The Wolf Pack's inaugural 1997-98 had an excellent one-two punch at the game's most important position, the net.Coaches E.J. McGuire and Mike Busniuk could call on either the talented young prospect, future NHL mainstay Dan Cloutier, or turn to the experienced, decorated veteran, Robb Stauber. Although Cloutier has gone on to have an excellent NHL career, the Pack's real workhorse that first season was Stauber, a ninth-year pro who went 20-10-6 in 1997-98 with a 2.40 goals-against average (second-best in the AHL) and a 92.0% save percentage (third in the league). The former University of Minnesota Gopher has extremely fond memories of his year in Hartford. “I loved it,” he says. “I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it there. I had the family started, with my daughter (Ruby), so that was a unique perspective for me, learning those challenges and trying to deal with that. “I know there were at least three or four of us that all had babies, all guys going through the same types of things, Chris Winnes and Brent Thompson and some others, and some young guys coming on to that team that are really succeeding in the National Hockey League now. So it was really a lot of fun, and quite frankly I think it was a mistake for me not to go back there. I was offered a contract to go back there, and I think of all the different situations that I was in over the course of my career, that's one I really wish I could change. I know I can't so I don't look back, but it's one that I think if I had to do it over again, I would have stayed. There were some other reasons I didn't, but I think if I could go back I would see things differently.” One of the young prospects to whom Stauber refers is Cloutier, who was in his second pro season back in that inaugural Wolf Pack campaign. Stauber and Cloutier seemed to feed off of each other's success, and Cloutier moved on to the NHL after that year and has never looked back. “He was a great competitor,” Stauber remembers about Cloutier. “I think that's the one thing that I won't forget about Dan was that he was a great competitor, and like a lot of young guys, had talent and needed things to work on, but unlike a lot of other guys that have talent and things to work on, 'Clooch' really competed, he wanted it. And I'm not saying that other guys didn't that I saw that came into the game, but if he was going to make it, it was truly because he was driven to make it. I think more than anything, that's why he has. “I think we were a good team,” Stauber continues, in reference to that 1997-98 squad. “The young guys, like Derek Armstrong and Marc Savard, who came in, those guys had to learn to fit in, because some of the older veterans didn't show those younger guys a lot of mercy, yet we appreciated them and their talent level. So I think they learned to fit in, and it was probably a great team for those types of talents to come into, because even though they were some of the most talented guys on the team, they still had to earn the respect of the teammates and learn what it was all about. So I think on their end it was probably a good thing for them to come in with some older guys that had been around the professional game for a while. “You had Brad Smyth, and Vladdie (Vladimir Vorobiev) was there, who was a unique, gifted goal-scorer. It was a fun team because we had talent all the way around and we had fairly good chemistry, and I think that's why we were a good team. I still talk to E.J. McGuire to this day, and Buzzy (Mike Busniuk) and Kenny Gernander, it was just a good team. I think it was fun for the fans too. I can't speak on their behalf, but I think obviously we had a good team and it was an enjoyable season for everyone.” That 1997-98 campaign was the last full season of pro action for Stauber as a player, but he has continued to make goaltending his life following his retirement from playing. Along with fellow ex-University of Minnesota netminder Paul Ostby, Stauber now operates a company called Goalcrease, Inc in the Twin Cities area. Goalcrease, Inc. is a goaltender training academy that offers year-round high-level training for young goalies. “I stick to what I know,” laughs Stauber of his current life's work. “It's something I've done my whole life, it's what I know better than anything, it's what I like to do. I love to do it, I talk goaltending every single day, ten o'clock at night, eight o'clock in the morning. “We have a training center. I started out in the goalie camp-type setting back in '94 but came to the realization after retirement and being able to see some of these kids come back year after year and not really improve from a one or two-week camp, that something had to change. We had to try to create a system and a training center where kids could come to us on a regular basis, they could see that development and improvement over time. And that's exactly what's happened for our clientele, is that we now have flexibility. They can train in situations that are flexible with their schedule and they can see us more often. Everybody has a different budget, some might be able to come in more often than others, but at the end of the day, just the consistency and being around coaches that really enjoy watching them develop and enjoy seeing them change their game and make improvements has just been fantastic over the last four