No, this is not a joke.
He was a third string netminder for the Saint John Sea Dogs in 2007-08, appearing in just two games. Tonight, he’ll become just the second player in franchise history to sit on a National Hockey League bench.
From USA Today:
Ontario Hockey League goalie Troy Passingham was hanging out with his girlfriend Monday when he received the call that every junior goalie would love to get: The Detroit Red Wings wanted him.Passingham, who finished his junior career with the OHL’s Sarnia Sting, has apparently singed a 24-hour amateur tryout contract with the Red Wings. He isn’t expected to play unless Howard gets injured.
With Joey McDonald down in the minors and Chris Osgood unavailable, the Red Wings needed to sign Passingham to be Jimmy Howard's emergency backup Wednesday for a game against the Vancouver Canucks.
"Obviously, that's in the back of your mind, but I'm just happy to be here and watch these guys play," said Passingham about playing in an emergency situation to the Vancouver Province. "Obviously there was a lot of excitement [when the Wings called] and a really long day. You get butterflies, but that's hockey. You've just got to be ready. Maybe, I'll be sitting on the bench. Maybe I'll read a book."
"Still chasing the dream," he said to USA Today.
Passingham will join Yann Sauve, who made his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks earlier this season, as the only two Sea Dogs to appear in an NHL lineup.
The former Sea Dogs' journey to the NHL is an odd one. He barely played in his full season with Saint John and then played a year of junior ‘A’ hockey in Ontario in 2008-09. He then went on to help the Windsor Spitfires win the MasterCard Memorial Cup last year.
He was traded by the Spitfires to Sarnia mid-season. In 24 games with the Sting he went 9-10-2-1 with a goals against average of 4.76 and a save percentage of 0.879.
The Red Wings host the Canucks tonight at 8:30 pm at Joe Louis Arena. The game can be seen on TSN.
No comments:
Post a Comment