THE GOALIE CONSULTANT FROM TRINIDAD
The hockey life of Sudsie Maharaj (conclusion)
(Read Part 1 about Maharaj’s childhood in Trinidad, his family’s move to Toronto and his playing career in Europe)
Conclusion
In the summer of 2005, many of hockey’s best teachers were invited to lecture at the legendary Roger Neilson Hockey School. E.J. McGuire from the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau was there, as was Cup-winning coach Marc Crawford and Sabres mainstay Lindy Ruff. Dave Lewis gave a talk on the “Practical and Philosophical Approach to Defense,” rising star Peter DeBoer a speech on playoff preparation.
And presenting a lecture entitled “Goaltending: How Do I Coach Them if I Don’t Understand Them?” was Sudarshan Maharaj, the goalie coach from Trinidad. It is a subject he is literally educated in.
During his six-year playing career in Sweden, Maharaj would come home in the summer and continue his studies at York University – in part to continue his pursuit of a degree but just as much “to keep my mom and dad off my back.” He drove a truck for G & K Workware to make some money while taking a double major of Physical Education and English at York.
“I really wanted to coach, but I needed a backup plan,” says Maharaj. “I didn’t play in the NHL and I don’t look like most people’s idea of a hockey guy. There were going to be some obstacles.”
While satisfying his hockey jones by conducting goaltending clinics, Maharaj earned his degree and began volunteer-teaching so he could earn enough hours to get into teachers’ college. He taught fourth grade for four years and then found his niche mentoring children with behavioral issues at an inner-city school in West Toronto. Certified, he directed a program that assisted troubled children grades 1 -8 throughout 32 schools in his district. “I loved it,” he says. “Maybe it wasn’t my ultimate dream, but it was tremendously satisfying being a part of a team that worked on helping so many kids.”
(Maharaj's first NHL student, Steve Valiquette)
While chasing that ultimate dream by teaching at hockey schools, he was introduced to a teenager from Etobicoke with pro-caliber skills and a 6-foot-6 frame that was a blessing and a curse. Stephen Valiquette was getting a look in goal with the Dayton Bombers of the East Coast Hockey League when a mutual friend suggested this guy in Toronto named Sudsie could help. They hit it off immediately. Less than three years later, “Big Vali” made his NHL debut with the New York Islanders.
During an Islanders practice, Valiquette was going through a series of drills prescribed by Maharaj. His counterpart in goal, Kevin Weekes, took notice and asked what it was all about. “Just some stuff from a coach in Toronto who’s helped me out a lot,” said Valiquette. As if he was asking for his girlfriend’s phone number, Weekes gingerly asked Valiquette if he would arrange a meeting with his goalie guru. Maharaj had his second NHL client, and this time it was a black man born in Barbados. When he heard Valiquette’s coach lived in Toronto but was born in Trinidad, Weekes thought it was in the stars.
(In Kevin Weekes, Maharaj had a client with much in common)
“Sudsie was a godsend for me,” says Weekes, now with the New Jersey Devils and in his 12th NHL season. Weekes had been sharing the Islanders net with a prodigy named Roberto Luongo and could not believe how far he was behind him technically.
“Of course Roberto has world-class talent and a work ethic to match, but watching him every day made me realize what little coaching I had,” said Weekes. “From the time he was a kid, Roberto had been working with many of the masters in Quebec, like the Allaire brothers. I had athletic ability and it brought me to the NHL, but technically I had so much to learn. That’s where Sudsie came in and made a dramatic difference. I was a different goalie than Vali, but Suds found ways to get the best out of both of us.”
Says Maharaj, “In my lectures like the one at the Neilson School, my emphasis is ‘Coach the person, not the goalie.’ Some of that comes from my background in education, no doubt. You cannot teach every goaltender the same way. Look at when I first came to the Islanders – we had Garth Snow at 6-4, Rick DiPietro at 6-foot and Wade Dubielewicz at around 5-8 and the three of them had contrasting styles. You have to teach goalies individually.”
Starting with the Islanders as a part-time coach, he also had to be innovative. Only on Long Island ten days each month, Maharaj was faced with the challenge of adding a personal touch to his coaching, even from his Toronto home. He devised a system in which he took game tape, isolated clips, added his analysis to a voice track and emailed the package back to DiPietro so the goalie had it on his computer within minutes post-game.
Asked to define his method of coaching, Maharaj declines to get into specifics but says “very detail-oriented. I insist on it with my goalies, that they stay on top of every detail in their play. I’m the same way in my coaching.”
