Gavin McHale

The epitome of class: The Washington Capitals presented emergency goaltender Gavin McHale with his jersey after the Jets game

Wednesday before facing off against the Winnipeg Jets, the Washington Capitals faced a dilemma when Braden Holtby was too injured to even backup. In stepped emergency goaltender Gavin McHale, a Jets season-ticket holder, former WHL goalie, and goaltending coach for the University of Manitoba women’s team. McHale also works as a strength coach and runs a fitness-focused website.

That night, McHale took shots from Alex Ovechkin and the rest of the reigning Stanley Cup champions during warmups and was treated like a veteran player in the locker room. The experience allowed McHale to fulfill an NHL dream he had as a kid. After the game, McHale told a crush of media that he just hoped the Capitals would let him keep the jersey.

Well, I have some great news. In an interview with RMNB Tuesday, McHale revealed the Capitals presented his sweater to him as a surprise after the game. He also got some special gifts from Alex Ovechkin and Braden Holtby.

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By Ian Oland 2 years ago

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RMNB chats with Caps emergency backup goalie Gavin McHale

The Capitals have hit the twenty-game threshold with an overtime thriller in Montreal, Tom Wilson has returned to action, a bunch of players are hurt, and the standings are weird. In this episode of the RMNB podcast, we discuss all of that – plus Ian hits a major milestone and has a chat with Gavin McHale, the emergency goalie who backed up Pheonix Copley in Winnipeg. Ian and Gavin discuss the call-up, who greeted him with the team, and if the team did right by him.

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By Peter Hassett 2 years ago

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Gavin McHale lived his NHL dream serving as the Capitals’ emergency goaltender. He just hoped they’d let him keep the jersey.

Less than two hours before puck drop against the Winnipeg Jets, the Washington Capitals faced a goaltending quandary. Braden Holtby, the team’s scheduled starting goaltender, would not be able to play due to an upper-body injury. Pheonix Copley was forced to tend the twine for the second straight night. The Caps top goaltending prospect Ilya Samsonov couldn’t be called up from Hershey because the Russian’s flight would not arrive in time, leaving the team without a backup.

The Stanley Cup champions turned to the Winnipeg Jets’ emergency goaltender pool and signed 31-year-old Gavin McHale, a six-foot, seven-inch University of Manitoba hockey coach, to be the team’s backup goalie. The jacked physical trainer, who played three seasons of junior hockey and posted a sub-.900 save percentage during his time in the WHL, spends his Saturdays playing on a beer-league team called Shake N Bake.

Plucked off the street, McHale selflessly skipped dinner and grinded through rush hour traffic to be an NHL hockey player for the evening.

“I got here as fast as I could, basically told everyone I knew and got here as fast as I could,” McHale said. “I was coming from the south end so I had to fight a bit of traffic, but I was weaving my way in and out.”

The Capitals, Alex Ovechkin in particular, didn’t take it easy on McHale during warmups.

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By Ian Oland 2 years ago

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Capitals dress emergency goalie Gavin McHale to back up Pheonix Copley, Braden Holtby is out

Braden Holtby was supposed to be in net against the Winnipeg Jets Wednesday night. But not anymore. According to the Capitals PR, Holtby suffered an upper-body injury and Pheonix Copley will get the start.

With Holtby out, the Capitals will dress an emergency goalie, 31-year-old Gavin McHale, to ride the bench.

This will be a back-to-back for Copley, who let in two goals on 28 shots last night against the Minnesota Wild.

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By Brennin Weiswerda 2 years ago

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