Mitch Korn’s analogy isn’t unique to one goaltending student, but it may be especially fitting for Matt Murray of the Milwaukee Admirals.
“You can’t just turn on a computer without software and have it work,” said Korn, the guru whose past students include Dominik Hasek and Pekka Rinne. “You have to program your computer so it will find and process very quickly.
“Well, that’s what we do. We program the goalie to all different situations in practice because, in a game, you don’t have time to think. You have to react. When you turn on your computer, it’s been programmed so it can process quickly and give you results.”
Murray earned his master’s degree in data science from the University of Massachusetts. Someday, he’ll probably put his coding and app development skills to work in the corporate world.
But Murray also earned an NCAA championship with the UMass hockey team. So first things first.
“It’s definitely something I never thought I’d be into growing up,” Murray said of his field of study. “Never, never a big computer guy. So to get involved with that step is definitely a different world than what I would have expected myself going into in college.
“It’s really interesting. I think it’s going to be very useful for life after hockey, although trying to postpone that as long as possible, obviously.”
Matt Murray is in his third AHL season and first with the Milwaukee Admirals
To that end, the 26-year-old from St. Albert, Alberta, Canada, is in his first season with the Milwaukee Admirals, after two-plus with the Texas Stars, splitting time in net with another newcomer Magnus Chrona.
Korn, who was with the New York Islanders at the time, had his eye on Murray while Murray was at UMass, setting program records for wins (73) and shutouts (14) and turning in a 36-save performance in the overtime victory over Minnesota Duluth in a national semifinal.
Now, they’re together in the Nashville Predators organization, Murray via free agency after 71 games with Texas (plus four with the parent Dallas Stars) and Korn having rejoined the Predators and general manager Barry Trotz as director of goaltending.
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Korn recognizes the progress Murray has made in the time since the Islanders tried to sign him.
“For me, he’s really learned to use his body well,” Korn said. “He is mobile. He processes the game well, and I felt that, especially watching him a little bit when he, after he turned pro, he was not giving his body the best chance to be as effective as it could be.
“And he has been a sponge from Day 1, and we’ve tried to make some adjustments since Day 1 of this season. And I give him high marks. He came here wanting to do it. He came here embracing it. And he’s made every effort to do everything we’ve asked of him. And, knock on wood, it’s been pretty good so far.”
Matt Murray is among the AHL goalie statistical leaders
Murray got off to a 5-0 start as the Admirals assembled an eight-game winning streak from early October into early November. Both Murray and the Admirals (12-6-1-3) have fallen off that pace, but he entered the week with the fourth-best save percentage (.930) in the AHL and a 2.21 goals-against average that ranks eighth.
“Obviously you want to win every game you get. And you want to give the guys a chance to win every game,” Murray said. “So I think the guys, that’s what I’ve been focusing on. It’s been a good start so far, definitely a few things to continue to work on, but overall, it’s been a good start. Just got to keep getting better.”
Murray is part of a growing group of players working their way up the ranks after having gone to college. Maturity is one benefit. But much of the advantage, he said, actually comes on the physical side of growth not just the mental side.
“College is great for developing because of the lighter schedule you play,” Murray said. “If you go all the way, (you play) like 40-something games vs. juniors, where you’re playing 70-something, 80 even if you’re going deep in the playoffs.
“I think that just the physical development you can get off the ice in the gym is huge for guys. You know you’re coming to pro hockey already, basically a man vs. an older teenager, a very young man. So I think that’s a huge asset for college players.”
How does a goaltender balance thinking and reacting?
Can there be a drawback to advanced education for someone who has been trained to be analytical playing a position predicated on simply reacting?
For Murray, thought is mostly for practice, when he’s working with Admirals goaltending coach Jason Barron or when Korn drops in.
“The way the game is played today, it’s so fast that all your thoughts and everything, it gets thrown to the wayside, and everything just becomes reactionary instinct,” Murray said.
“The thinking is when you’re on the bench in between shifts (as a skater), or the puck’s in the other zone if you’re a goalie.”
Korn, a onetime college goalie who has coached pros for more than 30 years, concurs and goes a step further: Thought vs. instinct is one of the many balancing acts the position requires.
“There’s a whole slew of skills, and some of the skills are completely opposite,” Korn said. “For example, you need to be calm to be a goalie, but you need to be explosive to be a goalie. You need to be patient to be a goalie, but you need to be able to react desperately to be a goalie. They are such opposites, and yet they have to do that moments apart.”
