JUNIOR HELP FOR PRICE
Practises with old team
Bob Tory says he knew Carey Price was a special goalie the first time he saw him play.
The longtime general manager of the junior Tri-city Americans still remembers watching Price play as a 15-year-old with the bantam Williams Lake Timberwolves.
“I was sold after one viewing,” Tory recalled in a phone interview last Friday. “They didn't have a really strong team, but they had a really strong goalie.”
Tory selected Price with the seventh overall pick at the 2002 WHL Bantam Draft.
“It's interesting ... I had the pleasure of drafting Dan Blackburn as a 16-year-old,” Tory said about the 1998 WHL Bantam Draft, when he was GM of the Kootenay Ice and selected the young goalie with the third overall pick. “He took us to a Memorial Cup as a 16-year-old. So when I saw Carey it was kind of déja-vu and my goal that year at that bantam draft (in 2002) was to be able to draft Carey.
“Back then, teams were reluctant to draft goalies early,” Tory added. “I don't know if I was a trendsetter, but I've always had a belief that if you believe in someone go with your gut instinct. At that age, you never know how far they're going to go, but we were confident in Carey. He took over our starting job from Tyler Weiman in his rookie season at 16 in the playoffs when we upset Portland and he was well on his way after that.”
The Canadiens selected Price with the fifth overall pick at the 2005 NHL Draft and he played his final season with the Americans in 2006-07, but the goalie and his old GM have kept in touch over the years. Price spent this off-season in Kennewick, Wash., where the Americans are located and where the family of his wife, Angela, still lives. When he was looking for a place to train, Price gave Tory a call.
“We have a very good training centre right here in our rink,” Tory said. “Carey asked me if he could use it and I made sure that while he was here he was the only one using it because of COVID concerns. He used our dressing room also to leave his equipment. We have a practice rink that's right next door to our main rink that had ice in it so he was able to get on the ice at the practice rink.”
Tory also found someone to shoot on Price, calling former Americans captain Beau Mccue, who played for Tri-city from 2012-2016 and played for three teams last season in the ECHL. Only 13 teams are playing in the ECHL this season because of COVID-19, down from 26 last season, so Mccue hasn't been playing. Tory said Mccue is a “fitness freak” so he was a perfect training partner for Price.
“I was excited,” Mccue said over the phone on Friday about getting to skate with Price. “There's not a whole ton of ice available down here and I knew I was going to get a high-quality shooting session and it's not often you get to shoot on someone the calibre of Carey Price. He's very positionally sound and he takes up a lot of the net.
“I kind of know him from meeting him a couple of times before, but he's just a really relaxed, cool guy to talk to you,” added Mccue, who lives in Kennewick with his fiancée. “I mean, he's a normal guy just like everyone else. He just happens to be one of the best goaltenders in the world. But just talking to him he's very down-toearth and just a kind person.”
Price thanked Tory and Mccue when he spoke with the Montreal media on the first day of Canadiens training camp.
“I appreciate that,” Tory said when told about Price's comments. “His wife is from the Tri-cities and they spent a lot of time here because of the pandemic. He based his whole off-season here. He pretty much set up his own training regime and I tried to help where I could to facilitate anything he needed. He's certainly like family here because he played here from 16 to 19 and he's always welcome to use our facilities at any time.”
The WHL is still shut down because of COVID-19, so Tory gave Price his own set of keys to the arena and the Americans locker-room.
The GM has enjoyed watching Price develop into an NHL star since leaving the Americans, but he has equally enjoyed watching him grow off the ice as a husband and father, with three children after son Lincoln was born last October in Kennewick, a little brother for sisters Liv, 4, and Millie, 2.
“A lot of kids come through this program, but Carey's just a genuine person and a down-to-earth guy,” Tory said. “He's got a lovely family and a lovely wife. He's a special guy. He's low-key, he likes to keep to himself, but he's a very special young man.”