David Ayres

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

For the 19th-century American soldier, see David Ayers.

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Not to be confused with David Ayer or David Ayre.

<templatestyles src="Module:Infobox/styles.css"></templatestyles>

David Ayres
Born (1977-08-12) August 12, 1977 (age 46)
Whitby, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 201 lb (91 kg; 14 st 5 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Carolina Hurricanes
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2014–2015
2020

David Ayres (born August 12, 1977) is a Canadian ice hockey player and the operations manager at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto, Ontario.[1]

Ayres is best known for playing in a NHL game on February 22, 2020, for the Carolina Hurricanes as an emergency backup goaltender, beating the Toronto Maple Leafs, 6–3, and becoming the first emergency goaltender to record a win in NHL history.[2][3]

Early and personal life

Ayres is a native of Whitby, Ontario, and grew up playing youth ice hockey and camps in the town. His late father, Bob, and his brother, Chris, were also goaltenders.[4] He became ill and required a kidney transplant (donated by his mother, Mary) in 2004.[5]

Ayres worked as a building operator at Ricoh Coliseum (now Coca-Cola Coliseum) in Toronto, which is the home arena for the Toronto Marlies. His job responsibilities occasionally included maintenance and operating an ice resurfacer, which gave him the "Zamboni driver" moniker used in news articles about his NHL debut.[6] The Marlies equipment man found out he was a goalie and coach, so head coach Sheldon Keefe started using him as a goaltender at practice when an extra man was needed,[7] as did the Maple Leafs.[8]

Hockey career

Ayres played eight games with the Norwood Vipers of the Allan Cup Hockey League in 2014. As a goaltender, he allowed 58 goals, had a .777 save percentage and an 0–8 record.[5] Ayres has served as a backup to both the Toronto Marlies and Charlotte Checkers in the American Hockey League (AHL), the primary affiliates of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes, respectively.[4]

NHL appearance

On February 22, both of the Carolina Hurricanes' goaltenders, James Reimer and Petr Mrazek, were injured during a game against the Maple Leafs. Ayres entered the game during the second period as the emergency backup goaltender, after signing a one-game contract with the NHL.[9] Donning Kasimir Kaskisuo's old Toronto Marlies helmet and pads,[10] and wearing a Maple Leafs t-shirt under his equipment,[11] he entered the game at 8:41 left in the 2nd period with a 3–1 lead.[12] He allowed goals on the first two shots that he faced before stopping the next eight shots on goal, along with recording one shot on goal, to help seal a 6–3 win for Carolina.[13] He became the first emergency backup to enter a game in the NHL since Scott Foster in 2018.[5] The Carolina Hurricanes sprayed water after the game on Ayres with the water bottles in the locker room. Ayres also became the oldest goaltender (at 42 years, 194 days) to win his NHL regular-season debut, and for this, the Hockey Hall of Fame was given his game-used goalie stick.[14][15] The record had been held by Hugh Lehman since 1927 at 41 years 21 days.

Ayres was named first star of the game and kept his game-worn jersey and game puck.[9] Had he signed a Professional Try-Out Agreement he would have been paid $500 for the game,[16] but Ayres said after the game that under the terms of his contract he was not paid.[6] Reimer also gave him an autographed goalie stick, and Rod Brind'Amour, Carolina's coach, gave Ayres an autographed bottle of wine.[17] His debut occurred on the 40th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice.[18]

Following the game, the Carolina Hurricanes announced that they would be selling t-shirts with Ayres' name and jersey number 90, with royalties going to Ayres and a portion of the proceeds being donated to a kidney foundation of Ayres' choice.[19]

Ayres was invited to sound the siren at the start of the Carolina Hurricanes home game, on February 25. While in North Carolina, Governor Roy Cooper declared Ayres, a Canadian citizen, an honorary citizen of the state of North Carolina,[20] and Raleigh honoured him by naming February 25, 2020 "David Ayres Day" in the City of Raleigh.[21]

Career statistics

Regular season

Regular season
Season Team League GP W L OTL TOI SA GA SO GAA SV%
2014–15 Norwood Vipers ACH 8 — — — — — — — 8.88 .777
2019–20 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 1 1 0 0 28:41 10 2 0 4.18 .800
NHL totals 1 1 0 0 28:41 10 2 0 4.18 .800

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=David_Ayres&oldid=726174116"