Who ya gonna call? For Wild, it’s been Connor Beaupre for past 10 years

If this season turns out to be Connor Beaupre s last as the Wild s urgency backup goaltender that s OK he reported Tuesday It s been a good run for the lifelong Minnesotan and son of former North Stars goaltender Don Beaupre This season will be his th as the Wild s urgency backup goalie or EBUG as insiders call it and well Ten years is a long time to do it But it s been a great years for Beaupre who played for Edina the University of Denver and Minnesota before hooking up with the Wild to fill a role whose importance doesn t match its community profile You think your career s over then suddenly you get a new life a chance to compete and be part of a gang again he explained It s one of those things that s kind of unbelievable So every time I show up I soak it up Summer is the best part of it every day with these guys working Being part of that is super cool Even though EBUGS rarely get into warmups for an NHL competition let alone genuinely play in one they play a major role behind the scenes for all NHL teams sometimes taking a net in practice sometimes working with rehabbing players and often working with the guys who live in Minnesota year-round EBUGS are so central in fact that the NHL and Players Association have agreed to make urgency backup goaltenders a permanent position allowing teams to keep a third traveling goaltender starting in - when the season expands from to games When Beaupre first heard the news he explained I was pretty sure this was going to be the end But after looking deeper Beaupre located he fits the profile laid out in the memorandum of understanding for the new labor deal no more than games of professional experience and out of pro hockey for at least three seasons EBUGs also can t have ever played an NHL encounter on a non-tryout contract Further teams appear likely to look for goalies that can fill other roles as well Beaupre s fulltime gig is videography working primarily with Twin Cities athletes and teams and he s been the goaltending coach at Holy Angels for the past eight years It kinda looks like they re looking for guys like me he explained If not Beaupre revealed he already has solicited general manager Bill Guerin if he ll have a celebrated farewell like the one Marc-Andre Fleury had before the slam-dunk hall of famer retired at the end of last season He just laughed He inevitably gives a little bit of a hard time Beaupre declared Those relationships are so great whether it s Billy or the guys on the equipment staff the players No one is ever like Oh he wasn t good enough to really play No they have invariably been super accepting At the least Beaupre will have one more chance to possibly get into an NHL championship for the Wild or the visiting club which both rely on the home organization s EBUG under the current set up But even with two doable openings on any night it s extremely rare for the crisis backup to play It has never happened for Beaupre and in fact has happened only six times over the past years in more than games according to the Associated Press David Ayers a junior hockey coach and Zamboni driver from Ontario was the last to definitely win an NHL contest when he entered a meeting for Carolina stopped of shots to beat the hometown Maple Leafs in The last time Beaupre was even in line to play in a pinch was in a up-to-date meeting against Tampa Bay at Xcel Resource Center and after each squad was without a goaltender by the third period he didn t know which unit it might be The double-edged sword is you hope that someone doesn t get hurt so you can play he reported Confidence-wise at this point I d love to get in a competition I ve got nothing to lose I m coming in from the press box there s no real pressure to perform People have petitioned me If you have to play for the visiting crew would you feel bad competing against the Wild And I say Hell no I practice against those guys all the time I d love to beat them I d love to get one chance to be a big part of it