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Beer league games are the hockey equivalent of pickup basketball, and you’re usually not going to encounter world-class players doing their thing on the ice. However, there was a very notable exception in Ontario courtesy of Connor McDavid, and a goalie who managed to shut him down walked away with a story he’ll probably be telling for the rest of his life.
The vast majority of people who grow up dreaming of becoming a professional athlete when they’re older are eventually forced to accept that fate simply isn’t in the cards. Many will end up abandoning the sports they played when they were younger, but plenty of others will keep grinding by playing them recreationally.
You never know who you’re going to end up playing against if you go that route, and there’s always a chance you’ll find yourself being humbled by someone who was good enough to play in college or even got a taste of the pro athlete dream at some point—an experience that tends to give you quite the reality check.
On Wednesday, some beer league hockey players in Ontario got the surprise of a lifetime when Connor McDavid decided to get in on the action, and things didn’t exactly play out how you might expect.
A beer league goalie stood on his head to lead his team to a win against Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl
McDavid was born and raised outside of Toronto, and he headed back to the area in the offseason before making the trek to the Magna Centre in the suburb of Newmarket on Wednesday with fellow Oiler Leon Draisaitl to take part in a beer league game being held at the rink.
As you may expect, the duo didn’t exactly leave it all on the ice given the fairly low stakes. With that said, you’d probably think an amateur team that suddenly found itself with two NHL superstars on its roster wouldn’t have much trouble rolling over the competition.
However, that did not end up being the case, as the squad McDavid and Draisaitl linked up with found themselves trailing 4-0 in the second period and ultimately lost by a score of 6-2. The former had plenty of opportunities to score, but neither he nor his teammate was able to record a goal thanks in no small part to the goalie who stood on his head to help his team secure the victory.
Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner got plenty of strays from fans who hopped into the comments to urge the Oilers to sign the netminder in question, and while he may not have an NHL contract in his immediate future, he did get an unreal tale he’ll be able to trot out for the rest of his days.
He’s not the only one, as Bar Down also chatted with the referees who oversaw the contest after it wrapped up in an interview where they got to reflect on the opportunity of a lifetime.
You love to see it.