06/14/2026
The 2026 Global Goaltending Retreat was an absolutely incredible time. There’s so much knowledge and experience within that group, and it’s going to take some time to process all the learnings from the week.
I’m beyond grateful to have got to meet some incredible coaches through these events, including Mike Valley this week. Mike led us on a “easy” hike of 2.25 miles, which sounds straightforward until you factor in a 600 foot elevation gain when you’re already close to 10,000 feet up. Considering it’s pretty flat in Sask (the North does have hills though) that’s a pretty big change in altitude. The Don Allen Summit Loop is going to be a walk in the park after that one!
It’s always great to reconnect with some phenomenal friends in the coaching world, and you don’t truly realize how small the goalie world is until you end up at a coaching retreat with one of your former goalie partners from junior hockey.
I’m also incredibly pumped that Jamey Daylight from Southend and Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation was able to attend this year with me. Jamey and I coached the Team Woodland goalies together a couple years ago for the Tony Cote Winter Games. Jamey is coming back to the North with a ton of knowledge, and brought some great perspectives throughout the week. I can’t wait to see the things he’s going to do with the PBCN athletes.
A huge thank you to The Goalie Guild for giving me the opportunity to attend the GGR first as a demo goalie and now as a coach. It’s truly one of if not the biggest highlights of every year for me, and I always come away having learned a ton.
In typical fashion, I was very much slacking on taking pictures for social media, but that’s okay. There’s going to be lots of much better content out there from people who are really good at that.
A big takeaway from this week was that sometimes it’s okay to say nothing, and I now feel like I’ve said too much above so I’m going to stop myself here.
- Kyle
