Goaltender Brent Krahn makes a save for the Calgary Flames during a 2006 pre-season game. (Larry MacDougal/Canadian Press)
Feature
Krahn staying on target
Winkler goalie chasing NHL dream
Last Updated Fri., Feb. 1, 2008
By Chris Iorfida, CBC Sports
Brent Krahn has enjoyed a taste of NHL life but is still battling to follow in the footsteps of his boyhood idol as goaltender of the Calgary Flames.
Krahn, drafted ninth overall by Calgary in 2000, has lived the itinerant life of a professional hockey player since growing up in Winkler, Man., site of CBC's eighth Hockey Day in Canada.
"My career's brought me to a lot of places and I’ve been able to meet a lot of great people and it all started in Winkler with great coaches and my parents driving me to practice," he told CBCSports.ca.
The six-foot-five, 210-pound goaltender currently plays for the Quad City Flames in the American Hockey League. It's the latest town in a minor league career that has included several stops far removed from Winkler's hockey-mad culture, like Las Vegas, San Antonio and Omaha.
Krahn has yet to gain a foothold in the NHL, though he has played in the preseason and was the backup of record to Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff for one game in the playoffs last spring when Jamie McLennan was suspended.
Krahn began tending net at the age of nine, idolizing Calgary goaltender Mike Vernon.
Injuries derail first-round promise
He still remembers the fun he had in Winkler playing for coaches like Bernie Wiebe and Ed Penner, uncle of current Edmonton Oiler Dustin Penner.
"There’s so many people you remember that helped you from your hometown and helped get you where you are," said Krahn.
The 25-year-old was the second of two goalies selected in the first round of the 2000 draft, with New York Islander Rick DiPietro going first overall.
Krahn had gained attention for his rookie season in the Western Hockey League, where he posted a 33-6 record and had four shutouts for the Calgary Hitmen, helping the club to the league's top regular season record.
Serious knee injuries curtailed his progress late in his WHL career and it wasn't until 2004-05 with the Lowell Lock Monsters of the American Hockey League that he was able to play more than 30 games in a season again.
That season, he and Cam Ward each posted six shutouts for Lowell. One year later, Ward was accepting the Conn Smythe Award as the playoff's most valuable player for the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes, while Krahn was plying his trade in Omaha.
"Playing in Omaha definitely there wasn’t a whole lot of people coming to the games and it was too bad, because it was a nice city," said Krahn. "When you play in certain places that don’t have a big hockey buzz, it’s frustrating sometimes because you go to the game and there’s nobody in the stands and the atmosphere just isn’t as electric or passionate."
Late bloomers offer hope
The minor league franchise moved, and this season he is 6-6-2 with a 2.49 goals-against average with Quad City, based in Moline, Ill. With Calgary recently signing veteran Curtis Joseph, and Curtis McIlhenney's subsequent move back to the AHL, Krahn's playing time has dipped of late.
Krahn isn't despairing, nor should he. The late-blossoming NHL career of Tim Thomas and the comebacks of Ty Conklin and Alex Auld have made it clear that NHL clubs need veteran goaltending depth should injuries or trades occur.
"Everyone has their own path to the NHL," said Krahn. "Some guys get there right away and some guys it takes a little bit.
"But that’s the nature of the game and that’s why we keep battling through. It’s not an easy place to get to and you realize that when you’re trying to get there."
Krahn lives in Calgary in the off-season with his wife and two kids, but still gets back to Winkler to visit family and friends whenever he can. He said the passion for hockey in the community has only increased since he was a kid.
"There’s always people booking up the ice and having a good time if it’s just a pickup game of shinny or a playoff game for the Winkler Flyers Jr. A., it’s always full."
Hockey Day in Canada
- 12:00 p.m. - HDIC from Winkler, Man.
- 3:00 p.m. - Detroit at Toronto
- 6:30 p.m. - Scotiabank Hockey Tonight
- 7:00 p.m. - Montreal at Ottawa
- 7:00 p.m. - Edmonton at Calgary 10:00 p.m. - Colorado at Vancouver
When: Feb. 9, 2008
Host: Winkler, Man.
Theme: CBC's 8th annual Hockey Day in Canada will celebrate "The Journey," exploring how people's lives are shaped and changed by the game of hockey.
Other locations: New Glasgow, N.S., Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu,
Que., Ottawa, Cochrane, Ont., Black Diamond, Alta., Cowichan, B.C.
Broadcast schedule:
Related
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- Hockey Journeys: Jon Sim
- Hockey Journeys: Winkler Flyers
- Hockey Journeys: Brent Krahn
- Hockey Journeys: Ed Belfour
- Hockey Journeys: Curtis Glencross
- WATCH NOW: Late-night shinny matches are the soul of hockey
- WATCH NOW: SK8 hockey hits the streets of East Vancouver
- WATCH NOW: Jarome Iginla knows hockey is about highs and lows
- WATCH NOW: Shane Doan says hockey has given him a lot
- WATCH NOW: Nick Foligno remembers hockey uniting a town
