Mike Moffat

Mike Moffat was a goalie from the first time he ever laced up a pair of hockey skates as a little kid. His father was a general surgeon in Cambridge and his mother was a nurse until she decided to stay home and raise six little Moffats, four boys and two girls.

As a kid Mike never played for a really good team but the turning point in his early career was a six period overtime marathon in a midget tournament that was played in Hamilton. Mike lost the game to a team from Mississauga and the guy who scored the OT goal against him was future NHL'er Dave Morrison.

Later on Mike ran into Dave at a hockey school and Dave talked to his father Jim Morrison (also a former NHL'er) into giving Mike an invitation for a tryout in Kingston. Mike not only made the Kingston Canadians (OHL) but also went on to win the Hap Holmes trophy as OHL's best goalie later on.

Jim Morrison had the biggest influence on Mike in his early career, something that Mike acknowledged.

" I've never really had any instruction in goaltending. I've learned it mostly by trial and error. In minor hockey I was always on my own. But Jimmy Morrison understood goaltending more than any other coach who never played the position. Jimmy really stressed standing up and squaring off to the shooters. Since I was a butterfly goalie I had to go back and learn how to stand up," Mike said.

Boston selected Mike with their 7th choice, 165th overall in 1980.

Mike went on to excel in the 1982 world junior championships where he posted an excellent 1.75 GAA for Canada when they famously won the gold. Mike was selected to the All-Star team and was voted the best goalie of the tournament, ahead of a goalie like John Vanbiesbrouck.

Unfortunately Mike never saw a lot of action in the NHL. He only played a total of 19 games in the regular season for Boston between 1982-84. The highlight of his career besides the Gold in the 1982 WJC was his excellent performance in the 1982 Stanley Cup playoffs where he lead Boston to a series win over Buffalo in 4 games before losing out a tight 7 game series against Quebec in the quarterfinals. It was his only playoff action in the NHL.

Mike finished his career by playing in the AHL and then for the Canadian national team. He retired at the tender age of 25 in 1987.