Olaf Kolzig Reveiw

So, I have been wanting to contribute a review, but most of the players I have already have been covered at length through other reviews. All stats have come from div 1-3 games. The review focuses on the five major ways to score goals imo, point shots, hash-marks snipes, cross-creases, rebounds, and fate (base-line shots, bulldozing the net, passes that just leak in, etc.).

Point Shots- 9.5/10
Kolzig's best area imo is stopping point shots. I'd bet that about 95% of the point shots he faced that were not crossbar-bar-goal, were easy saves, of which he just catapults into the corners mostly (more in detail about that later). With him in net, I am more than content to let point shots be taken within reason, especially with me looking to block the shot in addition to Kolzig's unexpected prowess in defending the point.

Hash-marks snipes- 8.5/10
As someone who upgraded from a Crawford/Luongo goalie situation, Kolzig has been absolutely amazing in this area. While the occasional Ovi snipe goes in, its going to take a high quantity of hash mark snipes to get one past Kolzig. It should still be noted that these are still high-quality shots. Unlike point shots, don't sit on your laurels and let snipe after snipe test Kolzig, he'll fail eventually. Compared to my previous goaltenders though, I've held my breath much less when a Stamkos lets loose from the circles though.

Cross-creases- 9.0/10
Another area when Kolzig shines. Faced with a pass across him, Kolzig consistently gets over not only quickly, but largely as well. I've rarely seen him do the dirty bird in desperation, instead usually stacking the pads if in desperation mode. This allows for Kolzig to not only be amazing for slower cross-creases when his speed allows him to cover the majority of the net, but also be strong for those do-or-die saves, coming up strong when many other goalies would have shrugged and hoped they would miss the net.

Rebounds-7.0/10
Kolzig's weakest area by far. While point shots usually are gloved or sent to the corners, Kolzig tends to overreact to wristers and backhanders. Rebounds from weak shots are aplenty and combine that with Kolzig's tendency to throw himself out of position with weak shots, he struggles with some medium-quality chances. This is counterable though, as between the improved ability to tie-up offenders in front of the net and stick-lifting being a strength, you as a player in addition to your defenders can cover this weakness nicely.

Fate- 8.5/10
Compared to Luongo, there are much less goals that leave you going 'what?' In the 21 games, Kolzig has stopped much of the general wtf-goals that result from misdirected passes, players bulldozing the net, and shots taken from the base-line. Compared to the 150-foot goals (emphasis on the s) that I've scored on Vernon, Kolzig has no time for bullshit goals.

Overall- 9.25/10
While no goalie will be perfect in NHL 17, I believe that I have found the tender for the rest of my time playing. While 21 games is a small sample, Kolzig has been promisingly and consistently good.

Overall stats- 21 GP, 13-4-4, .876%, 2.01 GAA
Team in front of him https://hutdb.net/17/builder/92201