‘It does your heart good:’ Ayres’ story inspires Regina goalie

Jason Childs would love to be in David Ayres’ skates.

Childs, a Regina beer-league goalie who doubles as an economics professor at the University of Regina, was thrilled to see Ayres get a last-minute call to action for the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.

“To see somebody like that get a shot, it just … it does your heart good,” Childs said.

Ayres is 42 years old. He’s a regular around the rink in Toronto, sometimes strapping on the pads as a practice goalie for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, the affiliate club of the NHL’s Maple Leafs.

He also used to drive the Zamboni for the Marlies.

Childs, now 46, played competitive high-level hockey until the midget level. He has kept up with the sport always as a goalie, playing with recreation and amateur teams through university until now.

He said anyone who sticks with the game always imagines themselves playing in the pro ranks, no matter how far-fetched the idea may be.

“The dream doesn’t die instantly. It hangs in and hangs in, particularly for those guys who keep playing the game or stay around the game,” he said.

University of Regina economics professor Jason Childs keeps a hockey stick signed by former NHLers Guy Lafleur and Steve Shutt in his campus office. (Evan Radford/980 CJME)

He imagined what it would be like upon first getting the call.

“It would have taken me a long time to settle in, because you’re on the big ice surface,” he said. “I’ve played at the Northlands (Coliseum). I had the opportunity once or twice to play there when I was a kid in Edmonton. Standing on that ice surface and looking up to those seats, it’s intimidating and it’s terrifying.”

And were he to face a shot …

“I’d be absolutely terrified when those pucks come whistling in at over 100 miles an hour, because you know you’re not seeing those all the time, and they’re a little scary,” he said.

Childs agreed that Ayres’ story is a prototypical hockey one. Only in hockey and only at that position could a sometimes-practice, mostly amateur goalie get called up at the last minute, he said.

For Childs, that speaks to the unique nature of the position, one that’s characterized by extreme highs and extreme lows.

“As a goalie, if (the puck) gets by you, it’s in the back of the net, you’re fishing it out, and the red light is on and you feel really bad about yourself: ‘I should have had that one,’ ” he said.

“But when everything else has gone wrong for everybody else on the ice, and you make that stop, there’s nothing to compare it to. It’s like you’ve got it exactly right. You are the only one on the ice that got it exactly right at that time.”

He figured Ayres also likely relished the chance to show up NHLers.

“It would be frustrating on the other side of the ice to see that happen, because really, it would call your stature as a professional player into question: ‘We just lost to a team that had to bring in the Zamboni driver,’ ” Childs said. “That’s not going to feel good.”

Ayres wound up preserving the Hurricanes’ lead over the Maple Leafs; he let in two goals and made eight saves, enough to help the Hurricanes win 6-3.

To show their support, the Hurricanes are flying Ayres into Raleigh, N.C. on Tuesday night for their game against the Dallas Stars. He also has been named an honorary North Carolinian by Gov. Roy Cooper.