Unsupportive Eagle

Belfour wishing his son would be a forward, not a goalie

By Jim Kernaghan, SLAM! Sports

Eddie the Eagle sat across from The Eaglet Tuesday, voicing the stark admission that he didn't want his son to be a goaltender.

Nope, said the Toronto Maple Leafs' starting goalie as he doffed his brand-new pads at Steve McKichan's Future Pro goaltender school, where he registered son Dayn as a forward when the youngster clamoured to play hockey at age 5.

Eventually, as surely as sons of many auto racers and lawyers and dentists gravitate toward the old man's line of work, the son wound up following in pop's footsteps.

"I kind of wanted him to be a forward," a dripping Belfour said after the pair faced shots from the Detroit Red Wings' Jason Williams for an hour.

"At home when we played floor hockey in the hall, he'd want to be goalie. He played a game now and then, but eventually he came to the decision he wanted to try it fulltime. And I wasn't going to stop him from trying."

Perhaps the fatherly concern was borne of knowing the unique shoals goaltenders encounter. Perhaps, as one of the game's ranking 'keepers, Belfour's fear comparisons are apt to be made.

But the 14-year-old wants to follow his dad to the National Hockey League.

"I played basically all positions, then I just wanted to try stopping pucks," Dayn said. "I kind of thought the idea of pucks coming at you was cool."

Eddie was asked how cool he felt about pucks coming at him. "Only if you stop them," he laughed.

As cool as he is between the pipes, The Eagle knows about heat, too. He was in position to get his tail feathers singed the moment he signed on with the Leafs last year as the replacement for the enormously popular Curtis Joseph. He didn't feel under any particular pressure, he said, because he had experienced it before.

"Fans really get attached to their goalie and rightfully so. It just shows how passionate the fans are.

"When I joined Dallas, Andy [Moog] had been there. Curtis and Andy both had great reputations. Pretty soon, the fans see how hard you work and they love you, too."

While that fan ardour did not extend to all Leafs, particularly after they failed to get out of the first round of last spring's Stanley Cup playoffs, Belfour was untouched by any rancor.

The Leafs' first-round playoff loss to the Philadelphia Flyers notwithstanding, the veteran goalie easily was the team MVP, ranking third in the NHL in wins (37), fifth in shutouts (seven), sixth in save percentage (.922) and 11th in goals-against average (2.26). Belfour's 37 victories set a single-season franchise record.

Meantime, Joseph wound up as hockey's version of a solitary confinement when the Wings brought Dominik Hasek out of retirement.

"It's a tough situation and I feel badly for him -- for anybody in that situation," said Belfour.

"It's kind of happened to other goalies. But he'll bounce back."

Belfour didn't know where, although New York Rangers seem to the consensus destination for Joseph.

The Eagle and Eaglet faced shots for an hour, and while it's ridiculously early to make any comparisons, son surely has been watching father closely. Their styles are similar, with Dayn mirroring his father's attention to technique.

New rules on pads, said Belfour Sr., don't concern him. Height of pads will be limited to 38 inches. "It won't affect me," Belfour said, demonstrating how a rigid slat has been used shin-side of pads. "I never used that piece."

While son is looking forward to making the goaltending craft a career, his dad is looking forward to a new Leaf season. It begins in Scandinavia, where the Leafs play in Finland and Sweden next month before returning home to complete their preseason schedule.

"Sweden should be a good experience," The Eagle offered. "Been to Finland and Norway but never to Sweden."

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