Ten months after his first start in the National Hockey League, Laurent Brossoit played his second game in goal for the Edmonton Oilers on a Hockey Night in Canada telecast Saturday night.
Playing at Rexall Place in Edmonton against the Winnipeg Jets, the Cloverdale Minor Hockey alum made 32 saves but lost 2-1 in a shootout.
“I felt pretty good for the most part,” said Brossoit. “There’s still some things I want to tidy up at this level. But for the most part, I felt good. It feels good to get a point but shootouts are something I’m pretty confident in so it’s kind of frustrating losing a point that way.”
Drafted in the sixth round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Calgary Flames, the 22 year-old Brossoit has played 127 games for four teams in the ECHL or American Hockey League (AHL) over the past three seasons.
Traded by the Flames to the Oilers early in the 2013-14 season, he played his first NHL game last April 9 in Edmonton, making 49 saves in a 3-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks.
Until he was called up to the NHL club last Wednesday, Brossoit was with the Oilers’ farm team in the AHL. In 26 games with the Bakersfield Condors this season, he had a 14-8-3 (win-loss-overtime loss) record, a 2.70 goals against average, a .921 save percentage and three shutouts. He was selected to play in the AHL All-star Game.
Although he was expected to get a start with the Oilers this week, he was a surprise starter Saturday after first-string netminder Cam Talbot missed the morning skate with an illness.
Although he didn’t get the win, he impressed his teammates with his performance.
“LB played great for us in net. Heck of a job coming in,” said Oilers centre Matt Hendricks. “He kind of wasn’t expecting to play tonight, so he did a heck of a job.”
Brossoit admitted the time of his call-up to the NHL team was a minor surprise.
“I wouldn’t say I was down there by the phone waiting. I’d like to think I was patient and I knew my time would come,” he said. “I know circumstance has a lot to do with it. I was just patient and a call came sooner than I thought, which was nice.”
He did see some familiar faces in the Oilers lineup, former teammates from Bakersfield and Oklahoma City.
“I’m a big believer in Brossoit,” said Oilers defenceman Brent Davidson. “He’s done a great job. I played with him in the minors and he competes like no other.”