Peter Mannino, signed to be the No. 2 goalie in Bridgeport but up with the Islanders now as Joey MacDonald’s backup, says he has improved so much in his first few months of pro thanks to his coaches Mike Dunham and Sudsie Maharaj. “Sudsie is all over the smallest details, and I needed that,” said Mannino. “The difference he’s made with my footwork and my side-to-side movement has been night and day.”
Maharaj’s approach has made him more than just a popular guest lecturer at hockey schools but a coach to several NHL, AHL, collegiate and junior goalies. When Hockey Canada created the first National Goaltending Camp in 2006, Maharaj was named co-director. As a consultant and scout for the Islanders, his Swedish experience continues to pay dividends; as an added bonus, he’s a translator at combines.
Maharaj claims his biggest challenge is usually convincing world-class talents from juniors to the pros how good they are. “There’s a native saying: ‘the longest journey is from the heart to the head.’ So many skilled goaltenders just don’t know how good they really are. For me the essential core of being a top goaltender is belief.”
It’s also the story of how a man from Trinidad made a name for himself in the National Hockey League.
31 Responses to “THE GOALIE CONSULTANT FROM TRINIDAD
The hockey life of Sudsie Maharaj (conclusion)”
Please Wait
Welcome back CB! Hope you feel better.
welcome back.
Hope you’re feeling better CB
Glad to see you back in the lineup!
Thank you for a great read and very inspirational story. Well done.
Excellent piece on Sudsie, CB. Great work.
Interesting quotes from Weekes. Good read, CB.
CB ~ Nice mini-series on Sudsie … a true feel good story about someone in the Isles’ family… Also a welcome distraction from the horrific discipline ruling by Colin Campbell.
colin campbell represents all that is soulless and wrong..
Great reading Chris. I read you before I go to Newsday or the Islander website. Keep up the good work. Something tells me the Isles need you back! Hope you are feeling better!
All the best!
Good job CB - keep up the great work!
DOC
This was such a good story, thank you!
Takecare of yourself, I hope you’re feeling better soon C.
Back to the “other” topic.
I think last nights Buffalo win and the events of the past 48 hours was a GALVANIZING force.
It looked like the team had a different edge to them.
I will credit several players with that.
FRITZ - He looked like he belonged and his teammates were appreciative for the effect that he had on the game.
(I have NOT been in favor of having Fritz in the line-up) I may have to rethink that. OK… i want him in the line-up.
HILBERT - stepped up and played a tough game - could have had 3 goals and he’s so good defensively.
GUERIN/MACDONALD/STREIT/SUTTON/WITT/CAMPOLLI/PARK/BAILEY ETC. All played well and with grit. Even Gervais displayed a little grit last night.
It does indeed look like Gordon “learned” a little bit in the 24 hours following Mottau-gate - Campbell-gate.
If the league won’t stand up for “us” then “we” need to stand up for us. At least that’s the impression I got.
DOC
And of course the “official” web site of the NY Islanders can’t say anything against the NHL, officiating, Campbell… etc. because they are all run by the NHL.
Remember the lawsuit the NHL has against the Rangers, trying to overthrow the Dolan’s because they wouldn’t relinquish control over their web site?
DOC
The Islanders IMO have nothing to lose by “appealing” Mottau’s slap on th ewrist.
Maybe what is needed is another movie matinee at the Coliseum.
How Campbell has become the Czar of Punishment is beyond me.
Does he just sit there like Newman on ‘Seinfeld’ when he was deciding if Elaine or Kramer should get the bike?
Does Campbell sit there in deep thought sipping on a Diet Coke like Mike Fransesa on YES! pondering whether Joba should start or replace Mariano?
These are things we need to know.
Seriously if Mottau had done the same to a Leaf, the Canadian press would cover it with the seriousness of whether Iran has nukes or not.
Hopefully we can beat the Habs Monday.
Hopefully they keep Fritz in the lineup.
Campbell got his job because he is a former player and coach. That is how the NHL fills most of it’s positions including the marketing department. Now do you understand why they lag behind the other top sports and are even behind others?
During his time as coach of the Rangers Campbell has numerous social interactions with NHL execs in Manhattan such as Bettman. It is through these buddy relationships he got the job when the Rangers fired him. They didn’t want to see their buddy without work and it doesn’t matter if he has performed well. If you asked anyone in hockey they’d tell you he has done a horrible job.
I don’t know if Bettman doesn’t care if one of his employees is performing his job well or not (perhaps I should apply to the NHL seems like I could skrew around all day and still make it to retirement there) or Bettman is one of those guys who trusts his people are doing the right thing but has no organizational accountability.
