Dominik Hasek, he changed the position forever because of his style.
Before him, there was no such thing as a goalie with that kind of athleticism. He did whatever he needed to do to make a save and I'll always remember watching him play with the Buffalo Sabres as a kid. The way he played, he reacted to everything that was going on in front of him. He hardly ever stood still, his anticipation was remarkable and he was fearless. Anytime there was a guy coming in on him, you knew Hasek had a chance to stop him because of his ability.
I loved how he only wore a cage, that was his style and he'll always be known for it.
Steve Yzerman was my favourite player growing up and that's why I'm a Red Wings fan, but I'll never forget when Hasek helped lead us to the Stanley Cup in 2002. He was incredible during that playoff run and became the first European goalie in the history of the National Hockey League to win a Stanley Cup.
Look at all the European goalies in the NHL today, Miikka Kiprusoff, Henrik Lundqvist, Niklas Backstrom, Kari Lehtonen, Pekka Rinne, Tuukka Rask, Antti Niemi, Tomas Vokoun, Michal Neuvirth, Semyon Varlamov, Evgeni Nabokov, Jaroslav Halak and many more. You better believe that they idolized the Dominator growing up; he was a huge influence on the NHL.
Some say Patrick Roy, others say Martin Brodeur, but for me it will always be Dominik Hasek.
Last edited by dmvincent; 11-18-2012 at 10:48 PM.
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