{"id":12353,"date":"2021-12-10T04:02:35","date_gmt":"2021-12-10T04:02:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/?p=12353"},"modified":"2021-12-10T04:02:35","modified_gmt":"2021-12-10T04:02:35","slug":"pressure-makes-things-better-for-walleye-rookie-goalie-fulcher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/?p=12353","title":{"rendered":"Pressure makes things better for Walleye rookie goalie Fulcher"},"content":{"rendered":"
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MARK MONROE<\/div>\n
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Blade Sports Writer<\/div>\n
mmonroe@theblade.com<\/span><\/div>\n
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FEB 12, 2019<\/div>\n

5:57 PM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Young Toledo Walleye goaltender Kaden Fulcher embraces his role as a difference-maker, putting in the work to thrive in the biggest moments.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The 20-year-old rookie loves living in the limelight.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a goalie, you have such a big impact on the game, either positively or negatively,\u201d Fulcher said. \u201cWhen the game is on the line, you can be a difference-maker. I always like to shoulder the workload and be the main guy on the team. Guys are counting on you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fulcher, a native of Brigden, Ont., was just 8 when he realized his calling was to be a goaltender.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bigger the game, the better I play,\u201d the 6-foot-4, 199-pound goalie said. \u201cThe more you play in stressful situations, you get into a rhythm.\u201dFulcher has become known not only for his confidence, but his unparalleled work ethic in his first pro season with the Walleye.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe one thing you can control is your work ethic,\u201d he said. \u201cI stay out there after practice. I’ll stay out there an hour after, making sure I’m working hard.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

VIDEO:\u00a0Toledo Walleye rookie goalie Kaden Fulcher<\/strong><\/p>\n

Walleye coach Dan Watson said Fulcher, who has started in 21 of the team’s 47 games, has done all the right things as an up-and-coming netminder.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s a positive kid, and he loves to work,\u201d Watson said. \u201cHe stays after out after practice. He does things right, and he’s being rewarded for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Mark Monroe<\/div>\n
Walleye win third in a row, top Indy Fuel 4-1<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Detroit Red Wings saw promise in the confident, hard-working young goalie and signed Fulcher in October of 2017. Fulcher led the Hamilton Bulldogs to an Ontario Hockey League title last season.<\/p>\n

He posted a 32-17-2 record with a 2.86 goals-against average and .899 save percentage. By winning the OHL championship, Fulcher helped Hamilton earn a berth in the Memorial Cup tournament. The Bulldogs lost in the semifinal round the prestigious tournament, which pits the champions of the three major junior hockey leagues in Canada. But Fulcher was named the Most Outstanding Goaltender when posted the best goals-against average (2.27) and save percentage (.918).<\/p>\n

Fulcher had a career year last season, including five shutouts.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of it was growing into my body. I had a late growth spurt. And I just put in the work,\u201d Fulcher said.<\/p>\n

Fulcher has a quick sense of humor to match his confidence. The youngster has rotated starts with veteran netminder Pat Nagle, who is in his second year with the Walleye. Nagle, 31, is in his eighth pro season.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is like a much, much older brother,\u201d Fulcher said, chuckling. \u201cWe have some fun with that. Some of the movies he remembers fondly are movies that came out the year I was born.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it’s been fun. He’s a great goalie partner. I like to just watch him before games to see how he prepares. It’s been great having Pat there. We can talk about anything. We have an unbelievable relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fulcher said he and some of his fellow younger players on the roster enjoy playing Fortnite, the online video game.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s our big pasttime,\u201d Fulcher said. \u201cI like getting on there with the boys.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Fulcher said his most enjoyable hobby is cooking. He said his signature dish is scalloped potatoes and chicken.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m a pretty good cook. I get after it pretty hard,\u201d Fulcher said. \u201cBut [Kevin] Tansey’s the chef on the team. He is a really good cook. He gets out the herbs and spices. I just throw stuff together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fulcher rooms with fellow rookie Jordan Topping.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s great living together with the boys in the same apartment complex. We have a bunch of young guys. It’s nice to be able to just walk down the hall,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

On the ice, Fulcher has experienced his ups and downs. He suffered a 5-2 loss to Tulsa at home on Feb. 1, but rebounded with a 4-1 win over Indy on Sunday when he was minutes away from earning his first shutout as a pro.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a great bounce-back game,\u201d Watson said. \u201cMentally after the Tulsa loss, for a young kid that’s impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the 21 games in which he has appeared, five have gone to the shootout where it’s one-on-one. Fulcher is tied for the most shootout wins in the ECHL with three.<\/p>\n

Overall, Fulcher has posted a 13-4-2 record with a 3.03 goals-against average and a .896 save percentage.<\/p>\n

Fulcher said it has not been difficult getting up for games while playing before sellout crowds at the Huntington Center. Toledo is averaging 7,691 fans per game this season with 18 sellouts in 23 home games.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s unbelievable the fan support we get every night. Playing in front of a packed building is pretty special,\u201d Fulcher said.<\/p>\n

Fulcher said the adjustments from junior hockey to the pro level have been significant.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou’re playing against grown men now,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have to catch up with the speed of the game. There’s a lot more traffic in front of the net and a lot more deflections. Every guy can shoot the puck. They can put the puck in from anywhere. So you have to stay on your toes and be ready for shots.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Fulcher said he has worked extensively with Brian Mahoney-Wilson, the Red Wings’ goaltending development coach. Mahoney-Wilson comes to the Huntington Center to work with Fulcher and Nagle about once every two weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe go through our structured stuff to make sure I’m progressing,\u201d Fulcher said. \u201cI work on everything with him. He helps with my technique. We’ve become really good friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fulcher said he has focused recently on his ability to control rebounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cI use my athleticism a lot in net. It’s more butterfly style,\u201d he said. \u201cI’m trying to calm my game down and making sure I don’t have as much movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fulcher said he hopes to help backstop the Walleye to a Kelly Cup championship to help the organization celebrate its 10th season in style. The Walleye (29-11-7) currently sit in second place in both the Central Division and the Western Conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re set here with an opportunity to make a big run that we all want,\u201d Fulcher said. \u201cWe have all the right pieces to make a strong push. All the guys on this team want to win the championship.\u201d<\/p>\n

PROMOTION:<\/strong>\u00a0Veteran forward T.J. Hensick has been loaned to the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League. The former University of Michigan standout and former NHLer leads the ECHL in scoring with 58 points (17 G, 41 A) over 47 games.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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MARK MONROE Blade Sports Writer mmonroe@theblade.com FEB 12, 2019 5:57 PM Young Toledo Walleye goaltender Kaden Fulcher embraces his role as a difference-maker, putting in the work to thrive in the biggest moments. The 20-year-old rookie loves living in the limelight. \u201cAs a goalie, you have such a big impact on the game, either positively … <\/p>\n

Read more “Pressure makes things better for Walleye rookie goalie Fulcher”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12353\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}