection was sparked. Osgood, and more specifically that mental mistake, became the sole purpose and the true essence of why I strapped on pads and learned to skate.

For those of you that know me best, you already know that Osgood is my hero, my idol and my favorite goaltender. Since that unfortunate turnover against the Sharks, I have tracked his every move. I’ve watched him win 400 games in every way imaginable. I’ve seen him lose games every way imaginable. I’ve seen him be released by the Red Wings and picked up by a team on waivers. I’ve seen him get traded. I’ve seen him give up brutal, terrible, incomprehensible goals. I’ve seen him make unbelievable saves that leave me speechless. I’ve even seen him score a goal.

Why do I openly idolize Osgood? Because he is the epitome of mental toughness. And since mental toughness is the baseline and the foundation for a goaltender’s success, he became the ultimate mentor, teacher and coach. No matter what kind of bad goal he allowed, no matter what kind of weak performance he had, Osgood has always found a way to bounce back with a strong game.

No situation reflects Osgood’s mental toughness more than another event I witnessed live – Game 5 of the 1998 Western Conference Finals between the Red Wings and Dallas Stars. As a 16-year-old living in Dallas, I attended the game at Reunion Arena and watched an excellent low-scoring bout between Osgood and Eddy Belfour. Just like tonight’s 400th win, the game went into overtime.

But that’s when Jamie Langenbrunner wrote a piece of Stars history when he put a harmless slapshot from center ice on goal. The puck hit the tip of Osgood’s stick and re-directed into the net. The crowd exploded and the Stars stayed alive in the series.

For most goaltenders, regardless of age and experience, would have lost all confidence and momentum. But not Osgood. His mental toughness shone through and he stopped 32 stops in a Game 6 shutout win in Detroit, which pushed the Red Wings into the Stanley Cup Finals for a second time in as many years. And even though he had a smooth ride against the Washington Capitals for his first Stanley Cup ring as a starter, it was that ability to bounce back after a brutal goal that allowed him to stay focused and confident in the Finals.

Again, a young man’s deeds became an old man’s wisdom.

Tonight against the Avalanche, I was so fortunate to have the night off from covering the game in the press box. I purchased three tickets to the game and got a rare chance to watch the game from the stands. Less than five minutes into the game, Cody McLeod collided with Osgood in the crease. It clearly tweaked something in Osgood’s leg, as his recovery was very labored for the remainder of the game. You’ll see it below in the game highlights, as well as many slow moments getting back up to his skates.

In the second period, a mere 15 rows away from me, I was so fortunate to watch Osgood make 23 saves on 23 shots. Despite playing on essentially one leg, he battled. He tracked the puck. He displayed mental toughness and never allowed his effort and tweaked leg to impact his technique. He took forever to get back to his skates after every single butterfly, but his mind was as sharp as a razor’s edge.

For that reason alone, Osgood’s 400th win was a microcosm of his career. In the face of physical adversity, on the road, playing hurt, Osgood’s mind paved the way for an overtime win. By making 46 saves, half of which came in that middle frame, he was rewarded with the game’s First Star by Denver media star Woody Paige.

“They came at us pretty good and I just felt real good all night,” Osgood said after the game on Fox Sports Red Wings. ”I would have wanted the second one back, but I just had a clear mind and followed the puck and it hit me more times than not. I was just following the puck and trying to stay big.”

I’ll never forget the time I was able to interview Osgood following a game in Denver back on February 4, 2006. I asked him what would be his most important message to goaltenders trying to reach the next level.

“Just focus the puck,” he told me. “Try hard to eliminate distractions and just watch the puck everywhere it goes. Clear your mind and do your thing, but always keep your eyes on the puck.”

A simple, effective, wise message that every goaltender should strive to accomplish, especially when the pressure is high.

So regardless of what anyone tells you about Osgood, always remember what makes him so special. His mental toughness is a quality that every young goaltender should strive to emulate in their own game. His character, both on and off the ice, is exactly what you want to teach your kids. A humble human nature, a smile on his face at all times, a true heart and a happiness and passion for stopping pucks.

This is what makes a goaltender a true role model. This is what makes him my idol. He doesn’t have a colorful mask, he doesn’t have elite skills. He just works hard, has a clear mind and gets the job done. Whether he’s playing for a potent Red Wings team or pulling the Islanders and Blues out of the cellar and into the playoffs, he wins because he doesn’t get rattled by bad goals or bad losses. He never stops focusing on the puck and he never allows a stretch of weak play to change his attitude.

