Justin Pogge: From World Junior Hero to Team Canada’s Goaltending Coach
Justin Pogge is a name that hockey fans will remember from his standout performance at the 2006 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where he helped secure Team Canada’s gold medal. Now, more than two decades later, Pogge is ready to announce his retirement from playing and begin a new chapter as a goaltending coach for Team Canada.
Pogge’s journey to coaching began at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, where he was named as one of the reserve players for Canada’s Olympic men’s hockey team. As the fourth goaltender, Pogge realized that he could be helpful by serving as a de facto goalie coach for the other three netminders. “I saw the writing on the wall. I wanted to be useful and part of the group. So I stepped up and asked if I could do that,” says Pogge.
His initiative paid off, and Pogge was then appointed as the official goalie coach for Team Canada at the U18 championships in Switzerland last month. This year, he has landed the job of goaltending coach for Team Canada at the 2023 IIHF World Championship, after showing his worth in Beijing.
Despite his lack of formal training as a goaltending coach, Pogge feels that his experience in the game has given him the knowledge to pass on to the next generation of goaltenders. One aspect he feels he can help young goalies with is the mental side of their game. Pogge vividly recalls his own nerves and jitters before every game of the 2006 world juniors, which he managed to quell through drinking Pepto Bismol. To him, nerves are a good thing: “You can perform best when you’re nervous. You just can’t show your nerves,” he explains.
Pogge also understands first-hand the pressure that can come with playing goaltender in the NHL. After the 2006 world juniors, he was hailed as the brightest goaltending prospect for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who had traded another promising goalie, Tuukka Rask, for Andrew Raycroft. But Pogge was unable to meet the expectations he had set for himself and soon fell out of favour with Leafs management. He would play only seven games in the NHL, after which he moved around different teams in North America before ultimately finding success in Europe.
Now, Pogge has found a new way to make an impact in the game he loves. As goaltending coach for Team Canada, he can use his knowledge and experience to help young goalies develop their skills and find the same success he found in his own career. Pogge knows the game and its pressures better than most, and he’s ready to pass that knowledge on to the next generation.
