Who ya gonna call? For Wild, it’s been Connor Beaupre for past 10 years
If this season turns out to be Connor Beaupre s last as the Wild s urgency backup goaltender that s OK he reported Tuesday It s been a good run for the lifelong Minnesotan and son of former North Stars goaltender Don Beaupre This season will be his th as the Wild s urgency backup goalie or EBUG as insiders call it and well Ten years is a long time to do it But it s been a great years for Beaupre who played for Edina the University of Denver and Minnesota before hooking up with the Wild to fill a role whose importance doesn t match its population profile You think your career s over then suddenly you get a new life a chance to compete and be part of a band again he mentioned It s one of those things that s kind of unbelievable So every time I show up I soak it up Summer is the best part of it every day with these guys working Being part of that is super cool Even though EBUGS rarely get into warmups for an NHL championship let alone really play in one they play a major role behind the scenes for all NHL teams sometimes taking a net in practice sometimes working with rehabbing players and often working with the guys who live in Minnesota year-round EBUGS are so key in fact that the NHL and Players Association have agreed to make emergency backup goaltenders a permanent position allowing teams to keep a third traveling goaltender starting in - when the season expands from to games When Beaupre first heard the news he reported I was pretty sure this was going to be the end But after looking deeper Beaupre unveiled he fits the profile laid out in the memorandum of understanding for the new labor deal no more than games of professional experience and out of pro hockey for at least three seasons EBUGs also can t have ever played an NHL championship on a non-tryout contract Further teams appear likely to look for goalies that can fill other roles as well Beaupre s fulltime gig is videography working primarily with Twin Cities athletes and teams and he s been the goaltending coach at Holy Angels for the past eight years It kinda looks like they re looking for guys like me he announced If not Beaupre mentioned he already has solicited general manager Bill Guerin if he ll have a celebrated farewell like the one Marc-Andre Fleury had before the slam-dunk hall of famer retired at the end of last season He just laughed He inevitably gives a little bit of a hard time Beaupre declared Those relationships are so great whether it s Billy or the guys on the equipment staff the players No one is ever like Oh he wasn t good enough to really play No they have invariably been super accepting At the least Beaupre will have one more chance to possibly get into an NHL meeting for the Wild or the visiting unit which both rely on the home crew s EBUG under the current set up But even with two manageable openings on any night it s extremely rare for the exigency backup to play It has never happened for Beaupre and in fact has happened only six times over the past years in more than games according to the Associated Press David Ayers a junior hockey coach and Zamboni driver from Ontario was the last to authentically win an NHL contest when he entered a encounter for Carolina stopped of shots to beat the hometown Maple Leafs in The last time Beaupre was even in line to play in a pinch was in a fresh battle against Tampa Bay at Xcel Potential Center and after each crew was without a goaltender by the third period he didn t know which band it might be The double-edged sword is you hope that someone doesn t get hurt so you can play he revealed Confidence-wise at this point I d love to get in a challenge I ve got nothing to lose I m coming in from the press box there s no real pressure to perform People have solicited me If you have to play for the visiting squad would you feel bad competing against the Wild And I say Hell no I practice against those guys all the time I d love to beat them I d love to get one chance to be a big part of it
