Liam Liston punched his ticket to the Memorial Cup as the third goalie for the host Brandon Wheat Kings.
"It's not really an opportunity most 16-year-olds get," Liston said Sunday from Brandon.
Head coach/general manager Kelly McCrimmon didn't rule out bringing Liston back to finish the season when Brandon's goalie of the future was returned to St. Albert in the fall.
"I got the best of both worlds. I got to spend another year with my family and friends and go to school at home and now I'm back in Brandon playing for the Stanley Cup of junior hockey," said the third round pick (57th overall) by the Wheaties in the 2008 Western Hockey League bantam draft.
"Only one team every year has this opportunity and I'm lucky to be part of the organization that has it this year, especially with the kind of team we have. We've probably got about 14 guys who are NHL prospects, which is astronomically high."
Eight players were drafted in 2008 and 2009, including last year's first-round picks Brayden Schenn (fifth overall by Los Angeles) and Scott Glennie (eighth overall by Dallas).
"We have Travis Hamonic, the leading defenceman for Canada's world junior team, and Brayden Schenn, who played a big role there too. The list goes on with the talented guys we have. It's an exciting time for everybody here."
Disappointed he didn't stick with the Wheaties, Liston responded by compiling a league-leading 16-3-3 record with the midget AAA Raiders. He logged 1,238 minutes and tied teammate Brad Miller for the lowest GAA at 2.23.
Ahead of Liston on Brandon's depth chart are 1990-born goalies Jacob De Serres (third round draft pick by Philadelphia in 2008) and Andrew Hayes.
"Basically I'm here to provide relief for two guys who are exceptional goaltenders and professional hockey prospects," he said. "The reality is they get tired. It's been a long season for them. They've played 72 games, plus the first round already. Some days they just don't want to take any shots and that's when I step in. If there is an injury I'm also here to step in and fulfil whatever role they need.
"But right now it's more of me getting acclimatized to the team for next year."
Liston was recalled March 29 after Brandon swept the Swift Current Broncos in the best-of-seven opening playoff round.
"I hadn't skated for three weeks, so getting back on to the ice and going straight into the skill level these guys have was a little nerve racking," he said. "I had been here for about a month at the start of the year so I knew most of the guys but it took a little bit to get to know the guys that had come in here in trades. We have such a first-class organization here that the guys were great and they made me feel part of the team right away."
Early playoff exit
Brandon inquired about Liston's availability two days after the heavily favoured 23-6-6 Raiders were upset by the 16-11-6 Leduc Oil Kings in the best-of-five north division semifinal. In the last two games he was sidelined with a torn groin and needed time to heal before reporting to the Wheaties.
"We talked and decided the best thing for me to do was to remain at home and spend the extra couple of weeks with family and friends while I did my physio rather than coming here. Once my physiotherapist gave me the OK to start skating again they decided they wanted me to come as soon as I could," he said. "We took the time to heal it right. I had to be 100 per cent healthy so that I would never have to deal with it again."
In the Raiders' only playoff series, Liston was 1-2 against Leduc with a 2.01 GAA, one shutout and .921 save percentage. All three Leduc wins were overtime decisions, including the 3-2 double OT series clincher in St. Albert.
"Our team had high expectations going into the year with the number of guys we had coming back and the number of veterans and the number of older guys from championship teams that were feeders into our system this year. Our coaches [Sandro Pisani and Geoff Giacobbo] did an excellent job right from the get-go as we kept building towards an end goal," said Liston, the 2008/09 north conference all-star team goalie with the St. Albert Flyers in the Alberta minor midget 15 League.
"The 15 league was more of a development year. This year in midget AAA I just wanted to win. All the guys that were part of our program this year wanted to win too. We had aspirations of bringing home the Telus Cup. Obviously it didn't happen but the goal was to get the two points every night and keep pushing forward."
Liston missed the Mac's tournament over the Christmas break because of the World U17 Hockey Challenge. The only midget player on Team Pacific started three games and posted 16 saves in shutting out the Czech Republic 3-0.
"It was unbelievable. It was the experience of a lifetime," said Liston, who was between the pipes for losses of 6-2 against Russia and 2-1 against the United States. "You always hear things about the Canada/Russia or the Canada/United States rivalries but you never truly know what it's like until you're pulling on the Maple Leaf and you go out and stand across from those guys. It's definitely something I will never forget."
Learning curve
Barring anything unforeseen, Liston will spend the remainder of the WHL playoffs and the Memorial Cup watching from the press box. Last weekend he was in Saskatoon as the Wheaties defeated the Blades 6-5 and 4-1. Game three in the eastern conference semifinal is tonight in Brandon.
"[Saturday] night we were on the road and we got home at seven this morning. Everybody hears about all the glamour that comes with playing junior and professional hockey but they don't really see the nine-hour bus rides in the middle of the night and having to go to school or workout or practice the next morning and there are times during the year when you have to do that," said Liston, who starred in net for the Raiders against the Canadian national women's team Jan. 10 and gave up three goals in the 4-2 loss before a sold-out crowd of 2,300 at Performance Arena.
On and off the ice Liston is soaking up the experience of a lifetime.
"Guys teach you a lot of little things on how to prepare yourself. You have to take care of yourself as far as nutrition and staying in the gym because you become very unhealthy with the lifestyle we live on the bus," said the Grade 11 St Albert Catholic High School student who is studying online to help facilitate the transfer.
"I have the luck of talking to [defenceman] Colby Robak a lot and he teaches me little things like how to stay ready and how to prepare myself like a professional and ultimately that is our goal; to play professional hockey."
