EDMONTON — Wearing Cam Talbot’s old No. 33, Matt Berlin bolted onto the ice looking nothing like the former Oilers star goalie.
His green pads with golden trim couldn’t have clashed more with the Oilers’ navy blue, orange and white reverse retro jersey. The mismatched color scheme and the University of Alberta mask made Berlin stick out like a sore thumb.
None of that mattered because that jersey Berlin was wearing featured his name stitched on the back.
For the last 2:26 of a 7-3 blowout win over Chicago, Berlin was an NHL goaltender.
“The whole day was a whirlwind, but the finish to the day was unbelievable,” the 25-year-old said. “It was a special moment I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.”
Berlin has appeared in the odd Oilers practice in recent years when a regular netminder has been absent. He was also the Edmonton-based emergency backup goalie for the playoff run last season.
So, he thought little of a text he received from Oilers manager of communications Shawn May asking him to come to the rink with his gear for the game. Other than the minor inconvenience of having to set aside his psychology studies for his Monday midterm, Berlin was excited to help.
He figured it would just be another game of sitting in the stands and being the ultimate just-in-case guy.
Instead, May texted him again, roughly three and a half hours before the scheduled puck drop, to notify him that there was more to it than that. Because of an illness to Stuart Skinner, Berlin needed him to be Jack Campbell’s temporary backup.
“I was sitting there doing homework and my heart rate spiked,” Berlin said.
Berlin signed an amateur tryout contract at the rink. The plan was for him to sit on the bench and watch Connor McDavid zip around the ice. With the Oilers comfortably ahead, those plans changed.
In one night, Berlin went from U of A third-stringer to an Edmonton Oiler whose name will be in the Guide and Record Book in the fall.
EBUG ACTIVATED 👀
Matt Berlin, from the University of Alberta (@GBHKY), dressed for the @EdmontonOilers tonight. He saw 2:26 on ice, making one save on one shot for a 1.000 SVP% and a memory that will last a lifetime. pic.twitter.com/go9fvADKPh
— NHL (@NHL) January 29, 2023
“It wasn’t meant for any other purpose than giving a young man a life experience that he’ll never forget,” Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said.
It was McDavid’s idea to get Berlin some game action.
McDavid and Woodcroft talked on the bench just past midway through the third period. Other players and goalie coach Dustin Schwartz were also consulted.
With the Oilers up 7-2, the coach was sold on the pitch and didn’t waver even when Chicago’s Taylor Raddysh scored at 14:47 to close a five-goal advantage to four.
He told Campbell at the last TV timeout with less than five minutes to play in the game. Woodcroft said Campbell was thrilled to give the Edmonton native — a minor-hockey teammate of Skinner’s no less — a chance to play.
Berlin was then informed he’d be going in after a play stoppage.
“I thought they were kidding,” he said. “I thought they were joking.
“(Woodcroft) said, ‘At the three-minute mark, be ready to go. The first whistle after the three-minute mark, you’re going in.’”
Berlin took a few steps back behind his spot on the bench and into the hallway that leads to the Oilers dressing room. He did a few stretches to get warmed up and took a few deep breaths. That’s when his heart started pounding again.
“It was for four minutes after he told me,” Berlin said.
The Oilers wanted to ensure what they were doing was tasteful and somehow not disrespectful to their opponents, one of the league’s cellar-dwellers.
“We were just trying to give a cool moment to someone who was here,” McDavid said. “He lived out a dream to play in the NHL.
“It’s nice to see a moment like that.”
It took Campbell stopping a Max Domi shot and freezing the puck to get a whistle for Berlin to get his chance.
As soon as the referee put his hand up to signify line changes, Woodcroft gave him the go-ahead. Berlin raced onto the ice for the final couple of minutes.
“Once I got in there, I got a drink of water and it was all right,” he said.
Berlin stopped a snapshot from former Oiler Caleb Jones, going a perfect 1-for-1 on shots faced compared to those turned away. The crowd went wild as he easily turned the shot aside.
“It might be the most memorable save I’ve made in my career,” he said, beaming. “It was very special.”
“He handled it great,” defenseman Darnell Nurse said. “He made the save he needed to make. It was great to see.”
Berlin probably won’t play another NHL game. If that’s true he’ll always have a perfect 1.000 save percentage.
“He’s a young kid. You never know what his path can do,” McDavid said. “Maybe we’ll see him one day in the league. For today, he’s played in the NHL. That’s something he can hang his hat on for a while.”
Oilers winger and former junior teammate with WHL Spokane Kailer Yamamoto did not play in the game due to injury. However, he was in the dressing room with his suit and tie on and sat in the stall next to Berlin — who was using Stuart’s usual domain — after the media had dispersed.
As the two chatted, Yamamoto’s smile was almost as wide as Berlin’s. Almost.
“He’s a great guy,” Yamamoto said.
The amateur-level contract Berlin signed means he can’t be paid. He couldn’t sign a professional tryout offer for $500 because he’d never played pro hockey. But the memories he’ll have forever are worth more than a few hundred bucks.
“It was a special moment,” Nurse said. “I hope he enjoyed it all.”
There’s no question that Berlin was over the moon.
He did a “Hockey Night in Canada” postgame interview with Scott Oake and got to keep the iconic towel. He was awarded the team motorcycle vest, given to the player who brought the juice. And he got to wear a brand-new Oilers jersey, one with his very own name on it.
“I’m sure he will carry that memory with him for the rest of his life,” Woodcroft said. “He’ll be in the record books as having played in the National Hockey League.”
(Top photo of Oilers emergency backup goaltender Matt Berlin: Perry Nelson / USA Today)
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