Reimer rooted in Manitoba
Leafs rising star leans on his faith, family to stay grounded
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/10/2011 (5101 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
TORONTO — The media throng came in two waves to James Reimer’s stall in the Toronto Maple Leafs dressing room Wednesday morning, all seeking his thoughts on the same storyline: the goaltender from Manitoba suiting up against the reborn Winnipeg Jets.
But it’s here where three facts might have taken some of the sizzle out of that angle:
1. Reimer was about a month into his eighth birthday when the Jets bolted for Phoenix in 1996. And his memory of the couple of games he saw in person isn’t exactly that vivid. “I don’t remember a whole lot, but I wanted to be a goalie back then and I remember watching (Nikolai) Khabibulin in the warm-up. I can’t even recall a goal or too many saves, I just remember being in my seat and being excited.”
2. Reimer glances at the Jets roster and, sorry, but for the life of him all he can think of is the team that previously set up shop in Atlanta. “It feels more like I’m playing the Thrashers because that’s how I know all the guys and I played them a couple times last year. The nostalgic feeling isn’t as much as some might think, but to play a team from back home will be a lot of fun.”
3. And, just for those Toronto types who didn’t take the time to glance at a map, Morweena — Reimer’s hometown — isn’t exactly a Winnipeg suburb.
Morweena is… where exactly?
“You know (Highway) No. 7?,” Reimer explains to a couple of Winnipeggers after the Toronto crowd had exited. “Well, No. 7 dead-ends in Arborg, about an hour and 10 minutes north of Winnipeg, and that’s where I played my minor hockey. And (Morweena) is about 15 minutes northwest of there.”
The population?
“On a good day, 150,” explained Reimer with a grin. “On a bad day, maybe 125.”
Reimer’s story remains a compelling one and his rise to prominence as the Leafs’ No. 1 goaler would have been almost unthinkable this time a year ago. Back then he was fourth on Toronto’s goaltender depth chart but when the door opened for him in a call-up last December, the 23-year-old blew the thing off its hinges, winning 20 games, posting a 2.60 goals against average and .921 save percentage, pulling the Leafs into a race for a playoff spot.
In a matter of months he had gone from just a guy in the minors — he had made starts for both the Reading Royals and South Carolina Stingrays before settling in with the Leafs’ AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies — to a guy with arguably the coolest nickname in the NHL: ‘Optimus Reim.’
His numbers were so juicy, in fact, he wore Canada’s colours at the IIHF World Hockey Championship last spring, fulfilling another dream.
It’s come so fast, many in his position would be left with a spinning head. But Reimer leans on his faith and family and, just as important, never forgets his Manitoba roots.
Just FYI, Morweena is a Mennonite community formed by families who moved there from Steinbach in 1960 as part of their evangelical mission. It has been described by one resident in a Free Press article last winter as “a bridge and three houses.”
Interestingly, Reimer was ‘discovered’ by his agent while playing in a church hockey tournament.
He played his junior in Red Deer, but as a fourth-round pick by the Leafs in 2006, was considered a middling prospect before grabbing the starting chores last winter.
Fast forward to this summer and Reimer, now a star in Toronto and in his home province, is doing a coin toss at a Blue Bombers game and throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at a Goldeyes contest.
“I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about how fast it’s come for me,” said Reimer. “During the summer, that was a great time for me to sit back with the family and close friends and just enjoy it, reminisce and remember all that has happened and realize where you are.”
ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPEdTait
