Giving His Best(er)

Former Maple Leafs goaltender reflects on his career and the hobby

- Stephen Laroche

Tihe fraternity of goalies that have protected the crease for the Toronto Maple Leafs runs the gamut from one-game wonders to Hall of Famers, but many of them have a cult following among fans – especially Allan Bester, who put up a valiant effort during some of the darkest days the franchise experienced at Maple Leaf Gardens.

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.”