MONDAY FEATURE: Metcalf Makes Most Of AHL Debut

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ALLENTOWN, Pa. - One of the few positives resulting from the COVID pandemic in the hockey world is that it has allowed a chance for many to step up into the limelight during a time in which it's most needed at the American Hockey League (AHL) level, with NHL clubs re-instating the taxi squads from last season and plucking players across the board to strengthen the depth of the expanded NHL rosters.

Lehigh Valley Phantoms head coach Ian Laperriere was honest in telling Inside AHL Hockey that he wasn't sure what he was going to get from a goaltender the team had signed to a professional tryout contract last week.

But with goaltenders Felix Sandstrom and Kirill Ustimenko in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers, and Samuel Ersson injured, the team needed a second goalie to pair with veteran Pat Nagle.

"I didn't know the [kid], like he was in Utah. And the only way I knew [that] is because I Google his name." Laperriere said of bringing in the team's fifth goaltender of the season.

That kid from Utah is 25-year-old Garrett Metcalf, a Salt Lake City native and former 2015-6th round pick of the Anaheim Ducks. Heading into the weekend with two games on the schedule, Metcalf was informed during his first practice with the team that if all went to plan he'd be getting the start in net Saturday night at home against the Bridgeport Islanders.

"Just prepared like any other game," Metcalf said of his opportunity to step in and make his AHL debut. "Obviously, my excitement was probably a little bit higher than normally playing in the ECHL, but the guys made it really easy out there. And my nerves were pretty calm after probably the first five minutes."

Metcalf more than made the most of his AHL debut Saturday night, stopping all but one of the 26 shots he faced in securing a 2-1 overtime win - his first in the AHL after quite a whirlwind of a week coming out of the holiday break.

The way Metcalf explained it, his ECHL team Utah Grizzlies was having trouble getting to their December 27 road game against the Rapid City Rush. On the day after Christmas, and several flight cancellations later, he said they opted to rent four rental vehicles and make the drive themselves - from Utah to Rapid City, South Dakota - not getting to their destination until around 1AM Monday.

"Woke up the next morning, had a pregame skate - I think it was the first time I skated and probably close to 10 days," Metcalf explained, adding, [I] played that night."

Meanwhile, through all of this, Metcalf had heard from his agent Scott Norton of Norton Sports Management that the possibility was there that his services might be needed at the AHL level. After the game, Metcalf said he got a text from his agent that he was indeed going to be added to the AHL Phantoms' roster.

"Kind of, you know, got all my things in order. I think I had three T shirts to my name when I first got here," Metcalf explained of his arrival to the Phantoms for practice mid-week last week.

Luckily for Metcalf, his father Steve - a longtime official in the old IHL - was able to be in attendance for his son's first AHL game Saturday night. He also brought Garrett some clothes to give him a little bit more of a wardrobe than what he came to town with.

Even outside of a crazy last week of travel, it's been quite a bumpy road for Metcalf to get this far in pro career according to Norton.

Getting his start in the USHL in 2014-15, Metcalf put together a solid rookie season with the Madison Capitals and was later selected in the sixth round of the 2015 NHL Draft by the Anaheim Ducks. He was traded to Waterloo in his 2nd USHL season, and later committed to the University of Lowell-Mass to play Division I NCAA hockey in the 2016-17 season.

After it became obvious he wasn't going to get much of a chance at U-Mass Lowell, Metcalf chose to forego the 2017-18 season in order to execute a transfer to Mercyhurst College where he spent the next two years playing a prominent role as the team's starting goaltender.

He had planned on executing a graduate transfer to play at Michigan Tech for the 2020-21 season but after their head coach pulled the commitment out from under him, Metcalf was fortunate enough to land at the new D1 program at Long Island University (LIU) - which Norton called "a great experience with an upstart program."

After his collegiate career ended last season, the Anaheim Ducks chose not to sign Metcalf to an entry-level contract - leaving him on the lookout for work again.

"He became a free agent but without a home," Norton said of Metcalf's status last spring. "He got an opportunity with his hometown Utah Grizzlies at the end of last season, and played great. That's where he began this season, until we got the call from the Flyers.  It's a tough world right now for goalies if you are not under an NHL contract."

All in all, Norton says that Metcalf has been a true professional and a class act through all the bumps and bruises in his hockey journey that ultimately got him a look at the pro level, and now - for the first time in his career - a chance at the AHL level.

"That's the only thing I came here to do is just help the team win in any way possible," Metcalf said, adding, "When I'm not playing be a good teammate. And, you know, just work hard during practice and try to make those guys better. Soak in as much as I can and use it as a learning experience and continue to develop."

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