Prairie pride: Local coaches watch as Winnipeg goalie Joel Hofer leads Canada to gold

For some hockey fans, Winnipeg goalie Joel Hofer's standout performance in his first-ever start for Canada on Monday might have come as a surprise.

But for Hofer's former coaches, it was only a matter of time before the 19-year-old got his turn in the spotlight.

One of his off-season coaches caught the last two periods of Sunday's unpredictable gold-medal match at the annual under-20 tournament held in the Czech Republic.

"It was great," said Dan Ferguson, who watched the game from Winnipeg. "He was a big part of the team and I thought he held his emotions really well."​​​​

Hofer took two pucks to the throat to protect the net as Russia funnelled pucks his way, Ferguson said.

One of two Manitobans on the 2020 team, the young goaltender helped secure the podium's top spot for Canada at the world junior hockey championship, battling Russia's 38 shots in a 4-3 win.

"In a gold medal game it can be emotional, there's lots of pressure. And I thought he looked like himself, very calm," Ferguson said.

Ferguson said he knows how much big wins along the way must have meant to the goalie — particularly a 5-0 triumph against Finland in the semi-finals on Saturday.

"A shutout is nice, but I think for him, being able to help his team win here is what he's going to be most proud of," said Ferguson. "Just to bring his team on to the gold medal game will be very important."

Ferguson said there couldn't be a player more deserving than Hofer of all the praise he's been getting during the tournament.

"Joel's a team guy and he's a leader," he said. "We're all proud of him and we wish him all the best."

Talented and determined

"He's a fantastic goalie," said Mike Morden, who coached Hofer when he played on the minor bantam St. James Canadians AA team.

"He was easily the best game goalie that I'd coached in a long time. Best game goalie, period."

Morden said watching Hofer play at the world junior level, he still sees the same calm, strategic player he remembers coaching as a 13-year-old. "[He] knows what he's doing, knows what he wants to get done [and] expects a lot of his players because he puts a lot into it as well," he said. 

Morden said Hofer wasn't always the top goalie — when he was selected for the AA St. James team, it was after being cut from AAA tryouts. The former coach said Hofer still had some things to learn, but he never stopped trying to improve.

"He just took it upon himself, and their family, just to not give up and to explore every opportunity that's available to them," he said. "He just kept with it, knowing that his talent and determination would get him there."

Watching how far Hofer has come, Morden said he feels proud knowing that young goalies will look up to someone he knows is a strong leader who persevered to achieve his goals.

"It's pretty cool for these kids to be on TV, to be somebody that these kids are going to look up to for the next 10 years. It's pretty awesome that it happened here in Winnipeg," he said. "He's a real good kid that's put in the hard work and gotten to where his dreams want him to be."

Prairie pride

Another 19-year-old Manitoban is making his home province proud on the ice.

In a tweet following Sunday's championship, Brandon Mayor Rick Chrest boasted his pride about Calen Addison, who hails from the Prairie city with a population of about 48,000.

A Pittsburgh Penguins prospect, Addison currently represents the Lethbridge Hurricanes in Canada's WHL.