NHL coaches talk all the time about taking away a goalie's eyes. It's a tried and true method of getting a puck past a world-class netminder. If they can't see it, they're less likely to stop it.
However, that's not why New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin drills while wearing a blindfold.
This is how Igor Shesterkin prepares for the new season. pic.twitter.com/GIifrLd3PX
— Uggg (@Uggg_uggg) July 29, 2024
The point of taking away the Vezina Trophy winner's eyes in this instance is to improve his net awareness. At all times, it's vital for a netminder to be centered in the net. Losing your net is a sure fire way to get scored upon, because you'll be opening up holes for the shooters.
By taking away Shesterkin's eyes, they are working on engaging his kineshetic awareness. That is his a ability to sense his body position, understand how it moves through space, and make adjustments to complete a certain movement or position himself in a precise way.
Without the benefit of his vision, Shersterkin must use other parts of his body and equipment to assure that his angles are covered. He can tap the post with the shaft of his stick and his glove hand to center himself. At the same time, he can feel the precise location on his back the crossbar is intersecting with his body.
Doing these movements without the benefit of his eyes, it's all about repetition. He's making these routines second nature, so that he'll automatically center himself to the net for whatever angle he might need to cover. He can also gain an instinctive feel for how far along he must push from side to side to cover each post.
Try this one at practice with the help of your goalie coach. You'll find that it will make you a better and more fundamentally sound netminder.