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Midweek Mugging: North Bay's travelling hockey goalie coach

'You are going to see a lot of good goalies coming up that we are working with and we have some high expectations for some of the kids'
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Dan Spence in front of Pete Palangio, one of his many stops in North Bay. Photo by Chris Dawson/BayToday.ca

Mid-Week Mugging is a series of features by BayToday. Each Wednesday, we will run a profile on a local business or organization that will be "mugged" with BayToday coffee cups. The subjects will then "mug" for our camera and we will tell a little bit about their story.

Dan Spence puts on a lot of kilometres on his SUV traveling back and forth from Orillia to North Bay.   

“In my car when I am driving, handsfree obviously, it basically is my office so it is a two-hour drive from there, but it is not that bad really and I do a lot of calls while I am driving and I get a lot accomplished,” said Spence.  

The former All-Star goaltender with the Nipissing Lakers has become a fixture in the North Bay goaltending community as a goalie coach with 360 Goaltending.     

The 30-year-old is the goalie coach for both Nipissing Lakers hockey teams, the North Bay Midget AA Ice Boltz and has supplied his goaltending knowledge with many AAA Trappers teams and junior teams in the area including the Powassan Voodoos.

In a nutshell, most goalies in North Bay have spent some time on the ice with this busy goalie coach. 

However, he never expected seven years after his final year with the Lakers that he would be still coming back.  

“I really took to North Bay right away and seven years later I am still coming back here doing camps and working with the same goalies that we were working with seven years ago,” said the lefthanded goalie coach.  

He’s excited to see the progression of his goalies like Nate McDonald, who met Dan when he first started breaking into the goalie coach market.  Now, McDonald is on his way to Cornell to play his first year of NCAA Division I hockey. 

See related: McDonald faces a new challenge in the NCAA

Spence juggled his schedule last season which even included a pair of minor pro stints in goal with the Cincinnati Cyclones and the Brampton Beast both of the ECHL.   

From his experience, he believes a good goalie coach has to have a good connection with the students. 

“There has to be a bit of a trust here,” noted Spence.  

“You have their best interests in mind and sometimes you have to tell them what they do not want to hear but if they know it is coming from the right place they are not going to block you out.” 

Spence also hopes his goaltending expertise has helped fill a goaltender coaching void in the city.  

“You are going to see a lot of good goalies coming up that we are working with and we have some high expectations for some of the kids,” said Spence. 


Chris Dawson

About the Author: Chris Dawson

Chris Dawson has been with BayToday.ca since 2004. He has provided up-to-the-minute sports coverage and has become a key member of the BayToday news team.
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