User:Ryanf70

Its Knight time

Spencer Knight was born in Connecticut, USA on April 19, 2001. He would 20 years later become the first 2000 born goalie to play a game in the NHL. Put very high on every team's list, Knight would go just 13 in the 2019 NHL draft. He would get drafted by the Florida Panthers. Before he would actually play his first game in the NHL, Spencer would play college hockey with the Boston College Eagles. Knight would finish with an amazing 1.97 GAA ( goals-against average), a .931 SV% (Save percentage), and over the span of 33 games would have an amazing 23-8-2 gaining 5 shutouts. Over this amazing span, he would be on the conference All-Rookie team and 2nd all-star team. In his sophomore season, he did even better, maintaining a 2.18 GAA. 932 SV% and a record of 16-4-1 gaining 3 shutouts over 21 games. Doing all of this during the COVID-19 shortened year. Earning many awards. He was named CCM/ACHA First Team All-American, top 3 finalists for the Mike Richter Award, a top ten finalist for the Hobey Baker award, He earned conference Player of the Year and Goaltending Champion honors and was a Hockey East First Team All-Star. After that amazing season of college hockey, Spencer would go to the World Juniors for Team USA. In their first game, Spencer Knight would gain his first and only loss in the World Juniors, losing to Russia 5-3. This would fuel the USA’s fire, and they would not lose another game and would blow out teams for the next few games, 11-0 win vs Austria, 7-0 win vs Czech republic, 4-0 win vs Sweden, giving Spencer as many shutouts as he got during that last college season. In the quarter-finals a 5-2 win vs Slovakia, a 4-3 win in the semi-finals vs Findlay. The next game was the finals, and it was against the so-called best team in the tournament. Team Canada, blowing out teams like its nothing, first game 16-2 win vs Germany, second game 3-1 win vs Slovakia, third game 10-0 win vs Switzerland, fourth game 4-1 win vs Findlay, fifth game 3-0 win vs Czech republic, and semi-finals 4-0 win vs Russia. That finals game was going to be huge. Trevor Zegras from team USA, and Dylan Cozens from Canada, both tied for the point lead in the tournament. Then you had the goalies. Devon Levi for the Canadiens drafted by the Panthers, and Spencer Knight for the USA drafted by the Panthers. So Panthers vs Panthers in the net. You never know this game could determine the starter of the future. Last, of all, it was the rivalry, Canada vs the USA. always a good game. The game would get underway. The first goal for Team USA and was scored by Alex Turcotte. 1-0 USA, and a second goal by Trevor Zegras, and that would be the way the game would end. Making Trevor Zegras the point leader of the tournament, and Spencer Knight and team USA winners. Spencer Knight getting a shutout in the finals would definitely get recognition. After that Spencer Knight would play some more time in college before signing his ELC (entry-level contract) he would be on the taxi squad for most of the season, and would only really practice with the panther but on his birthday, April 19 2021 all the Panther fans would witness his number as he would be the backup and got his name on the roster for the first time in his career. That game he would watch Sergei Bobrovsky win the game 4-2 against the Columbus blue jackets, and many fans thought that was the only time we would have seen Spencer Knight. That was until the next morning when the expected lineups came out, Spencer Knight was the starter, and on that day April 20, 2021, Spencer Knight would start his first-ever national hockey league game vs the Columbus blue jackets. The moment many panther fans have been waiting for, as the puck came flying from the corner. Smack right off the helmet, Spencer Knight would make his first save. That Knight would make history, see what I did there. It ended 5-1 panthers, Spencer would stop 33 out of 34 shots and would start his career 1-0-0, he would be the first-ever 2000 born goalie to play a game, win a game, first panthers goalie to win a debut, and more. Later that month spencer would get put in net vs Nashville after Bobrovsky would get pulled, he would make 9 saves out of 9 shots, and the Panthers would win 7-4, spencer knight moving to a 2-0-0 record.