David Ayres drafted in as emergency goalie for HurricanesAyres usually works as Zamboni driver for minor league teamDavid Ayres was sitting in the stands with his wife at Scotiabank Arena when Carolina Hurricanes goalie James Reimer went down with an injury. Ayers, the on-call emergency netminder in
Toronto, left his seat and got half dressed into his gear on the off-chance something might happen to Carolina’s second option, Petr Mrazek.
Midway through the second period, Ayres noticed his cell phone had started to blow up. What he didn’t realize was Mrazek had been hurt in a scary collision with Maple Leafs forward Kyle Clifford and was down on the ice. The next thing the 42-year-old Zamboni driver knew, he was walking down the tunnel and into the spotlight. And not long after, he had an improbable first NHL win. He is the oldest goalie in NHL history to win his regular-season debut.