from Braden Holtby at The Players' Tribune,

I probably saved 10 million shots off that wall as Patrick Roy. Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals, everything on the line. In our little unfinished basement in the middle of nowhere.

For some reason, I always believed I was going to play goalie in the NHL. Like, really believed. You couldn’t tell me any different. And it made no sense, really. My dad didn’t even want me to play in net. He had been a goalie growing up, so he knew what a thankless position it can be. He always tried to convince me to play forward. But my minor hockey team was made of up of basically any kid who could conceivably stand up on skates in a 40-mile radius. We were so bad that I felt like if I played in net at least that’s where all the action was gonna be.

Man, we would get peppered.

We’d lose 12–1.

18–2.

22–4.

And Patrick Roy was my hero, right? What did Roy do when he got scored on? He went nuts.

more