Anaheim Ducks Goalie Coach Sudarshan Maharaj: An Unsung Hero
By Jacob Robles
The Anaheim Ducks have a quality coach, Sudarshan Maharaj, in charge of goaltending. Jake Robles takes a look at Maharaj’s career and how he helps the team.
Today we’re going to take a look at a very intriguing figure who works behind the scenes for the Anaheim Ducks. We look at goalie coach, Sudarshan Maharaj, and his contributions to the team.
History
Sudarshan Maharaj started his coaching/ consulting career in New York with the Islanders and spent nine years (2003-2012) working as both their goalie coach and goalie consultant. Maharaj worked with goalies like Rick DiPietro, Kevin Weekes, and Marty Biron.
After New York didn’t extend him in 2012, Maharaj joined the Anaheim Ducks in 2013 and was used as a consultant with Norfolk in the AHL. Right off the bat, “Sudsie” was challenged with grooming up and comers John Gibson, Frederik Andersen, and Igor Bobkov.
After working back and forth between the AHL and NHL for two seasons, Maharaj was promoted from consultant to Anaheim’s official coach in the summer of 2016. So what makes Sudarshan Maharaj so special?
Bringing More to the Table
As a goaltender myself, I can confidently say that your goalie coach is your best friend. I meet nowhere as often as a pro would, but the bond a goalie shares with his coach is one that is vital to success.
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I think what makes Sudsie such a great role model and mentor to our goalies isn’t so much his prowess as a hockey coach, but his prior career as a teacher. Working in a field where he molded young minds for over a decade really seemed to be that little extra that helped his transition to coaching.
It makes sense, teaching a complicated position like goaltending is no easy task. You have to be able to be thorough with your goalies and not everyone’s cut out for that. You don’t have to be wildly intelligent to be a coach, but you can’t be short and sweet with goalies.
The position requires plenty of hands-on learning and attention focusing in on small areas that you really don’t think about. If you told me I would spend the first two months of my training working on simple things like c-cuts and shuffling, I would’ve thought you were pulling my leg. Here I am five months later and its second nature to be able to do it.
It’s things like that which makes the process of developing a goalie a little more difficult than that of a forward or defenseman. But all in all, Maharaj has done brilliant work with Anaheim’s goaltenders in his relatively short time as part of the organization in both the AHL and NHL.
Anaheim established a new franchise record this year for an overall team save percentage at .932%. On top of this new record, both Ryan Miller and John Gibson would pass Jonas Hiller‘s .924% for highest save percentage in a single season (Miller .928%, Gibson .926%).
Next. Projecting the Anaheim Ducks rookie tournament forward lines. dark
Overall, I’d say we’re fortunate to have a such a great guy in a room that does so much to ensure the success of this franchise’s goalies at all levels. Gibson is starting to really shape into one of the league’s elite and making a name for himself after another brilliant year. We thank you for your contributions Sudsie, you keep doing what you do best.