May 15, 2023 • 9 mins
What happens when the starting goalie and backup goalie are both injured in the same game of ice hockey? It was just the 1st period of a crucial NHL matchup in February of 2020, when 42-year-old fan David Ayers was plucked from the crowd and thrown into the action. Thanks to a bizarre rule, David was about to play in his first professional hockey game.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
It's the first period of a crucial game in the
National Hockey League. The Hurricanes and Maple Leafs are both
in the hunt for a spot in the playoffs. It
starts like a normal game for just a few minutes.
In the Hurricanes goaltender is injured in a clash. He's
out for the rest of the game. Not to worry, though,
(00:25):
There's a backup goalie ready and waiting on the bench.
But then a brutal collision sees the backup go down
to The Hurricanes are out of options. There's no one
left on the bench capable of playing the toughest position
in hockey. So what do they do? That's when they
employ an obscure NHL rull and like a fan out
(00:46):
of the crowd. It's forty two year old David Airs,
who's never played professional ice hockey in his life. Hey,
welcome to the poor Room. I'm Tony Armstrong. This is
where we celebrate the winners, losers, and the weird stuff between.
(01:19):
Before you hear how David Airs ended up on the
ice or how we went in his first professional game,
let's back it up a bit. David grew up in Ontario, Canada,
so naturally ice hockey was a huge part of his life.
He spent his youth competing in junior leagues and going
to hockey camps. It looked like he had a promising
(01:40):
professional sports career ahead of him. But when David was
twenty five years old, things went wrong, really wrong, and
David's dreams of playing hockey for a living were extinguished.
It was the last day of hockey camp. David went
to put on his skates, but he quickly realized they
wouldn't fit on his feet. For some reason, they'd swollen up.
(02:03):
He also had bouts of dizziness and high blood pressure,
so David went to hospital and that's where he got
the news his kidneys were failing. David needed a kidney transplant. Fortunately,
his mum, Mary was more than happy to be his donor.
David survived, of course, but he thought he'd never play
(02:24):
hockey again. That could have easily been the end of
David's hockey journey, but he's a pragmatic bloke. David takes
a job as a maintenance worker driving an ice resurfacing machine.
It allows him to stay in the hockey world that
he loves so much, and it puts him in the
sights of the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs. When the Maple
(02:44):
Leafs find out that David was a hockey player in
a previous life, they recruit him as a practice goalie.
He fills in during the occasional training session when the
team need an extra man. David is thrilled just to
be able to pull his skates on again and hang
out with the pro But what happens next he could
never have imagined. It's the twenty second of February twenty twenty.
(03:09):
David and his wife Sarah take their seats, ready to
enjoy a game between the Maple Leafs and the Hurricanes.
The sold out crowd is buzzing. This is a matchup
that could determine who's in the playoffs. The game starts
slowly for a while. There the score is tired at
nothing nothing. Then a collision in the goal mouth completely
changes the trajectory of the game. The Hurricanes' goalie is
(03:34):
hurt and can't continue. That's all right, they have a backup.
The new goaltender is called off the bench to take
his place. David Airs is watching the game with his
wife in the stands, but his night is about to change.
As he watches the goalkeeper get escoreded off the rink
and the backup take his place, David gets a text
(03:55):
message on his phone. It says he's required to to
the Hurricanes locker room. David has been working as a
practice goalie with the Maple Leafs up until this point.
That makes the Hurricanes the opposition, but it doesn't matter.
David says goodbye to his wife and nervously makes his
way down to the lower levels of the arena. Once
(04:17):
inside the locker room, he's given pads and a Hurricanes
jersey with his surname freshly embroidered on the back. There's
nothing he can do but sit and wait. Now. Back
on the ice, the Maple Leafs, the team David has
practiced with, have taken a one to nothing lead right
(04:39):
at the end of the first period. As the second
period starts, the Hurricanes manage to tie the score and
then they take the lead. They're on a roll. They
score a third goal before it happens something very improbable.
(05:00):
Goalie is injured. He has a concussion and needs to
be helped off the ice. There are no other players
from their team that they can put in the goals.
They only have one option left and his name is
David Airs. So why was David the Hurricane's last option?
(05:20):
After all, he trains with the opposition and has never
played a day of professional hockey in his life. Well,
it all comes down to one truly bizarre NHL rule.
The rule requires the home side, in this case, the
maple Leaves, to provide an amateur emergency goaltender for the
use of either team. And David Airs is that guy.
(05:41):
The forty two year old novice, and now he's set
to make his NHL debut for the Hurricanes in a
must win game. So when the backup goalie goes down,
David is told to get moving. He signs a one
game NHL contract and makes his way down the tunnel.
