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| Mental Toughness |
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This is a major question when discussing Cechmanek. He blew up at his teammates in the playoffs last spring and constantly complains of nagging injuries. All of which means little to Flyers head coach Ken Hitchcock as he shrugs, calls Cechmanek's number again and again, and hopes he keeps stopping the puck.
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| Glove Hand |
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The glove is almost an afterthought for Cechmanek. Truly a shot blocker, his glove is secondary to the work with his blocker and stick. Actually, Cechmanek almost uses his catching hand as a second blocker -- making saves, yes, but not necessarily catching the puck cleanly.
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| Stick |
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Cechmanek's stick may be his best weapon. He is the most aggressive goaltender in the NHL with the use of his stick around his cage, even committing early on breakaways with a straight-on pokecheck. Instead of outwaiting the attacker, Cechmanek is willing to gamble and force the issue, something that is true of his entire game.
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| Pads |
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He has excellent range of motion, with his size allowing full coverage post to post. He is awkward at times, giving up rebounds on routine bids. The tradeoff is his ability to shut down the cross-ice play when seemingly down and out by sometimes getting a pad on the puck while falling forward.
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| Style |
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Unconventional. Unorthodox. Mind altering. Fun. Think Dominik Hasek on steroids. Cechmanek uses his size to full advantage and is willing to use any piece of equipment in any situation to make a save, including putting his face mask in the way of 90-plus mile per hour slap shots -- on purpose. However, easy shots elude him at times, finding the holes exposed due to his flawed fundamentals.
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| Intangible |
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His outgoing, gregarious demeanor was a breath of fresh air when he first breezed into the stuffy Flyers locker room, morphing into flaky in Year 2. This year, personality is a non-issue. The pressure is on to provide consistent playoff-caliber netminding.
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