MacDonald shows he belongs in NHL

How great it was to see Pictou County’s Joey MacDonald summoned from the minors by the Detroit Red Wings and given another chance to display his abilities as a National Hockey League goaltender.
And how especially great it was to see him get the opportunity to backstop the Wings to their record-setting 21st consecutive home win, another impressive mark by one of the league’s most historic franchises.
Joey has shown – once again – that he belongs in the world’s best hockey league.
Though he played 87 games in the NHL prior to this most recent recall, I don’t think he was ever really given the support – and the praise – that he deserves.
It certainly hasn’t been easy for him to convince hockey people that he’s good enough to be employed at the top of his profession.
Right after his latest arrival in the Motor City, MacDonald celebrated his 32nd birthday, so he’s not a kid anymore. As a goaltender, he’s at his peak, so there are no assurances he still has a long career ahead of him. His time is now, and he’s shown everyone that, no, he’s not in over his head.
I liked this comment I read as he was playing game after game for the Wings: “His confidence is soaring and the club’s confidence in him is soaring.”
So it should.
MacDonald, who played for the New York Islanders and briefly for the Toronto Maple Leafs before becoming Detroit property in 2010-11, started this season in the minors because the Wings have one of the NHL’s premier netminders in Jimmy Howard, and the club believed Ty Conklin was the best option as a backup.
Then Howard got sidelined early this month with a broken finger. MacDonald was recalled but Conklin was given the nod to step between the pipes. In the very next game, against the Coyotes in Phoenix, Conklin failed miserably and was relieved by the Pictonian before the night was over.
It was Joey`s job after that.
Before MacDonald got his initial call to the bigtime from the Islanders in 2007-08 and played his first two NHL games, the hockey focus in Pictou County was on Jon Sim, Colin White and Derrick Walser. There didn`t seem to be enough light at the time to shine on the kid from the other end of the county.
But it`s shining now.
Unfortunately, anyone who follows NHL activities knows the number one job in Detroit will go back to Howard as soon as he returns. That`s understandable.
One thing, however, shouldn`t be forgotten by Detroit`s hierarchy: the Wings were not weakened one iota with Joey in nets.
No question it`s been a long road for the kid who grew up in Bay View, outside the shiretown, loving Hockey Night in Canada and dreaming of someday being in the bigs himself.
There have been lots of stops along the way, with teams like the Toledo Storm, Grand Rapids Griffins, Bridgeport Sound Tigers and Toronto Marlies. It marked him as a journeyman goalie.
It`s just disappointing that he didn`t land in an NHL organization that needed a number one. He could have filled the bill, I`m sure.
MacDonald worked hard to get to the top.
He was only in his second season of minor hockey when he put on the big pads and loved playing between the pipes. It seemed, even then, that he was destined to be in the netminding fraternity.
As he climbed the ranks, I don`t think there were doubts about the decision. Heck, even as a kid playing road hockey, he was the one wearing the pads.
A few years ago, when he and I chatted at length about his career, he admitted it was a real challenge being the goalie, but it was a challenge he wanted to accept. He loved the position and he set out to go as far as he could.
Sim, White and Walser were a few years older, but they all inspired him as he moved to the elite minor teams in the county. With their encouragement, he knew it was worth a try.
He never looked back after that.
When he got drafted by the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, MacDonald was a happy young man, realizing he was getting his chance at the highest junior level, and he was getting it close to home.
He was 17 when he played 17 games with the Mooseheads in 1997-98. But that wasn`t where he would develop into a professional prospect. That came with the Peterborough Petes in the Ontario league. There he would win 67 games over three years and was headed for the pros.
The time he spent in the minors after that always seemed to be because of the presence of outstanding goaltenders in front of him, guys like Curtis Joseph, Chris Osgood and Dominik Hasek. The fact he was doing extremely well didn`t seem to matter.
That wasn`t the only bump in the road. In 2004-05, he suffered a serious back injury, had to have surgery, and didn`t return until a couple of months into the next season.
If he was getting frustrated, he didn`t let it show.
As things turned out, he made his NHL debut two years after that, and the up-and-down story went on from there.
His longest stay at the top – 49 games – came with the Islanders in 2008-09, and his 3.37 goals against average that year was certainly not a handicap.
But this month`s run with the Wings – that kept Conklin on the bench – may have been MacDonald`s highest peak so far.
So let`s hope he finally receives the full recognition that he rightfully has earned. It`s obvious he deserves nothing less.

Hugh Townsend, a New Glasgow native and Nova Scotia sports journalist for over 55 years, can be reached by email at ght1967@gmail.com.