years of doing the one-on-one training, which is what we gear most of our business towards, and most of our customer base comes for the one-on-one attention, it's just been a blast. “The other thing is, and quite frankly for goalies, at any level, even in the National Hockey League, even in the minor leagues, they are often, and most often, the least-coached individual, yet at the end of the day they have the most amount of pressure. There is something that's very rewarding about taking somebody that doesn't have a lot of coaching, doesn't have a lot of direction, yet we know what they're going through. We've all been goalies, we understand the pressure they're under and being able to help them handle that and deal with that and see them succeed in those situations, it makes us feel good.” Speaking of feeling good, a big part of what Stauber tries to stress to his students is enjoying the position and the game, above and beyond improving their technique, and viewing the challenging position of goaltender as an opportunity for personal growth. “The fact of the matter is,” he explains, “no matter who you are as far as a goaltender goes, and players deal with this too, but along the way, because goaltending is so challenging, you have to have incredible mental strength. And a lot of times you're left out on an island. “And being able to see individuals succeed in that, that is not skill based, that is a mental aspect of the game that we can help them and ultimately we want to not only help them but actually enjoy the process of becoming a better goalie. Which means you're going to give up eight goals on a given night, you're going to give up six, you're going to be bad, you're going to be criticized, you're going to have teammates upset with you. There isn't anybody that's ever played the position that has not had that. The beauty of the position is when you can get kids to understand how that is not only going to help them become a better goalie but also be more successful in life when they take the stuff (goaltending equipment) off. Because it's not going to be the last time they're criticized, it's not going to be the last time they're put under pressure, it's not going to be the last time they have to handle a difficult situation. The amount of things they are forced to deal with at young and old ages and learning to deal with those effectively ultimately sets them up for, I think, better life experiences, because of how they're going to perceive things and how they're going to tackle things. Quite frankly, I believe we need more of that, just from people in general, not so much sense of entitlement, but having to work for things and having to grind things out is o.k., in fact it's what it's all about. So that's fun.” Not only is Stauber teaching goaltending as his livelihood, he is passing on his knowledge in another way as well. For the past six seasons, the first goaltender ever to win the NCAA's Hobey Baker Award (1988) has been a volunteer assistant coach at his alma mater. “It's been rewarding, but it's been challenging,” Stauber says of working with the Gopher goalies. “As a volunteer I can only give them so much time. They deserve more, they need more, but there's only so much I can give, under a time restraint. So that's been challenging, to know that at the end of the day I could do more but I've got a responsibility to a full-time staff (at the Goalcrease, Inc. training center) and need to be here for a support system and coach here as well. “So it's been rewarding, it's been challenging, it's been a learning experience, dealing with older goaltenders, they have a different mentality. That type of goaltender really forces you as a coach to get better because sometimes they have their own philosophies and you have to find creative ways to punch holes in some of those philosophies where there's truly a weakness in it, they just haven't thought about it. So as a coach you have to become real creative on how you communicate. And every time I run up against a challenge with a college goalie, I ultimately try to look at it as they're making me better. Even though it sometimes can be painful because a guy like myself has experience and I can give them so much if they're willing to take it, but they have to be willing to accept it, and if they're not, that's where the challenge comes in and that's where it forces you to become a better coach, because certainly you can't give up.” So Stauber is certainly keeping himself busy, with another college hockey season at hand and Goalcrease, Inc. set to open a second training center in Blaine, MN to go with the original one in Edina. And with Ruby, who was a newborn when Stauber played in Hartford, now nine years old and her younger brother Jaxson now eight, he has plenty to occupy his time outside the goaltending world. “Neither (of the kids) yet are into hockey,” he reports, “but they're starting to say they like it, so we'll see what happens. “I always tell (Ruby) about bringing her to Pumpkin's restaurant in Hartford. Allison and I used to bring her and sit her down in her little carrier chair. I tell her, 'we used to take you to our favorite restaurant.' “Everything was special about it (being in Hartford), for all good reasons. For me, a very memorable time of my playing career.” |
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