He steps out onto the ice and hears the cheers
(06:03):
from the crowd. David had known that as a designated
emergency goaltender, this day could come that he might be
pulled into a game. He even said to his wife
that if it happened, he wouldn't be nervous. Turns out
that's not the case. David feels himself shaking. His new
Hurricanes teammates greet him quickly with a couple of fist bumps.
(06:27):
This is your moment, they tell him, just enjoy it.
David might train with the Maple Leafs and even be
friends with a few of the players, but they're not
going to go easy on him. The Maple Leafs are
trailing by two goals. They need to win this game,
and they know David isn't a professional goal David feels
(06:49):
the weight of the moment. He's under immense pressure and
playing against his own team, and when one of his
former teammates lines up a shot, David chokes the park,
hits the back of the net, and the score is
now two to four. It takes less than two minutes
for the Maple Leafs to score against David again. It's
now three to four. The Maple Leafs are back in
(07:11):
the game. If this is David's moment, it's not going
to plan at all. He's only saved by the buzzer
to end the second period. The players retreat to the
locker room and David has a chance to catch his breath.
The Hurricanes can see the wins slipping through their clubs,
(07:32):
but they're kind to David. They tell him the pressures off.
They know they're asking a lot from an amateur goalie,
But David isn't ready to give up. The game is
not over. Once we come out for the third, he
tells the team, I'll be settled down and ready to
win this one. The third period begins, David realizes that
(07:54):
the intensity of an NHL game is nothing like the
low pressure practice sessions he's used to. David puts all
the stress aside and concentrates on the job. When the
puck next comes flying his way, he manages to block it,
and then he does it again, and then again. The
(08:14):
Maple Leafs are aggressive, but they can't get a single
goal past David. He makes eight incredible saves before the
game is over. The Hurricanes scored two more times and
win the game six goals to three. David's Hurricanes teammates
surround him on the ice. Even the Maple Leaf fans
can't help but cheer for the unlikely hero as well
(08:39):
as the glory. David Airs has paid five hundred bucks
free services and even gets to keep the jersey with
his name proudly gleaming on the back. David had often
wondered what could have been if his health problems hadn't
derailed his hockey career, but that nagging question was finally answered.
He'd become the oldest goalie in an NHL history to
(09:01):
win his debut. Only three other emergency goalies have ever
seen playing time in the NHL, which makes David Airs
a member of a very exclusive club. Thanks for checking
(09:24):
out the pool room and iHeart Production. I'm Tony Armstrong.
Catch you in the next episode.
It's the first period of a crucial game in the
National Hockey League. The Hurricanes and Maple Leafs are both
in the hunt for a spot in the playoffs. It
starts like a normal game for just a few minutes.
In the Hurricanes goaltender is injured in a clash. He's
out for the rest of the game. Not to worry, though,
(00:25):
There's a backup goalie ready and waiting on the bench.
But then a brutal collision sees the backup go down
to The Hurricanes are out of options. There's no one
left on the bench capable of playing the toughest position
in hockey. So what do they do? That's when they
employ an obscure NHL rull and like a fan out
(00:46):
of the crowd. It's forty two year old David Airs,
who's never played professional ice hockey in his life. Hey,
welcome to the poor Room. I'm Tony Armstrong. This is
where we celebrate the winners, losers, and the weird stuff between.
(01:19):
Before you hear how David Airs ended up on the
ice or how we went in his first professional game,
let's back it up a bit. David grew up in Ontario, Canada,
so naturally ice hockey was a huge part of his life.
He spent his youth competing in junior leagues and going
to hockey camps. It looked like he had a promising
(01:40):
professional sports career ahead of him. But when David was
twenty five years old, things went wrong, really wrong, and
David's dreams of playing hockey for a living were extinguished.
It was the last day of hockey camp. David went
to put on his skates, but he quickly realized they
wouldn't fit on his feet. For some reason, they'd swollen up.
(02:03):
He also had bouts of dizziness and high blood pressure,
so David went to hospital and that's where he got
the news his kidneys were failing. David needed a kidney transplant. Fortunately,
his mum, Mary was more than happy to be his donor.
David survived, of course, but he thought he'd never play
(02:24):
hockey again. That could have easily been the end of
David's hockey journey, but he's a pragmatic bloke. David takes
a job as a maintenance worker driving an ice resurfacing machine.
It allows him to stay in the hockey world that
he loves so much, and it puts him in the
sights of the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs. When the Maple
(02:44):
Leafs find out that David was a hockey player in
a previous life, they recruit him as a practice goalie.
He fills in during the occasional training session when the
team need an extra man. David is thrilled just to
be able to pull his skates on again and hang
out with the pro But what happens next he could
never have imagined. It's the twenty second of February twenty twenty.
