Chris Levesque
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Position | Goaltender |
| Height Weight |
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg/12 st 7 lb) |
| Nationality |  Canada |
| Born | August 6, 1980 , Port Coquitlam, BC, CAN |
| Pro career | 2003 – 2003 |
Chris Levesque (born August 6, 1980) is a former ice hockey goaltender for the University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbirds. Under bizarre circumstances, he was called up to serve for one game as a backup goaltender for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL).
On December 9, 2003, the Canucks were hosts to the Pittsburgh Penguins. That morning, their starting goalie Dan Cloutier injured his groin. The Canucks planned to start Johan Hedberg in Cloutier's place, but they still needed a backup. Under normal circumstances, they would have recalled Alex Auld from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Manitoba Moose.[1] However, the Moose were on the east coast, several time zones away, and Auld could not arrive in Vancouver on time.[1] Under NHL rules, the Canucks needed to find an undrafted player who had never played in the NHL.
Milan Drajicevic, the coach of the UBC T-Birds, happened to be at the practice when Cloutier was injured, and he suggested the Canucks use Levesque.[2] At the time Levesque was in one of the many UBC libraries studying for a geography exam he had the next morning. His friends and teammates scoured the campus, and when they found him, he assumed he was the victim of a prank.[1] Once he realized the situation was real, he quickly received a one-time exemption from Canadian Interuniversity Sports rules to play in the NHL, and drove to GM Place to take a spot on the bench.
When Cloutier failed to take the warm-up skate, Levesque officially took the position of backup goaltender for the game. There was an extremely low chance that Levesque would have to play. However, a late first period collision between Hedberg and Konstantin Koltsov nearly forced Levesque to play.[1] Luckily, Hedberg was not hurt. Levesque finished the game as a backup; the closest he came to any game action was taking warm-up shots before the game.[1] The Canucks won 4-3 in overtime, and Levesque was not paid for his performance,[2] although he kept his #40 jersey.[1] He did not expect to return to play for the Canucks, but described his experience as "surreal" and "a great time," particularly highlighting being scored on by Todd Bertuzzi during practice.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f Kuzma, Ben. "Backup back to books; Stand-in goalie tracked down in UBC library", The Province, 2003-12-10. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
- ^ a b "Levesque's studies can wait for one game", ESPN, 2003-12-10. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
- ^ "Canucks dress UBC goalie as backup", Canadian Press, 2003-12-10. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
[edit] External links
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Levesque, Chris |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Canadian ice goaltender |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 6, 1980 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Port Coquitlam, British Columbia |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