Although I could, and might, write a book about Osgood’s career, I’ve come up with four ideals that reflect the essence of what Osgood means to the history of goaltending. He is, in my opinion, a living legend. Not because of anything tangible he’s accomplished in his career, but because he epitomizes the most important aspect of goaltending – mental toughness.

1. DESPITE TRADES, HE STILL WINS - It didn’t matter if he went from Detroit to the Islanders to the blues, Osgood still won hockey games. In fact, he tied the legendary Billy Smith with 32 wins for the Islanders in the 2001-02 season and led them to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. When he was sent to the St. Louis Blues late, he continued to win and push teams into the playoffs. In the 2003-04 season, Osgood won 31 games to put them back in the playoffs as well. This is probably the one element of his career that most casual fans fail to recognize.

2. DESPITE BAD GOALS, HE STILL BATTLES - The center ice goals, the odd bounces, the untimely mishaps. He’s seen his fair share of bad goals, maybe more than any other 15-year veteran goaltender in today’s era. But it is not the bad goals that matters, just how he responds to make the next save. And in almost every single instance, Osgood has come back with a strong game. In my life, none was more influential than the Langenbrunner OT goal in Game 5 of the 1998 Western Conference Finals in Dallas and then his bounce-back shutout effort in Game 6.

3. DESPITE WORKLOAD, HE STILL FOCUSES - Everyone thinks it is easy to play goal in Detroit because the workload is light. But the pressure to win is more than enough to overshadow any aspect of shot totals in a game or in a season. In fact, because Osgood became so comfortable playing in Detroit, a heavy workload was the same challenge as a light workload. It was all about staying focused, making the timely save and giving his team a chance to win. And whenever you hear analysts praise Osgood’s career, they always point to his ability to stay focused and win games.

4. DESPITE AGE, HE STILL REFINES - When Osgood lost his fourth straight first round playoff series (DET in 00-01, NYI in 01-02, then St. Louis in 02-03 and 03-04), he knew it was time to refine his style. With the NHL Lockout casting a shadow over the game of hockey, Osgood took an entire year to work with a couple of young and progressive goalie coaches, Stan Matwijiw and Joe Messina from Bandits Goaltending. They broke down his game piece by piece, re-tooled, then rebuilt it. Fate found Osgood re-signing with the Red Wings and the rest, as they say, was history. Over the past few seasons, Osgood has continued to add progressive and hybrid elements to his butterfly style, which has been a major aspect of his technical success.

—–[ TGG ]—–

Tonight was a memorable moment in my life. I have been very fortunate to watch my goaltending idol win 400 games. To think that he will probably end up in the Hall of Fame is not only a true reflection of everything I’ve written about in this post, it is proof that success stems from a strong mind.

To witness Osgood’s 400th win in real life, to be there and absorb it all with my eyes, is not just a stroke of luck. It is fate in motion, evolving and coming to life. In this world, so many things are complicated, foggy and unclear. We wake up, we react to stimuli, we sleep, we wake up and we do it all over again. The daily grind is mechanical, like clockwork, and often confusing. But when these moments transpire, the world uncoils and everything seems to make perfect sense.

Tonight, I dedicate my career full-time to scouting goalies. The dawn of a new day in my life is rooted in Osgood’s win, and I announce it right now. My new job as the content manager for Elite Goalies will begin on Thursday. My continued work on The Goalie Guild will reach new levels. My passion for analyzing and promoting goaltenders at all levels has been reinforced.

Does it seem trite or trivial to make such an announcement? Maybe. But it is my life and I strive on a daily basis to display the same work ethic and mental toughness that Osgood has for over 15 years. I’ve spoken of Shadowing and mimicking goalies and I’ve emulated Osgood in many ways throughout my life. This is just the next step.

A young man’s deeds becomes an old man’s wisdom. And there is no place I’d rather be, no career I’d rather have, than scouting goalies on a daily basis. We all have a hero in our lives, someone we want to be like and someone we mimic both on and off the ice. I just feel fortunate and honored that Osgood was the goalie I happen to watch that hot day in Dallas back in 1994.

Fate always finds a way to come full circle and everything happens for a reason. Thanks for reading and I look forward to the future.