Barclay Goodrow poses with Battalion fan Blake Norman last Thursday at the ACC in Toronto. PHOTO COURTESY JAMIE NORMAN
Story by Chris Dawson
Jamie Norman doesn’t like to admit he’s a Leafs fan these days. However, when he and his son Blake realized that Barclay Goodrow would be making a visit to the ACC last Thursday, the Normans knew this was a Leafs home game they didn’t want to miss.
“Though I am a Leafs fan (Shhh) the only reason we went to the game last Thursday was because Barclay was playing and we wanted to see him again,” admitted Norman, who coaches his son’s Atom A Trappers hockey team this season.
“He was a very exciting player to watch while he was here playing in North Bay, very creative and you could always count on him for something special.”
The Norman’s got to meet Barclay again, get some autographs and of course pose for a photo.
“He is just a normal kid who made it to the show through hard work and determination and it has not changed him,” said Norman about the experience.
Barclay was a special player - from his textbook shootout goals, to his big hits, to his incredible leadership skills in the Battalion locker room.
Goodrow was the perfect face of the Battalion franchise in its first year in North Bay.
The undrafted forward was finally recognized with a contract offer by the San Jose Shark last spring. From there he proceeded to earn a roster spot with the Sharks in the fall.
Goodrow during the pre-game skate in Ottawa. PHOTO BY CHRIS DAWSON.
It has been while since North Bay has found a personal connection to the NHL. With no current North Bayites playing in the show, it only seemed right that the Battalion hockey fans in North Bay would adopt this Barclay and call him their own.
While Norman and a handful of other North Bayites traveled south on Thursday to see Barclay, an even bigger throng came together to see Goodrow and the Sharks play the Senators in Ottawa on Monday.
The interest was so high that the Battalion Fan Club even organized a fan bus to go and see Barclay.
Goodrow remembers seeing Battalion green in a lot of away rinks last year in the OHL, so he’s not surprised those same fans are following him to NHL rinks now.
“Obviously its pretty special to me, you know playing in North Bay was awesome, even if it was just for a year the fan support we had, it almost felt like a big family, the support we had in the different rinks,” Goodrow told BayToday.ca after the Sharks Monday morning pre-game skate in Ottawa.
“It will be great to see some familiar faces and hopefully some Battalion green in the crowd tonight.”
It would have been tough for Barclay to catch the Battalion green in the Canadian Tire section, but up, way up in the 300 section you could see a gathering of Battalion green all there to watch number 89 from San Jose.
Cassandra Gilbert was in the stands with her two boys in Ottawa Monday night. She says until last year her kids had no interest in hockey.
“When Barclay was signed, it was bittersweet,” said Gilbert.
“We were happy for him, but sad to not see him play Thursday’s and Sunday’s anymore. We have since become Shark fans. When Nicolas Forsyth set this up, there was never a doubt, we were going. It was amazing, and worth every penny spent and the long bus drive.”
Even the national media took notice of the Goodrow following. TSN play-by-play announcer Chris Cuthbert mentioned the Goodrow fan bus during the Monday broadcast.
Battalion Booster Club member Nicolas Forsyth believes the Goodrow story has brought back excitement to a hockey town when it needed it.
“His story of determination when being passed over in the draft and working hard to rekindle the fire in this city, carrying us to the OHL finals,” said Forsyth That never give up attitude. He was great with the kids from day one and was everything any team would want in a captain. He always does whatever job he is asked to on the ice no matter if it's on the fourth line in the NHL or captain clutch for an OHL team.”
The good news is it doesn’t stop there.
Goodrow will continue to develop and move up in the Sharks lineup and then players like Nick Paul, Kyle Wood and Michael Amadio will hopefully be the next ones to be donning NHL jerseys.
That's what makes the OHL return to North Bay so special.
And you can’t put a price tag on that.
