University goalie serves as Leafs’ backup
TORONTO — Alex Bishop missed his date with emergency backup goalie destiny by nearly two years, but sitting at the end of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ bench Saturday was still a thrill.
It was Bishop’s night off as the rotating replacement goaltender at Scotiabank on Feb. 22, 2020 when 43-year-old Zamboni driver David Ayres was called on by Carolina and wound up preserving a win over the Leafs and being celebrated throughout the sports world and on late night U.S. TV.
That was the night James Reimer and Petr Mrazek were both hurt in the Canes net and it was a Mrazek injury, this time as a Leaf, that opened the door again Saturday for Bishop, the fourth-year University of Toronto Blues’ commerce student from Richmond Hill.
“A great experience,” Bishop said afterwards, who wore No. 70. “(Stepping out) for warmup, with the flash of the cameras was pretty surreal. It’s pretty distracting, but cool to get in there and taking some shots.
“It’s not lost on me that this is a pretty rare opportunity. I’m pretty lucky to be cheering for my hometown team.”
He let his parents know in the morning when he worked the skate and they made it to the game, but he eventually turned off his phone as the calls and messages piled up.
“I watched that (Ayres) game; a day later and that would’ve been me. The first period I was pretty nervous, the second it started to ease, the third I soaked it all in.”
When Campbell came to the bench for timeouts, he gave Bishop a fist bump to make him feel at home.
Thanks to a groin injury suffered by Mrazek, defenceman Justin Holl’s illness and salary cap restraints, the Leafs were forced to use Bishop as the backup to Jack Campbell on Saturday night against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
Bishop was signed to a oneday amateur tryout contract. The 24-year-old played for three teams in three seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League before starting his university career at U of T in 2018.
“It just comes down to the fact that the flat cap has created some situations here that are a lot more difficult to manage,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said.
“Whether you’re a coach or a player, you don’t give much thought to the backup goaltender. It has nothing to do with what we’re trying to focus on tonight.”
Holl has cold symptoms and results of his COVID test had not yet come back; had Holl been healthy, the Leafs could have sent defenceman Timothy Liljegren, who does not need waivers, to the Toronto Marlies and recalled goalie Michael Hutchinson.
Had Mrazek been placed on long-term injured reserve, Hutchinson would have been recalled. Keefe said Mrazek still was being assessed, and that the injury did not appear to be one that will keep the netminder out for the long term.
The Leafs could have waived a forward, for example Michael Amadio, to recall Hutchinson, but presumably did not want to take that risk after losing Adam Brooks to the Montreal Canadiens on waivers this past week.
Under the collective bargaining agreement, the Leafs could get relief for an emergency recall of Hutchinson — but only after playing short at a position, in this case in goal, for one game.
Bishop participated in the morning skate, but that was the extent of his action in a Leafs uniform. You have to think the Toronto organization exhaled when Campbell got through the game without a scratch.
Campbell was not busy, but he was sharp when it was required.