Meet the newest goalie to join the #CBJ! | Post-draft media availability (06/29/24)

Meet the newest goalie to join the #CBJ! | Post-draft media availability (06/29/24)

how does it feel to hear your name called at the NHL draft it’s uh it’s a surreal moment for sure um I had so many emotions kind of coming into today and super nervous and uh um kind of almost happy that it’s kind of over with but um just so excited to get things started here in Columbus at the start of the Season you said that your goal for your draft year was for a team to take a flyer on you in a late round know could you have imagined anything like this being called by Columbus this early no definitely not um put a lot of time and and hours into my craft this year and um had a had a really strong season and uh I definitely wouldn’t have thought it would have played out like this even you know a year ago from from uh now you know I was playing uh in Colona so I definitely uh would not have expected this that’s for sure uh what can you tell us about your game and what it brings to the Blue Jackets organization yeah um I think I just bring a really calm and cool presence in the net and you know you’re never going to wonder if you know or be nervous if I’m in there um you know you’re you’re always going to feel good when when you know I’m in there cuz I’m just going to go out there and stop H fore so that’s kind of what Columbus is going to be getting the meetings you’ve had with the scouts uh over the past few few months is there anything that stuck out where you’re like this could be a landing spot for you not really um my meetings were kind of minimal in what we kind of talked about I mean I was never really told where or kind of when I was going to be going um they were pretty short talks I mean I talked to most of the teams but um I would not have expected this that’s for sure just kind of your rise I was was talking to her about how you kind of started this year as a backup and just kind of took the job is that competition something you Embrace at the Go tender spot I mean just kind of going out there and showing your best on a daily basis yeah for sure I mean you always want to be the the guy your team’s going with right um you know you want to be the number one in there and obviously this year my goal tending partner uh Austin Elliot and Saskatoon he was he’s a great goalie and uh we we battled daily in practice and you know just kind of worked our butts off and um you know I definitely think it made me a better goalie and uh helped me down the stretch so you set a single season franchise record in go of gain save percentage you helped your team to its first 50 win season since 2011 uh what did Saskatoon do for your development uh they did tons um you know I think it was great that they sent me back to as a 16-year-old um you know I don’t think I think that was a smart decision on them uh you know letting me go somewhere and play and then obviously bringing me in um go to I’ll give a shout out to Jeff Harvey my goalie coach in Saskatoon he uh he put me right to work and uh he he’s he’s great um you know I’m super excited to get back there with him and get back to work with him but um you know he he came to practice and put us to work and made me and Aussie better goalies and and yeah so um I’m just kind of my head spinning right now I’m just kind of lost for words to be honest you’re also kind of coming off the the playoff flash of like the century for the WHL against Moosejaw what’s it going to be like the next time you see D matuk now I didn’t even think about that to be honest I forgot I uh I forgot he was with Columbus to be honest um yeah I mean hopefully there will be something there and maybe we can talk here at Camp coming up or whatnot or whatever whatever’s going on and try and build a connection but uh I I kind of forgot he was he was in Columbus to be honest there’s going to be a lot of familiar faces from J when you’re at Dev Camp what can you tell us about some of the other guys uh like Lindstrom who have uh gone see the Blue Jackets now yeah um so me and Lindstrom kind of go back to when we were younger he’s he’s from chetwin BC I’m from Fort St John you know it’s 40 minutes apart so we uh we played each other growing up quite a few times and um they were never the funnest of matchups he had a he had a pretty hard shot back then too so um yeah so we kind of go way back and then you know a couple years ago me and him played at Team BC together and one gold at at the WHL cup so we kind of have a connection there and then I mean I’ve played against uh Charlie growing up um he went to the edge prep school and I played at RHA Colonus so we’ve gone back a few years just playing against each other so it’s kind of it’s kind of cool knowing the guys that were also picked to the organization and knowing them to some extent also deal with your fair share of adversity throughout your career uh can you tell us about how you’ve managed your type 1 diabetes diagnosis with playing at an elite level yeah um it’s obviously it’s uh it’s definitely a challenge to deal with uh at times you know it’s kind of a bit of a roller coaster but um you know I try my best to stay on top of it that’s all you can really do and just just watch watch your numbers and and that and uh the staff and Saskatoon were great this year um you know they were always watching me making sure I was already making sure I had everything I needed and really took care of me and uh just gave me every opportunity uh there and really looked after me so I super thankful for what they did in Saskatoon looking after me and I’m sure Columbus will do the same and make sure I’m doing all right with all that stuff so well Max me an X blue jacket I hear you guys have a special connection uh what what is that relationship um I mean he was the first guy I started looking up to um right away they told me his name and I was I was like all right you know I can do this I can you know continue my dreams of playing in the NHL with type 1 diabetes and this year actually he uh he signed a photo for my dad just telling me to keep working and you know everything was kind of going to pay off so that was pretty cool of him to do for me special are there any other people in the blue jackers organization you know at this point or is it just maybe like Kaden and some guys you played against yeah I mean I know names but I mean I don’t know anyone I mean uh is Jake Christensen still with you guys yeah I skated with him when I was younger kind of I would just go on the ice and be a shooter tutor during Co kind of thing but I mean that’s kind of one name I know I mean I just know a bunch of names in your guys’ organization but uh I mean nothing too like personal I guess so yeah you think of uh the season that uh you faced him quite a bit the Denton had that matek had I mean he goes back to the W this year it seemed like he had quite a year yeah uh he’s a he’s a great defenseman um you know he was he was logging minutes for Moa out there I felt like every time I’d look at the Blue Line in my zone he was out there with the puck so uh he’s a he’s a super talented d man and uh you know looking forward to hopefully having him in front of me in the future so yeah a different are you you’re going to Dev camp or yeah you excited to just kind of get there and see what that’s all oh yeah for sure it’s definitely it’s some exciting you know seeing you know what that level’s kind of like and what the best player is your age and a bit older than you could look like um you know I’m excited for the challenge and uh just hoping that it’s a fun week I’m really looking forward to it

The Blue Jackets traded up in the draft to secure goaltender Evan Gardner 60th overall! The young netminder met with the media following his selection.

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