When Players Became Goalies: The Unexpected Rookie Cards in My Archive

One of the most interesting discoveries I've made while building my goalie rookie card archive is that not every player who appears in it was actually a goaltender.

In the NHL's early years, teams didn't carry dedicated backup goalies. If the starting netminder was injured or couldn't continue, a teammate often stepped into the crease for the rest of the game. As a result, a surprising number of skaters are officially credited with playing at least one NHL game as a goaltender, even though they spent their entire careers virtually at another position.

From my perspective as a collector, that raises an interesting question: if a player officially played goal in the NHL, shouldn't they be included in a goalie rookie card archive?

My answer is yes.

That's why you'll find players such as Lester Patrick, Art Ross, Hugh Plaxton, Normie Himes, Jerry Toppazzini, and several others throughout the archive. Some famously volunteered to play goal in emergency situations, while others were simply the next man available when a team had no backup waiting on the bench. Their time in goal may have lasted only a single game—or even part of one—but it officially counts in the NHL record books.

The most famous example is Lester Patrick, who, at 44 years old and serving as coach of the New York Rangers, famously put on the pads during the 1928 Stanley Cup Final after an injury to starting goaltender Lorne Chabot. Patrick helped the Rangers defeat the Montreal Maroons in one of hockey's greatest stories, forever earning his place among the NHL's goaltenders.

The Cleghorn Brothers both strapped on the pads in relief of an injured goalie

Others, like George Redding, Normie Himes, and Jerry Toppazzini, are fascinating reminders of a different era of hockey, when almost anyone on the roster might suddenly find themselves guarding the net. Their appearances were brief, but they are part of NHL history—and that makes them part of my archive.

These players may not have built their careers in the crease, but the NHL officially recognizes them as goaltenders. Since my archive is dedicated to documenting every player who has played goal in the NHL, they deserve a place alongside the career netminders.

Sometimes the most interesting rookie cards in the archive belong to players who only played one game in goal—but that one game was enough to earn their place in hockey history.