The first word out of Patrick Killeen, this year’s Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East Goaltender of the Year, when asked as a young boy to take his turn in net was an emphatic, unequivocal “no.”
As minor hockey goes, Killeen started the sport using a roving goaltender, meaning every player was scheduled to take his or her turn in net. Killeen wanted no part of it.
“It was my turn and I argued with them, saying I didn’t want to go goalie, but I ended up being goalie and I think I did pretty well,” Killeen said.
Fast-forward more than a decade later to 2008. Killeen had just spent the last two seasons with the Brampton Battalion of the OHL and was now eligible to be drafted into the NHL, his lifelong dream.
Ottawa was hosting the NHL draft that year, enabling Killeen and his family to attend what was an awkward event for the young goaltender.
“I was in a weird position because from what I heard from my agent and people around the game, I could have went early but I also could have not got drafted at all,” Killeen said.
Killeen and his family sat, waiting in the audience for some four hours before being selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the sixth round.
With this, he donned the ceremonial jersey and hat, and officially embarked on his career in professional hockey.
After two more seasons with the Battalion, Killeen advanced to Wheeling, West Virginia, where he continued his streak of excellence.
In 40 games, he established himself as a winning goalie with a 19-16 win-loss record to go with a 2.87 goals against average.
Things were looking up and Killeen said he was really starting to enjoy the travel aspect of his new professional hockey life.
“I think that’s the big appeal to it, is you just kind of get to experience all these things that not a lot of people get to experience,” he said. “You spend a week in South Carolina, then you go to Florida, and then a week Michigan, you’re just all over the place.”
This stop-to-stop lifestyle didn’t last forever. In the 2012-13 season, Killeen was traded to the Orlando Solar Bears where he made his last stop in professional hockey. After the season he returned to his home in Carp, Ont., thinking about the next step in his young professional hockey career.
It was then when Marty Johnston, head coach of the Carleton Ravens, gave Killeen a call, asking whether he had given school and university hockey in Canada any consideration.
At first Killeen said he wanted no part of it.
“I wanted to play pro, and I was waiting around all summer trying to see if I was going to end up in the American League or the East Coast League,” he said.
That call never came. Instead his agent advised him to give Johnston a call back and see if there was still a spot for him.
There was, he just wouldn’t be able to do it until 2014, meaning he would have to sit out for a full season and focus solely on school.
Killeen took this experience head on, attending school like a regular student, watching his friends and new Ravens teammates play-out the 2013-14 season.
In the fall of 2014 it was his turn to shine. In his inaugural season, Killeen recorded an impressive 12-2 win-loss record alongside a 2.15 goals against average and .922 save-percentage.
While Killeen said he didn’t put much thought into being this year’s goaltender of the year, Johnston said he was delighted to see “Killer” awarded for his play this season.
“We felt really good with him in net,” Johnston said. “His first or second game he had a rough outing, and after that he was pretty much lights out. To have one loss from October 10 on is pretty impressive.”
It’s that streak of impressive play that Killeen said he hopes to emulate next season.
At 24, and entering his final year of Canadian Interuniversity Sport hockey this fall, Killeen said his dream of playing pro hockey is still alive and well.
“I think when the time is right I just have to call some people and see where I end up,” Killeen said. “Whether I go to Europe for one year or ten years, you just have to take it year by year and see how things turn out.”
