How a Winnipeg goalie coach became an emergency backup goaltender for the Winnipeg Jets

By day, Byron Spriggs is a goalie coach helping kids hone their skills between the pipes.

By night, there is a chance Spriggs could take the ice at Canada Life Centre as an emergency backup goaltender (EBUG) in an NHL game.

It's a situation unique to the NHL, if a goalie on either team gets injured a non-NHL player has to suit up and be ready just in case.

"It's a double-edged sword. It's a feeling of, 'Yeah, I want to go in there, that would be the coolest thing ever and absolutely not because I don't want to get embarrassed,'" said Spriggs.

Spriggs has been playing goalie since he was seven years old and it was a position that just stuck.

"Making a big save and being a bit of a game changer. That was always a lot of fun. I mean, it makes me sound a little bit like I like the spotlight. But that's not the case. I just really enjoyed being in the net and being able to kind of have a little bit of that pressure on you to make a big save, change the game a little bit."

Byron Spriggs celebrating a championship win with the Winnipeg Blues of the MJHL. (Source: Byron Spriggs)

He would play his high school hockey in Winnipeg before joining the Winnipeg Blues of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) - winning a championship in his final year with the team.

Following the championship run, he played five years with the University of Manitoba Bisons. That's when he was approached by the Winnipeg Jets about joining the EBUG program.

"I ended up getting a call from Craig Heisinger, who works for the Jets and the Moose, and he just said it's something that the NHL was kind of piloting and trying out and if me and a couple of other Bisons guys, and some past Bisons, I believe as well at the time, were interested in kind of basically going to a game every once in a while and just sitting there with (our) gear in the car just in case. And for us, it was a bit of a no-brainer."

He is now one of a handful of backup goalies who attend a game around once a month on the off chance their services will be needed.

Spriggs has had to put his pads on twice over the years - for the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche -but he has never taken the ice.

"I would say the closest I got was with Colorado. I was actually able to sit beside the glass – so where the away goalie sits kind of down the tunnel there. They allowed me when I put my gear on and their jersey on to sit down right by the glass there and be a bit of a part of the NHL experience, which was really cool."

Byron Spriggs sitting at ice level serving as the backup for the Colorado Avalanche. (Source: Byron Spriggs)

When Spriggs isn't playing the role of a potential third-string saviour, he's teaching a variety of skill levels, from beginners to players in the Western Hockey League (WHL).

He has also coached for the Bisons, the Blues in the MJHL, and the Winnipeg ICE in the WHL before they relocated.

"With the youth, that's really, I think a big part of where my passion lies. It's just educating and teaching kids and interacting with them. I really enjoy that piece of it."

His students also enjoy having him as a coach saying they have improved since working with him.

Byron Spriggs sitting in gear for the Dallas Stars after one of their goalies was injured in a game. (Source: Byron Spriggs)

"I think he's really good with getting you out of lazy mode sometimes and to make sure to push hard," said Brenden Wells, one of the goalies Spriggs teaches.

"He's pretty awesome. He helps you through everything. Even if you're stuck on something he will help you through it," said William Chan, another one of Spriggs's students.

Spriggs said he would love to one day have the chance to throw on a Jets jersey and help the team if needed - a sentiment felt by his students as well.

"That would be sick. That would be cool. Seeing my goalie coach in the NHL, that would be amazing," said Wells.