Former Pete Whitmore now an NHL executive
Peterborough Petes player from 1983 to 1987 now reviews every piece of goaltender equipment for all the NHL teams
You would be hard pressed to find an individual more qualified to discuss goaltending in hockey than Kay Whitmore.
The Sudbury native served a substantial tenure between the pipes before becoming one of the most prominent figures on the NHL hockey operations team and voice for goaltending among executives.
Whitmore’s career began with the maroon and white when he was drafted by the Petes in 1983.
“It was getting late in the third round so I thought, ‘this isn’t going to happen, I’m probably going back to play midget hockey somewhere.’ Then I heard my name and I was pretty excited,” Whitmore said.
Although he never saw a championship trophy while in junior hockey, he maintains the Petes were a competitive team from 1983 to 1987 and recalls positive memories from the Memorial Centre.
“We had a group of character guys who were here for the same reason. We never had cliques of two or three guys. We always had a great group.”
Easing the transition as a 16year-old onto a junior hockey team were his billet brothers Paul Bellamy and Derrick Smith.
“Those guys made it easy. They took care of me at the rink. You’re a 16-year-old goalie, you might get a puck zipped by your head a couple of times. Derrick and Paul were there to say, ‘Take it easy on the guy.’”
Whitmore was selected by the Hartford Whalers in the 1985 NHL draft as the 26th overall pick. He began his professional career in 1987 with the AHL’s Binghamton Whalers cracking a couple of games in Hartford toward the end of the 1988-89 season.
“My start was in a playoff game against Montreal. We lost and ended up getting swept.”
In 1992 he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks and went on a Stanley Cup run two seasons later. Following his time on the west coast, Whitmore bounced around the IHL, AHL and Sweden manning the net for teams like the Detroit Vipers, Los Angeles Ice Dogs and Syracuse Crunch from 1995 to 2001.
He saw a handful of games with the Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames before capping his career with the Saint John Flames. His international trot in the pursuit of hockey is something Whitmore takes pride and humour in.
“The word journeyman applies to me. That’s probably why Dallas Eakins and I are so close but I think he may have me by a couple of teams, I think my last count was 17 or so. All in all, it was a fun ride but it went by pretty quickly.”
Shortly after retirement, the Petes alumnus was hired by the
NHL as a consultant for goalie equipment.
In the name of fairness and safety of both goalies and players, Whitmore is tasked with reviewing every piece of goalie equipment for all affiliated NHL teams. With a goalie count across the three leagues upwards of 250, Whitmore receives close to 6,000 pieces of equipment every fall — a number that seems to increase each season.
“We’re starting to see a trend where the smaller equipment is actually enabling goaltenders to move quick(er).”
“We’ve worked hard to get the equipment to a place where it fits the goalies well, it’s protective and produces a playing surface that is level.”
When he isn’t investigating equipment Whitmore is one of the executives managing the NHL’s Situation Room; the group on the end of the referees phone calls. Whitmore admits his job is high pressure and faces critical fans.
“It’s hard for a fan who is so passionate to understand the ruling but that’s what makes our game so great. We have no horse in the race. A call that happened for a team the previous game doesn’t have any bearing. The score doesn’t have any bearing. You’re a neutral party. Our fans are so passionate, our managers are so passionate, no matter whether you feel like you are being consistent or not, some people are going to disagree and that’s the same thing with officiating.”
He stands firm that at the end of the day their roles are to maintain the integrity of hockey.
“The whole idea is to fix the egregious and always try to get things right in the name of the game and that’s what we try to do nightly.”
Whitmore never predicted that making the nerve-racking decision to stop shots at six years old would shape his entire life however it is the very thing that has placed his knowledge in such high demand.
His deeply rooted passion for the game, unique perspective as a netminder and quest for fairness have made him one of the most crucial voices in hockey.