Matt Onuska, of Waterloo, Ont., has signed an amateur tryout agreement and served as the Toronto Maple Leafs backup goaltender in Tuesday night’s game.
General manager Kyle Dubas said at a media conference earlier in the day that Leafs goalie Ilya Samsonov would be out for the match.
Then in a Twitter post, at around 4:40 p.m., the club said Joseph Woll had been recalled from the Toronto Marlies and Onuska would be serving as the backup goalie.
The Leafs faced off against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Florida.The @MapleLeafs have recalled G Joseph Woll from the @TorontoMarlies on an emergency basis.
Onuska wore number 70 for the Leafs, but only got on the ice for warm up.
ONUSKA ON THE ICE
Onuska started his hockey career with the Waterloo Wolves in 2016 while attending Resurrection Catholic High School. He also played with Waterloo Siskins, St. Thomas Stars, and London Knights, before moving onto the Windsor Spitfires.
Onuska started several games for the Spitfires during their recent Ontario Hockey League (OHL) playoff run, which saw the first-seed Spitfires facing off against the eighth-seeded Kitchener Rangers.
He also started in net in a pivotal game four, in which the Rangers won 5-1 and knocked the Spitfires out of playoff contention.
Had the Spitfires won against the Rangers in round one, Onuska wouldn’t have had the opportunity to wear the blue and white on Tuesday night.
"We lost and I'm sure he's disappointed, but at that moment, our goal as coaches in the OHL is to groom these kids and help them prepare for pro hockey, and hopefully they get a chance to do it," said Michael Leighton, the goalie coach for the Windsor Spitfires. "For me it's a great feeling. To get the news today that Matty gets to go up and have an opportunity to at least just be a part of an NHL team, especially Toronto, is probably pretty exciting for him."
Onuska’s OHL team was rooting for him back at home.
“Just to be putting a Maple Leaf jersey on… I’m kind of jealous,” Leighton said. “I’m sure he’s pumped.”
How often does something like this happen to an OHL player?
Leighton said it’s pretty uncommon.
“Usually there’s guys kicking around the AHL or ECHL that aren’t a part of an NHL contract and can just sign a PTO and jump in,” he said.
Onuska has played 33 games in the OHL, with a save percentage of 0.868. He has racked up 17 wins and 11 loses.
