Without question the Powell River Kings have had their share of high calibre goaltenders over 26 years.
Names like Josh Watson, Carson Chubak and Chris Rawlings stand out with local heroes Chad Vizzutti and Sean Maguire, but Michael Garteig’s record and current run is very impressive.
His rookie year was an inauspicious one game relief appearance for Chubak in 2008-09 where he allowed two goals on five shots in just 13 minutes of action.
The youngster rode the pine while the Kings battled through the playoffs only to lose to the Vernon Vipers four games to two.
The next year Watson (GAA 2.27) and Garteig (2.92) combined for 36 wins and helped the Kings claw back from a 3-1 deficit to the league champion Alberni Valley Bulldogs and win in the seventh game.
Once again, however, Kings fell to the Vipers with a 3-1 seventh game loss.
Garteig led the Kings in the 2010-11 season with a scintillating performance while recording 36 wins on a 1.69 GAA. He won goaltender of the year and combined with Maguire for goaltending duo honours.
The following year was a bit of a shock for Kings’ fans when Garteig supposedly headed for college but ended up in a three-way trade that landed him in Penticton with the Vees and brought high-scoring forward Evan Richardson to Powell River.
“Michael was going to college and Maguire, who was his back-up and heir apparent was more than capable of taking over,” remembered Kings head coach and general manager Kent Lewis, “but school or for whatever reason meant Garteig was going to stay another year. Our plan was Maguire all along and Michael knew that and at the end of the day it worked out well for him.
“Hey, he won a national championship, they beat us in the league final.”
Garteig was very popular in and outside of the arena and he remembers Powell River fondly.
“Powell River is a beautiful place,” he said, “and I miss my billet families, the Villanis and Rowbothams. The people there were so supportive and that’s something that is really special and I’ll always be thankful for that.”
The move did turn out to be a pivotal one in Garteig’s career as he and the Vees dominated the league and set a junior hockey record with a 42-game winning streak.
“That was a special year for sure,” he recalled, “and looking back on it is pretty cool. Players come to college every year and they still talk about that team and it’s nice to be a part of something like that.”
The next year he attended Quinnipiac University and while he mostly backed up Pittsburgh Penguin’s draft pick Eric Hartzell from the bench he turned that into a positive.
“Hartzell’s work ethic was special,” Garteig said. “Off the ice, in the weight room, he was just like anyone else, but when he got onto the ice, he was a different human for sure. He flicked a switch and turned it on and that’s probably what I took out of it. When I’m practicing, I’m always at 100 per cent.”
In his sophomore year, Garteig recorded 24 wins in 40 games with six shutouts and a measly 1.94 GAA, a performance that sparked .650 winning percentage and a spot in the 16-team bracket for the Frozen Four (the final four teams battling for National Collegiate Athletic Association’s ice hockey championship).
Those kinds of numbers will attract some attention and as a result he was invited to the Vancouver Canucks’ development camp.
“I was fortunate to play a couple of good games in front of a Vancouver scout,” he said. “After talking with my advisor and living in BC [Prince George] I committed to going to their camp. I was excited to go to Vancouver because it’s right in my backyard and my family could come down and watch me play.”
He was pleased with how he played and thought the experience went well. “I thought I played very well actually,” he said, “and I was happy with myself. I prepared and trained really hard and I came there ready and I think that made a difference.
This was another step toward his goal of playing in the National Hockey League but Garteig remains focused on the process.
“It was nice to get that out of the way so I could focus on hockey back here with my team,” he said, from Quinnipiac where he is studying business marketing with a minor in psychology.
Imagine that, a goaltender studying mental functions and behaviours of other people.
