Eyes On The Puck?

I don't watch a lot of NCAA men's hockey until later in the season normally, but there are always players being scouted from the college ranks by teams. Some of these players will stay on scouting reports for a while based on how long their college careers and seasons go, but NHL teams have such specific scouting that they know virtually everything about a player before talking to any of them. In saying that, Swedish-born goalie Victor Östman had a solid career with the Maine Black Bears after an insane 2019-20 season with the Chicago Steel, and he was signed this summer by the Seattle Kraken to continue his career in North America.

Nobody expected Östman to make the Kraken in his first camp, and he was sent to Coachella Valley where he was given some additional coaching as the Firebirds got themselves ready for this season. Recognizing that he was still a little raw for professional hockey, the Kraken re-assigned Östman to the Kansas City Mavericks where he's showing some good play in the five games he's started, although tonight's game might be excluded from the career highlight reel.

With Kansas City leading the Rapid City Rush 2-1 at The Monument in Rapid City, Östman was having a quieter night with eight saves on nine shots as the game approached the midway point. This is where we go to the video because the next sequence rarely ever happens.
Audio issues on Flo Hockey aside, Connor Mylymok's chip into the zone was misplayed by Kansas City netminder Victor Östman as the puck slides under his stick and through his legs for the second Rapid City goal, just 13 seconds after they had scored their first goal. As fans, we're always reminded to watch for the puck in case it deflects over the glass, but maybe Victor Östman needs that same reminder as he stands between the posts? That's just a bad "oops".

The good news is that Östman recovered and would help the Mavericks record the shootout win after both teams scored in the third period. Östman stopped two of four shots in the skills competition while his Rapid City counterpart, Connor Murphy, allowed three goals on four shots in the shootout. As a result, the Mavericks won the game 4-3 in the skills competition to push their record to 6-1-1 while Östman improves to 4-1-0 on the season.

I've seen goals where the puck takes a weird hop or hits a chunk of snow and eludes the goalie. I've seen pucks hit stanchions as goalies leave their nets to play the puck only to have the ricochet go directly into the net. I have rarely seen a goalie allow a pick to slide right below his stick blade as he looks to play it, but one needs to keep one's eyes on the puck, it seems. Like in baseball where a defensive player misses an easy grounder, it seems like Östman was thinking about next play before making the first one!

I'm sure the Mavericks laughed that one after the game, but I'll guarantee that Victor Östman will be tracking every puck right to the tape on his stick moving forward. No one wants to be remembered for that kind of highlight, but mistakes do happen!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!