Nov
7
This time was different. After unexpectedly entering Friday’s game against Boston and picking up his first NHL victory Braden Holtby knew he was going to start Sunday night.
But the forewarning wasn’t necessarily a positive development for the Capitals netminder. “I don’t know if was good or bad. I think it was an extra hour sitting there thinking in bed,” he said after the win over Philadelphia.
Holtby is now 2-0 in his short NHL career, becoming the third straight Capitals rookie goaltender to accomplish that feat. He shares the mark with teammates Michal Neuvirth and Semyon Varlamov, whose injury caused Holtby to be called up from the AHL’s Hershey Bears in the first place.
“I know that I can compete at this level now. But there are a lot of things I need to work on and It was pretty invent tonight,” Holtby said. “Obviously my rebound control is not even where it usually is and at the NHL level it’s not anywhere near what it should be. I don’t know if that was just nerves or not playing in a long time. That’s just one of the many things.”
Holtby may have some problems with his play but many others don’t. He was named the 2nd star of Sunday matchup and made some key saves to out-duel fellow rookie goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky of the Flyers.
“One of best benefits of the NHL is that I’ve watched every team just as a spectator. I knew Scotty Hartnell and guys like that would be crashing the net pretty hard and I like it when guys do that. It gets me more in the game. I felt I adjusted a bit quicker than I thought I would,” he said.
Holtby may be new to the NHL but he has already endeared himself to fans of the Capitals and Hershey Bears with his trademark superstitious rituals that have become known as “Holtbyisms”. They include the “Holtby Shuffle”, where he furiously skates in place and shakes his arms during the national anthem, a water bottle flick at the end of each period in which he knocks his goalie stick against the pipes several times before flipping the water bottle to himself with the blade of the stick and his pre-game visualizations where he rehearses his moves without a player or puck.
Holtby’s career began on Friday when Boston Bruins winger Shawn Thornton unleashed a backhander past Capitals goalie Michal Neuvirth. It was the third goal given up by Neuvirth within seven minutes and coach Bruce Boudreau decided to shake things up in the 3-3 game. The call from the coach was so unexpected that Holtby was initially unsure it was directed at him.
“I didn’t know if he was talking to me or not,” Braden Holtby recalled after the Capitals practice on Saturday.
“I said ‘Pardon’.
He said ‘are you ready?’”
And with the 21 year-old gathered his equipment, put on his mask and stepped on to rink to make his NHL debut.
The suddenness of his appearance and the sight of some former teammates from his days with the Hershey Bears eased his nerves that night. So did the breathing techniques he uses to keep his cool. “Once Bruce told me to go in it’s just adrenaline.” Holtby said. “When I looked up I saw Alzner and Carlson out there and it was just like I done it a lot of times before….Whenever you see Karl [Alzner] back there you feel pretty calm… It just happened so fast I can’t even remember what went on.”
Holtby played the last 10 minutes for Washington and made four saves while the Capitals offense responded to the change, scoring two goals after he entered the contest. When the final horn sounded, the Marshall, Saskatchewan native had his first NHL victory.
“It definitely wasn’t what I was expecting for my first NHL win, but I will take it,” he said.
Holtby’s friends were so keen to congratulate him on the victory that he had to turn off his phone to get some rest.
Holtby’s parents were as surprised as he was about his participation in the game—so surprised that they almost missed their son’s milestone. They had just purchased the NHL cable package and did not manage to
get it to work until just before the Bruins third goal.
“They got it figured out and they turned it on a minute before they scored their third goal. Then my mom started to have a little panic attack when I started to go on. It worked out nice that they got to see it,” Holtby said. “It wasn’t only my dream, it was my parents as well because they helped me.”
That wasn’t always the case. Holtby’s father, a former goalie for the Western Hockey League’s Saskatoon Blades for whom Braden also played for, discouraged it initially. “My dad always tried to convince me not to be a goalie–mostly on the fact, I think, because the goalie’s equipment is so expensive,” Holtby told Caps Snaps in July. “I always loved the position.”
As for his teammates, they presented him with the game puck and winger Jason Chimera awarded him the hard hat, which is given after Capitals’ victories to the team’s hardest worker.
Holtby acknowledged that it has been odd sitting on the bench in Washington prior to his first NHL appearance, something he has rarely been forced to do. “Last couple of weeks have been kind of weird for me, just practicing and watching Neuvy play.” But Holtby had nothing but praise for his fellow rookie netminder. “It was definitely nice to observe those games, watching Neuvy play. He has been playing terrific up to this point in the season. You can learn a lot from a guy like that especially just watching how he’s calm throughout, you know, the play’s so quick out there. He is a calming influence. I’ve tried to take his game and put a bit into mine in these last couple of years.”
Holtby has risen quickly up the Capitals depth chart. This time last year he was playing with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays. “I did not expect it to happen this quick… But over the years I always believed in my talents, that I would get here one time, whether it was one year or four years,” he said. “It is nice to get a taste of it and realize what it feels like to be on the ice, but I would kind of like to have that every second night.”
Said Holtby in July: “If something happens that I get my opportunity, I will be ready to prove myself.” And tonight he was.
Russian Machine Never Breaks has more on ‘Holtbyisms’ here and you can read more about Holtby in our profile of him.
