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Braden Holtby calls Pekka Rinne’s goalie goal ‘awesome’, has given up trying to score one himself

By Ian Oland

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January 10, 2020 4:30 pm

Braden Holtby was one of many NHL goaltenders who expressed excitement about Pekka Rinne’s goalie goal. The Predators’ netminder became the 12th goalie all-time to score and the first in six years.

While speaking to reporters after practice Friday, Holtby spoke about his own quest to score in an NHL game and revealed he had given up trying to do so.

Holtby has tried several times during his career, including with the Hershey Bears, but has never connected except during the 2017 All-Star Skills competition.

“Yeah, I don’t know,” Holtby said then joking. “I shot them all. Hopefully one of them went in.”

As a kid, Holtby split time as a forward and a goalie until the age of 12.

“Being a goaltender himself he knew what being a goaltender was later on in life as opposed to being a kid where you like the equipment, you like making the big glove saves and whatnot,” Holtby said to In Goal Magazine several years ago. “He really encouraged me to play as a forward and a goaltender until I was forced by the team to make a decision, so I played both up until peewee, which really helped develop my skating, helped develop my puck handling, all those other things you wouldn’t really get by choosing to be just a goaltender at a really young age.

“I was always confused back then why he wanted me to keep playing both when all I really wanted to be was a goaltender. But now it’s one of my biggest benefits.”

Despite not trying to light the lamp anymore himself, Holtby routinely assists on goals by other players.

Meanwhile, reporters talked to Ilya Samsonov about Rinne’s goal too and the Russian goalie is now intrigued enough to want to try.

Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong

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