Has anyone had a goalie skater conversion

[chrispw1]

I am wondering has there ever been a player in hockey like Babe Ruth, Rick Ankiel or Trevor Hoffman who either in the NHL or in the minors converted from goalie to skater or vice versa.

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[Fixxer]

Jose Theodore was a skater in minor hockey. I don't remember at which age he switched to goaltending.

 

[wetcoast]

Wow the title seems to imply that being a goalie is a bad thing and they can only be saved by conversion.

Seriously though baseball is a bad comparison to hockey mainly because players can and did play as a pitcher and as a position player virtually their entire youth baseball so there really wasn't a " conversion" per say.

Just a refocus from one position to another.

 

[Doctor No]

Tyrone Garner's story is one of my favorites - you may remember him for his three game stint in nets for the Flames in January 1999. From my site:

• While playing in Norway during the 2005-06 season, Garner suffered a horrible groin injury which ripped the muscles from the bone. Doctors told him that under no circumstances could Garner play as a goaltender for at least one year, so Garner battled back, and skated two seasons as a forward with the SPHL's Jacksonville Barracudas (2006-07 and 2007-08, totalling 24 goals and 49 points in 88 games). He continued his forward career in the OHA Senior League.

Source: Tyrone Garner

 

[Ctrain2k]

Malcolm Subban played defence until like 12.

 

[reckoning]

Gerry Cheevers played a few games at forward in junior.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Gordie Howe was a goalie in grade school. Gump Worsley was a forward into his mid-teens.

 

[NHL WAR]

If I remember correctly, Patrik Laine was a goalie until he was a teenager

 

[VMBM]

Jiri Holecek was a forward until his early teens.

 

[tony d]

I think a few players started out as goalies when they were young. I don't think there's ever been a case of a guy starting out as a goalie then becoming a forward/defenseman.

 

[crobro]

Lester Patrick at 44 made an emergency comeback for the rangers as a goalie

And won the game

Patrick is famous for an incident which occurred on April 7, 1928, during Game 2 of the 1928 Stanley Cup Finals against the Montreal Maroons, while serving as coach and general manager of the Rangers. After starting goaltender Lorne Chabot suffered an eye injury after being hit by the puck in the middle of the second period, Patrick inserted himself into the game as the Rangers' new netminder, offering his now-teammates the words "Boys, don't let an old man down." At the age of 44 years, 99 days, Patrick remains today the oldest man to have played in the Stanley Cup Finals. At the time it was not common for teams to have a backup goaltender, and the opposing team's coach had to allow a substitute goaltender. However, Maroons manager-coach Eddie Gerard refused to give permission for the Rangers to use Alec Connell, the Ottawa Senators' star netminder who was in the stands, as well as minor-leaguer Hugh McCormick. Odie Cleghorn, the then-coach of the Pittsburgh Pirates, stood in for Patrick as coach for the remainder of the game, and directed the Rangers to check fiercely at mid-ice which limited the Maroon players to long harmless shots. Patrick saved 18 to 19 shots while allowing one goal in helping the Rangers to an overtime victory.[7] For the next three games, the league gave permission for the Rangers to use Joe Miller from the New York Americans in goal. The Rangers went on to win the Stanley Cup.[8][1]
Patrick also guided the Rangers to another championship in 1933.[9]

 

[CHIP72]

I'm guessing Ron Hextall played non-goalie positions at times during his youth, due to the fact he was a good stickhandler and his father, uncle, and grandfather were all forwards who played in the NHL.

 

[CHIP72]

Wow the title seems to imply that being a goalie is a bad thing and they can only be saved by conversion.

Seriously though baseball is a bad comparison to hockey mainly because players can and did play as a pitcher and as a position player virtually their entire youth baseball so there really wasn't a " conversion" per say.

Just a refocus from one position to another.

Probably the biggest difference between baseball and hockey as it relates to pitchers converting to becoming position players (or vice-versa) is that in non-designated hitter leagues, pitchers still hit during games like other position players.

It should be noted that many top teenage baseball players are pitchers; in many cases those players are the top or among the top hitters on their teams.

 

[Normand Lacombe]

Martin Brodeur was a forward until the age of 7. Playing forward could partially explain his great puck handling ability.

But when Martin was small, he played as a forward, but at one tournament he was asked to be the team's backup goalie. "The next season," Martin explained, "my coach came up to me and said, 'Do you want to be a goalie or forward this year?' It was the biggest decision of my life, and I was seven years old. I don't know why I decided, but I thought it would be fun to play goal."

Martin Brodeur - Facts about...

 

[Canadiens1958]

I think a few players started out as goalies when they were young. I don't think there's ever been a case of a guy starting out as a goalie then becoming a forward/defenseman.

Gordie Howe was a goalie in grade school.

 

[Troubadour]

As for a brief conversion ability, Dominik Hasek was a flashy sled hockey checking D until he sent guys on breakaways flying. Then, back to the goal, minding the net.

 

[Tarantula]

Gerry Cheevers played a few games at forward in junior.

Gilles Gilbert I believe played as a skater for a JR B team while tending net for the Jr A Knights. Can't find anything on this, perhaps Stan F has struck again?