Former Maple Leafs goaltender reflects on his career and the hobby
A third round pick by Toronto (48th overall) in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, Bester hailed from Hamilton, Ontario and spent his junior career with the OHL’s Brantford Alexanders. While he started the 1983-84 season there, he was promoted to the big league level and stepped into his first game in relief against the St. Louis Blues on January 8, 1984.
“I remember sitting on the bench and Mike Nykoluk kind of looking down at me and saying, ‘go on, get in there.’ So I went in and don’t remember a lot of the game per se. I felt like I made a few good saves, played solid. It gave me some confidence for the next game that I actually started. It was good, I remember more of going into the game against Quebec and I dont know if it was that, or a preseason game or during that time period, where I got put in and I made a nice going across the crease save on a bang-bang play I think on (Peter) Stastny and that was a big save where I felt confident afterward. Not a lot to remember about the St. Louis game other than I had a solid third period and a couple games later, I got the start against Minnesota.”
That game against Minnesota was a 5-4 overtime victory and the 5’7” goalie instantly became the team’s number one man in net. He appeared in 30 of the next 36 outings, including 25 in a row where he faced an average of close to 40 shots a night.
“I was 19 years old and it wasn’t a big deal,” he laughed. “I knew I was going to play every night. I didn’t play the last game of the season because it made no difference in the standings.”
This story is from the January 2017 edition of Beckett Hockey.
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This story is from the January 2017 edition of Beckett Hockey.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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