(Goal)tending to an emergency
Sens never could have prepared for a Hammond-Driedger tandem
When Andrew Hammond quit hockey eight years ago and was taking community college courses in Surrey, B.C., his dream of being a National Hockey League goaltender was dead and gone.
When Chris Driedger was facing yet another onslaught of shots while playing for the atrocious Evansville Icemen of the ECHL in Charleston, S.C., last Sunday, skating in the NHL was the furthest thing from his mind.
But there stood Hammond and Driedger in the Ottawa Senators dressing room before Wednesday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, seemingly emerging from nowhere to become the emergency goaltending tandem.
It’s an unlikely, intriguing romp from the bottom to the top of hockey’s alphabet road of junior, college and pro hockey leagues. Goalies don’t routinely hang up their pads as teenagers and land on their feet in the NHL. And leapfrogging directly from the ECHL to the NHL without passing through the AHL is virtually unheard of.
First, let’s hear about what Hammond, who turned 27 last week, describes as his “unconventional route” to the Senators crease.
“When I was 18, playing (in the British Columbia Junior Hockey League), I ended up quitting two weeks into the season and was fully committed to stop playing and going to school,” he said.
The long road back began when Aldo Bruno, coach of the Grandview Steelers of the Pacific Junior (B) Hockey League, paid Hammond a courtesy call. “It rekindled that fire. It was during that period of life when you didn’t think this would be happening. For most players, that’s their draft year.”
Hammond went from the PJHL back to the BCHL, earning himself a scholarship to Bowling Green.
There was no instant magic on an uncompetitive NCAA squad. Hammond didn’t win a game in his first season (0-12-2) and finished his college career 30-68-13, but there are benefits to being a good goalie on a bad team.
The Senators signed him to a minor-league contract. This season, because of injuries to Nathan Lawson, Hammond inherited No. 1 duties in Binghamton and was the first call-up when Craig Anderson or Robin Lehner suffered an injury.
With both out, Hammond is the goalie of the hour. “It’s a long road. But obviously everything happens for a reason and if anything, it has taught me how to deal with adversity.”
Adversity has also been the story of Driedger’s first pro season. He was sheltered by a solid defence with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League but he has been peppered with pucks with Evansville. Evansville has a record of 12-32-4, including seven consecutive losses, and has been outscored 184-122. Driedger is 8-25-1, with a 3.75 goals against and .888 save percentage, numbers he says are misleading. If the Senators wanted him to see regular action, they’re getting their wish. He’s the only ECHL goalie with at least 1,000 saves this season.
“We’ve not had a lot wins lately, well, actually, not at all, and it has been a battle,” said Driedger, drafted in the third round (76th overall) in 2012. “We had a tough start, went through a coaching change and lately we’ve just been plagued by injuries. We have guys coming in from leagues that I didn’t even know existed; the Federal League and the Southern Professional League. Last weekend, we played three games in three days and we lost six guys. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
In some respects, the Icemen have become a pick-up team, adjusting to each other on the fly.
“Our defensive zone needs some work,” Driedger said. “Pretty much the only way we win is if I stand on my head.”
Driedger isn’t complaining, saying that replacement coach Al Sims — Bobby Orr’s former defence partner with the Boston Bruins — was “dealt a very below average hand” due to bad injury luck. He also likes the environment, including the fact Evansville is a two-hour drive from Nashville.
The shocking call to the big leagues — current Binghamton goaltenders Scott Greenham and Peter Mannino don’t own NHL clauses in their contracts — has motivated him to get here full-time.
“I got those (butterflies) out of my system in the last 24 hours. That’s the beauty of getting the call a day early. You get that freaking out of the way early and then realize ‘this is what I’ve been doing for the last 15 or 16 years,’ but as a back-up at this level, you’ve got to be prepared for anything.”
Still, in all their planning for the season, the Senators never could have prepared for a Hammond-Driedger tandem in the NHL.