PALM DESERT, CA – Coachella Valley goalie coach Colin Zulianello is about to lace his skates for practice, but he’s happy to answer one more question as someone who has literally been a teacher, whether in school classrooms and on rinks across North America since he finished his own playing career in the crease.
“As an educator, you know you only have your students’ attention for such a brief amount of time,” said the coach most everyone calls “Zulie” now in his third season with the American Hockey League affiliate Firebirds. “I can only give them so many instructions or so much feedback before it's no longer relevant. Although I may have a thousand ideas in my head, that's why we go on the ice every day with one theme.”
Zulianello offers a golf analogy to cement his point: “It's like in golf. If you tell me 14 things to think about before I hit a golf ball, I'm probably not going to strike it well. But give me one point to focus on; my chance of making good contact is a lot better.”
Putting Experience, Master’s Degree Into His Work
Zulianello is the son of a mother who taught Spanish and French in schools back home in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He was a star in U18 hockey and earned an NCAA scholarship with Colorado College, posting a 9-7-1 record with a .918 save percentage as a senior in 2000-01. He played four seasons in the ECHL, appearing in games for seven different franchises while also getting called up to play four games for AHL Springfield.
A chronic groin injury stymied his progress, and the natural educator in him (thanks, Mom) turned to pursue his master’s in education back home at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay while concurrently coaching young goalies, subsequently starting his own summer goalie camps and clinics. Over the years between his playing career and accepting the Firebirds role beginning with the 2022-23 season, Zulianello juggled teaching roles in Thunder Bay senior elementary schools and part-time coaching opportunities. From 2016 to 2019, he served as developmental goaltending coach for the Calgary Flames and their then AHL affiliate, the Stockton Heat (now Coachella Valley’s divisional rival Calgary Wranglers).
He discovered mentors along the coaching path, including Kraken goaltending coach Steve Briere, who recommended Zulianello to then Coachella Valley first-year head coach Dan Bylsma. A phone call led to a Zoom call to a job offer to join the Firebirds staff.
“Zulie has a wonderful positive attitude about life and about goaltending,” said Bylsma after a recent practice. “He brings teacher mentality, literally and figuratively, to how he teaches his goaltenders. I would add I see the goalie coach as an active part of the staff. I was impressed with how Zulie interacted with our coaches and players. He helped us a lot with how to score on [an opposing] goalie, the best place to score. He spent regular time and shared video with our forwards on how and where they can score on goalies [and still does on new head coach Derek Laxdal’s staff].”
Calculating Goalie Math into the Coaching Equation
Zulianello is an ardent believer in the power of math and geometry as a goaltender. Kraken goalie Joey Daccord, who grew up the son of long-time goaltending coach and author/app creator Brian Daccord, concurs enthusiastically about how knowing goalie math is vital to keeping pucks out of nets.
“Goaltending is essentially all math, said Daccord at his locker recently. “It's all angles and percentages. When you boil it down, a shot from right in the slot, you have basically 100 percent of the net to shoot at, but if you're shooting from the goal line, you have half of one percent to shoot at based on how big the net is from where you're shooting. There is a nuance to it, right? You need to know that [angles and percentages] instinctively. But then you have to go out there and just play your game, not be thinking about the math. Colin emphasized that.”
Without prompting, Daccord added the human element about Zulianello, now working closely with leading AHL rookie goaltender and 2022 second-rounder Nikke Kokko: “Colin really cares and is just so passionate about us as people and his goalies. We created an awesome relationship and friendship. He’s been super helpful to me. I value his opinion and coaching so much. Coming from a teaching background, you can tell because of the way he's able to get his message across.”
Putting His Plan into Practice with Kokko, Stezka
Zulianello said he believes if he works with goaltenders in practice and video sessions on the process of reading plays and shots unfolding on the ice in practice, then with that approach, “making the save is basically the easiest part of that whole sequence.”
“We use our time before practice to determine the day’s theme, what we believe we need to do so we can continue to get better,” said Zulianello. “Then it’s about our practice habits. I'm a firm believer that you do play the way that you practice ... we strive as best as we possibly can to achieve great practice details. It breeds confidence and spills over into your game performance. My mindset, which has been embraced by our goaltenders [Ales Stezka, currently backing up for the Kraken, plus prospect Nikke Kakko], is treat practices like games as much as we can.”
Zulianello has earned the respect of the Firebirds goaltender (now including ECHL call-up Jack LaFontaine) plus head coach Derek Laxdal. As it turned out, Zulianello is a holdover from Dan Bylsma’s staff, but the goalie coach and head coach know each other from Laxdal’s first year coaching the Idaho Steelheads in 2005-06 when Zulianello served as volunteer goalie coach after finishing his professional playing career the season before in Boise.
“I trust Colin is going to do the right thing and be able to have those hard conversations with the goalies when needed,” said Firebirds head coach Derek Laxdal. “I think he does a great job of presenting the message, delivering the message and getting the message through with the kids. You’ve seen it in how both goalies played.
Stezka, 27, has been solid in net for Coachella Valley (.906 save percentage in 18 AHL games) Valley and is currently serving as the Kraken’s backup goaltender until Daccord mends from a lingering upper-body injury. Last season, Stezka posted an 18-6-2 regular season record with a .914 save percentage in his first North American pro year after two full seasons in Czechia’s top professional league.
“Stez is unbelievably coachable, positive, happy, great teammate,” said Zulianello. “He’s willing to do whatever he has to do to get better and wants to get better, much like Kokko and Joey. His game has taken a big step. Stez is in the best hockey shape of his life, more explosive and controlled in his movements. His best hockey is ahead of him.”
At 20 years old, Kokko leads AHL rookie goaltenders a 10-2-1 record with a 2.59 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage. His stats align with any number of reliable AHL promising prospects and veterans who are three to eight years older. Plus, in Kokko’s last six games, his 4-2-0 record belies his save percentage, which calculates at .932 or top-five status across the AHL in the recent half dozen games.
“There's a lot to like about Nikke,” said Zulianello. “He doesn't really ever look like he's out of a play. He moves well and he has really good edges [as a skater]. When you watch how he competes, he's got some swagger. The biggest thing is how do we produce consistency? As a young goaltender, there will be peaks and valleys ... it's about the volume of repetition. He's done a really good job so far.”
