If you look around any given minor hockey arena, and you spot the couple sitting away from the rest of the parents looking stressed beyond compare, sometimes so much so that they have to look away from the ice, you’ve probably spotted the goalie’s mom and dad.
In the wise words of TSN’s Ray Ferraro, “friends don’t let friends become goalie parents”.
It’s not an easy job by any means.
So much so, that oftentimes, parents attempt to steer their children away from taking the goalie route, which was the case for Team USA’s World Junior goalie Cayden Primeau.
You might know Cayden’s dad, Keith, as a 14-year NHL veteran and former Flyers captain with over 900 games played.
Primeau, the 3rd overall pick for the Detroit Red Wings in the 1990 draft, knew enough about hockey to know that being a goalie was an unbelievably stressful position, and tried with all his might to convince his son otherwise.
Obviously, he wasn’t successful.
The younger Primeau loved the idea of playing a position that was so integral to the game, and obviously, the decision has paid off, as the Northeastern University netminder is not only trying his hand at starting for the National team, he’s also one of the Montreal Canadiens most promising prospects, and was selected 199th overall in the 2017 draft.
The 19-year-old already has one World Junior Gold Medal under his belt, with the 2016/17 team, and is looking for his second this year ahead of his semifinal matchup against the Russians on Friday afternoon.