It matters not at this point. The Isles and other teams should have been after Campbell’s job years ago. Now, they have to get the man fired before it cost them another player or cost them another playoff series.
I think the best person for the job would be a former ref.
Man, don’t ya think one of the Isles players should grab hold of Campbell’s son next time they play the Panthers and just smear the ice with his blood!
Gordon should play fritz 7-8 minutes per game and let him get in a fight every game and protect this team. He is the best fighter in the league as far as I am concerned. We need him to protect our young players…
I know how Campbell got his job.
It’s just how in a league with Boards of Governors, Committee’s, etc they let him be the judge and jury alone.
Especially since his decisions seem to be based upon what type of day he is having.
I have been fortunate enough to be acquaintances with former Isles and other players. I also am friendly with the man who used to run the Coliseum.
I am aware of how these jobs are filled but hats off to Campbell for parlaying his penalty filled career as a defenseman into his role as Czar of Discipline.
His career bests have come as an assistant coach with the Red Wings and Rangers.
Maybe that was where his career should have stayed.
The Isles don’t get respect because you have to earn it.
Had Mottau laid out a Blue Jacket or Panther he would have probably gotten the same sentence.
Had he done it to Drury, Kane, a Leaf, etc I am sure the discipline would have been longer.
You have to earn respect- or at least be a marquee franchise.
It’s frustrating because it seems time and again the NHl seems to say to the Isles “Know your role” when it comes to its dealing with the Isles.
I can’t wait to see the punishments if something goes down the next time the Devils and Isles meet.
Campbell will probably come down on the Isles for premeditated acts.
It’s sad when you have to go to YouTube to search for Probert, Baumgartner, Nylund, Kocur, Gillies, etc.
To see when there were repercussions for your actions.
Jaffe brought up an excellent point- drop the instigator penalty.
With that penalty their is little frontier justice in the game. Get rid of the instigator and let players be accountable for their actions.
We don’t need out and out thuggery but just like baseball has badly botched the hit by pitch rules (I hit you, we all get warned, you can’t hit me, I laugh) the NHL has screwed up it’s policing of the game.
It’s a shame Simon couldn’t have kept it together. If the Isles had Simon and Fritz available to dress on a given night I think there would be less liberties taken on Isles.
Speaking of goalies. Folks are you voting for Joey Mac? There is write in capability.
Buf was getting pretty aggressive until Fritz destroyed Peters. After that I’ve never seen Buf play so nice a game. PEACE THROUGH POWER!
Is it me or did Peters not play again after the fight? Total ice time was under 2 minutes and I don’t remember seeing him again after he fought.
Fritz played after the fight
oops, yes you are correct, Peters did not come back
No I meant Peters, I don’t think he played after Fritz caught him. he didn’t look good going off and he played like a minute 36. Did you see Peters after the fight?
Strummer… I remember Jaffe commenting on not seeing Peter’s and I believe he said that there was an injury report that he won’t be back the rest of the game. They never came back with specifics.
DOC
The were looking for him on the Buffalo bench. They said he’s 6′4″ so he would be hard to miss if he WAS there.
That was a great story Chris, thanks! Hope you are feeling better. As for Sudsie, I never knew any of that. Very interesting, and what a good person he seems to be. It sure does seem like he helped JMac!
That whole Campbell thing is still pissing me off (too). The only thing I can think of if Snow doesn’t want to say anything is that Wang seems to be close enough to Bettman, maybe he can have a little talk with him about his boy Colin. Maybe he can get us all a little closer to that Colon cleansing (lol). Somebody has to say something, they can’t just lie down like that. At least the team handled it and went out and won the next night.
Freakin Franzy of all guys, ya know?!? UGH!!!
This was a very interesting read, and I definitely have a new appreciation for Sudsie and what he brings to this team. Thanks, Chris!!!
Obviously a big test tonight to erase the demons of losing a 3rd period 3 goal lead and the game in regulation time to these Canadians.
IF they win tonight… it will go a long way to “proving” that they are moving in the right direction with the “system” and as a TEAM.
A seriously shorthanded team without many of it’s best players are on a 6-3-1 run right now… and with a win will be 7-3-1 in the last 11.
NOT TOO BAD considering all.
DOC
Maybe Wang should hire Deepak Chopra to motivate Comrie & Tambellini
Well, Weekes and valiquette went on elsewhere to improve. Weekes and valiquette? Wow! DP’s gonna stop all his puck idiocy and be a brick wall in net I feel with Sudsie behind us now! Woohoo!
Notice Joey Mac is now making mistakes and playing the puck? Thanks Sudsie.