(03:09):
David and his wife Sarah take their seats, ready to
enjoy a game between the Maple Leafs and the Hurricanes.
The sold out crowd is buzzing. This is a matchup
that could determine who's in the playoffs. The game starts
slowly for a while. There the score is tired at
nothing nothing. Then a collision in the goal mouth completely
changes the trajectory of the game. The Hurricanes' goalie is
(03:34):
hurt and can't continue. That's all right, they have a backup.
The new goaltender is called off the bench to take
his place. David Airs is watching the game with his
wife in the stands, but his night is about to change.
As he watches the goalkeeper get escoreded off the rink
and the backup take his place, David gets a text
(03:55):
message on his phone. It says he's required to to
the Hurricanes locker room. David has been working as a
practice goalie with the Maple Leafs up until this point.
That makes the Hurricanes the opposition, but it doesn't matter.
David says goodbye to his wife and nervously makes his
way down to the lower levels of the arena. Once
(04:17):
inside the locker room, he's given pads and a Hurricanes
jersey with his surname freshly embroidered on the back. There's
nothing he can do but sit and wait. Now. Back
on the ice, the Maple Leafs, the team David has
practiced with, have taken a one to nothing lead right
(04:39):
at the end of the first period. As the second
period starts, the Hurricanes manage to tie the score and
then they take the lead. They're on a roll. They
score a third goal before it happens something very improbable.
(05:00):
Goalie is injured. He has a concussion and needs to
be helped off the ice. There are no other players
from their team that they can put in the goals.
They only have one option left and his name is
David Airs. So why was David the Hurricane's last option?
(05:20):
After all, he trains with the opposition and has never
played a day of professional hockey in his life. Well,
it all comes down to one truly bizarre NHL rule.
The rule requires the home side, in this case, the
maple Leaves, to provide an amateur emergency goaltender for the
use of either team. And David Airs is that guy.
(05:41):
The forty two year old novice, and now he's set
to make his NHL debut for the Hurricanes in a
must win game. So when the backup goalie goes down,
David is told to get moving. He signs a one
game NHL contract and makes his way down the tunnel.
He steps out onto the ice and hears the cheers
(06:03):
from the crowd. David had known that as a designated
emergency goaltender, this day could come that he might be
pulled into a game. He even said to his wife
that if it happened, he wouldn't be nervous. Turns out
that's not the case. David feels himself shaking. His new
Hurricanes teammates greet him quickly with a couple of fist bumps.
(06:27):
This is your moment, they tell him, just enjoy it.
David might train with the Maple Leafs and even be
friends with a few of the players, but they're not
going to go easy on him. The Maple Leafs are
trailing by two goals. They need to win this game,
and they know David isn't a professional goal David feels
(06:49):
the weight of the moment. He's under immense pressure and
playing against his own team, and when one of his
former teammates lines up a shot, David chokes the park,
hits the back of the net, and the score is
now two to four. It takes less than two minutes
for the Maple Leafs to score against David again. It's
now three to four. The Maple Leafs are back in
(07:11):
the game. If this is David's moment, it's not going
to plan at all. He's only saved by the buzzer
to end the second period. The players retreat to the
locker room and David has a chance to catch his breath.
The Hurricanes can see the wins slipping through their clubs,
(07:32):
but they're kind to David. They tell him the pressures off.
They know they're asking a lot from an amateur goalie,
But David isn't ready to give up. The game is
not over. Once we come out for the third, he
tells the team, I'll be settled down and ready to
win this one. The third period begins, David realizes that
(07:54):
the intensity of an NHL game is nothing like the
low pressure practice sessions he's used to. David puts all
the stress aside and concentrates on the job. When the
puck next comes flying his way, he manages to block it,
and then he does it again, and then again. The
(08:14):
Maple Leafs are aggressive, but they can't get a single
goal past David. He makes eight incredible saves before the
game is over. The Hurricanes scored two more times and
win the game six goals to three. David's Hurricanes teammates
surround him on the ice. Even the Maple Leaf fans
can't help but cheer for the unlikely hero as well
(08:39):
as the glory. David Airs has paid five hundred bucks
free services and even gets to keep the jersey with
his name proudly gleaming on the back. David had often
wondered what could have been if his health problems hadn't
derailed his hockey career, but that nagging question was finally answered.
He'd become the oldest goalie in an NHL history to
(09:01):
win his debut. Only three other emergency goalies have ever
seen playing time in the NHL, which makes David Airs
a member of a very exclusive club. Thanks for checking
(09:24):
out the pool room and iHeart Production. I'm Tony Armstrong.
Catch you in the next episode.
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