A rec hockey player from Steinbach has decided, at the age of 46, to enter into the world of goaltending and is documenting the process on video.

Ray Petkau is very familiar with hockey goalies, as he is an agent to NHL stars like James Reimer of the Carolina Hurricanes and Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets and decided he wanted to learn the tricks of the trade for himself. After an MRI this past summer revealed he would soon need a hip replacement, Petkau decided it was time to use his current hip while he could. Presently, he is learning goaltender skills while enduring as much pain as his deteriorating hip can bear.

Part of Petkau's motivation for training was his desire to better understand what his goalies go through.

“I represent some of the best goalies in the world, in fact, the best goalie in the world is currently one of my clients, and I wanted to learn not only what it looks like when they play goal properly, but also how to play goal myself. I feel like that is something I can do to improve as an agent. I will never play high-level hockey obviously, I won’t even be able to learn to play properly because I have the limitations physically with my hip, but I want to understand as much as I can about what they do and how they do it."

Petkau's family has been supportive of this recent venture and has even found it mildly humorous.  He says the endeavor has resulted in lots of family time together on the ice.

“My wife and four kids have all been on the outdoor ice in our backyard putting pucks on me at various times. I think my wife at first was kind of lukewarm on the idea, but now she’s started enjoying it quite a bit because she now knows how good it feels to score a lot of goals.”

According to Petkau, the COVID-19 pandemic has provided to be the perfect time to start such an involved hobby. "Like everyone, we’ve had a little bit of extra time the last number of months and to be able to do that as a family is fun," he says. "And they chirp me all the time, which is great.”

Petkau is learning a lot in the process, “I have a much deeper appreciation for the position already.” In addition to learning how to play, Petkau will also be using different equipment from different companies to see how that impacts goalies. Learning the differences in the equipment will provide insight into how that affects the goalies he represents.

In addition to training, Petkau is also documenting his foray into the goaltending world. “I just wanted to videotape what I’m doing out there, so I can see it and it’s frightful, t’s not pretty, but I want to be able to improve.”

Goaltender training is not completely foreign to Petkau as he has built a program for goalies in the past, however, he wanted the immersive experience for better understanding, which will include sessions with NHL goalie trainers at some point in time.

Petkau speaks passionately about playing the game. “It really is a great game and should be enjoyed by everybody who is able, and more people are able than maybe they think. I love nothing more than to see players starting at rec hockey later on in life, it’s a great game and we’ve got to get as many people playing sports and staying healthy as possible."

If Petkau's efforts inspire anyone to pick up a stick, hop over the boards, and slap out a quick game of shinny, he will have accomplished his secondary goal. His primary goal though is to learn how to stop goals and in doing so become the best goalie representative he can be.

“If I understand the game better tomorrow than I do today, then I’m just a better agent.”