Varsity Blues’ goalie Brett Willows may not have actually played for the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 17, but he came very close to being substituted into the National Hockey League game for goalie Jonathan Bernier.
The Leafs’ star goaltender James Reimer had been injured during an earlier game against the Carolina Hurricanes, leaving the team in a pinch for an emergency backup goalie for Bernier. That’s when Willows got a call from Blues coach Darren Lowe. Lowe told him that the Leafs needed him at the Air Canada Centre (ACC) immediately.
PHOTO COURTESY VARSITY BLUES
Despite being a Montréal Canadiens fan, Willows was happy to suit up for the Leafs. He proudly sported the jersey the Leafs had made him.
The whirlwind experience was all part of a very busy day for Willows. He had already written his human physiology and biomechanics midterms and had a two-hour practice with the Blues which ended at 7 pm.
He recalls being “tired and relieved that the day was over” and decided to grab dinner at the Noodle Bowl with a couple of his teammates. He recalls: “I had just received my food when Coach Lowe called and told me the big news.” He raced to get his equipment and get down to the ACC.
Willows, a kinesiology major who grew up playing mini sticks with his dad, professed over a tweet that night: “What I dreamed about playing mini sticks in the basement just came true.”
The Leafs keep a list of potential fill-ins for situations like this that arise, but as Willows told the Toronto Star, “I knew in the back of my head it was possible, but you never really think your number is going to be called.”
Willows explained that he only started playing hockey in second grade to be with his friends, but he grew into the game, and eventually assisted the Dauphin Kings to their Manitoba Junior Hockey League championship in 2010.
He names his parents as the people who enabled him to compete and be successful enough at the sport to attract the Leafs’ attention: “the commitment they showed throughout my childhood driving me to games or purchasing expensive goalie pads is a debt I’ll probably never be able to repay.”
Despite not receiving advice or coaching from the Leafs organization, Willows did get to sit in the dressing room with suspended Leaf forward David Clarkson and watch the third period with him.
When asked what fans expect from the Blues men’s hockey team this season, Willows has high hopes for his fellow roster: “I think we have a real chance to make some noise this year.”
He mentioned the team’s past playoff troubles, but sincerely believes that “the core group of guys has learned from those prior experiences and is poised to take the next step and silence our critics, who unfortunately come from primarily within the University of Toronto.”
What’s next for Willows? He hopes to achieve enough academic success to be accepted into a Physiotherapy Graduate school and ultimately become a physiotherapist.
