Guard showed net worth in ’04
Undrafted Kelowna goalie played with ‘chip’ on his shoulder
WINDSOR, Ont. — Kelly Guard entered the 2004 Memorial Cup on a mission to prove himself. His name is still atop the record books 13 years later.
Guard set a new Western Hockey League standard in 2004 with the Kelowna Rockets. He went 44-144 in 62 games, finishing the regular season with 13 shutouts and a 1.56 goals-against average — both records to this day.
But he didn’t have his name called for any end-of-year awards as Cam Ward was the player and goaltender of the year that season, going 31-168 with a 2.05 GAA, .926 save percentage and four shutouts in 56 games with the Red Deer Rebels.
So Guard did himself one better at the Memorial Cup. He led his team as hosts to the major junior national crown while setting the tournament record with a 0.75 GAA in four games. He was recognized as the top goalie and Memorial Cup MVP.
“I kind of played with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder because I was shafted on a couple league awards, mainly because I wasn’t an NHL guy,” said Guard.
“Winning it in front of friends and family (and), on a personal note, the MVP, no one can ever take it away from me. It was a good experience. I owe a lot of that to the teammates as well.”
The 2004 edition of the tournament gave Guard and his Rockets teammates a second chance at being national champions after bowing out in the 2003 semifinal against the Hull Olympiques, who returned the following season as Gatineau and lost 2-1 to Kelowna in the final.
Guard says the 2003 tournament taught his team what it took to win.
“It’s a really hard tournament to win. I think what helped us a lot was our experience before: How to handle everything, just short-term competition, which most of the guys aren’t used to,” said Guard.
“Obviously going there the year before left a bitter taste in everyone’s mouth.”
Guard closed out his junior career on top, despite his journey not fitting a conventional path. His pro career, however, never took off despite leaving a mark on the Canadian Hockey League record book.
Guard was cut three times by his hometown Prince Albert Raiders and played in Saskatchewan’s Junior A league before landing a spot with Kelowna for the 2002-03 season as a 19-year-old.
Before the 2004 Memorial Cup, he signed an entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators and spent time in the East Coast and American Hockey League between 2004 and 2007.
His time with the AHL’s Binghamton Senators had its ups and downs, partly due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout. Ottawa also shook up its roster after its 2007 Stanley Cup run and had a young Brian Elliott and Jeff Glass in its system, which Guard feels led to the two sides parting ways.
“My last year of my contract was a really bad year for everyone. After that year, they kind of rebuilt everything from the ground up, so after that year I went over to Europe to test the waters,” said Guard
Guard spent some time in Austria before landing in Italy for the 200809 season, but he says it was difficult to stay motivated as a player at that point in his career.
“Sometimes players realize that the NHL dream might be over and you’re a long ways from home. I had a big injury over there with my groin and I didn’t think I could come back 100 per cent,” said Guard.
Guard returned to Prince Albert, Sask., worked as a goalie consultant and ran camps, unsure of what was ahead of him as a retired 26-year-old goaltender.
Then the junior team that cut him three times as a teenager came calling when they needed a goalie coach in 2012.
He has been with the Raiders since then and has seen the junior hockey world come full circle. Prince Albert hired Marc Habscheid as its new head coach at the beginning of the 2015-16 season. Habscheid was Guard’s coach with the 2004 Memorial Cup champion Rockets.
“It’s really important for the guys who grew up around the rink to be able to continue,” said the 33-yearold Guard. “It doesn’t even seem like a job sometimes. I probably would have wanted to be still playing somewhere competitively, but I love coaching, I have a passion and I enjoy doing it.”