Goaltender Jaxon Castor made his AHL debut on Wednesday for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's 4-3 overtime loss to the Rocket in Laval, Quebec. He made 26 saves on 30 shots faced.
— Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) January 16, 2025
With Joel Blomqvist on his way to Pittsburgh for a recall, Filip Larsson earned the start and stopped all 12 shots faced in the first period, but exited the game at first intermission with an injury. Wilkes-Barre led 2-0 at the time after Avery Hayes' ninth goal of the year and Jonathan Gruden's fifth, a shorthanded tally. Emil Bemstrom made it 3-0 in the third period with his team-leading 16th goal, but Laval tied the game with three goals in a span of 4:38 then scored the overtime-winner 2:15 into the extra frame.
Castor, 27, is a great story. The Phoenix, Ariz. native started out playing for St. Cloud State's club hockey team in 2018-19, and earned a spot with the school's Division 1 team as a backup the following year. He became St. Cloud State's starting goaltender in his senior year in 2022-23, and earned ECHL games with the Florida Everblades upon the conclusion of his college season. He joined Wheeling the following year as a third goaltender, but earned 16 regular-season games as Taylor Gauthier dealt with injury and Garret Sparks was up in the AHL. Even with Sparks back in Wheeling, Castor was the starting goalie for the first round of the playoffs and into the second round before Gauthier came back. He went 10-4-1 in the regular season with a 2.71 goals-against average and an .899 save percentage, then 4-3-1 in the playoffs with a .913 save percentage and a 2.73 goals-against average.
Castor was re-signed to an ECHL contract this season and started the year backing up Sergei Murashov while Gauthier was hurt,posting a 3-1-1 record, a .908 save percentage and a 2.39 goals-against average in five games. When Gauthier was healthy in late November, Wheeling was up against the roster limit. Not wanting to lose Castor, the Penguins signed him to an AHL contract, where he's essentially been a practice goaltender behind Blomqvist and Larsson all this time. Cool to see his path, going from a club hockey player to his AHL debut.
Rutger McGroarty had the lone assist on Hayes' goal, and Joona Koppanen had the lone assist on Gruden's shorthanded goal. Bemstrom's goal was unassisted. Jesse Puljujarvi made his season debut for Wilkes-Barre and was scoreless with an even plus/minus and two shots on goal, skating on the right side of the third line with Koppanen and Sam Poulin. Puljujarvi's presence put Wilkes-Barre over the six-man veteran limit for a game roster by two players. Sebastian Aho is hurt and so was one of the two veteran scratches, and Valtteri Puustinen was a healthy scratch to stay under the limit. Tristan Broz missed his sixth straight game with an undisclosed illness, having last played on Dec. 28. That stretch includes two home games then this four-game Canadian road trip for which he did not travel.
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THE ASYLUM
Taylor Haase
3:20 am - 01.16.2025DowntownAHL: Larsson hurt, Castor's debut
Goaltender Jaxon Castor made his AHL debut on Wednesday for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's 4-3 overtime loss to the Rocket in Laval, Quebec. He made 26 saves on 30 shots faced.
With Joel Blomqvist on his way to Pittsburgh for a recall, Filip Larsson earned the start and stopped all 12 shots faced in the first period, but exited the game at first intermission with an injury. Wilkes-Barre led 2-0 at the time after Avery Hayes' ninth goal of the year and Jonathan Gruden's fifth, a shorthanded tally. Emil Bemstrom made it 3-0 in the third period with his team-leading 16th goal, but Laval tied the game with three goals in a span of 4:38 then scored the overtime-winner 2:15 into the extra frame.
Castor, 27, is a great story. The Phoenix, Ariz. native started out playing for St. Cloud State's club hockey team in 2018-19, and earned a spot with the school's Division 1 team as a backup the following year. He became St. Cloud State's starting goaltender in his senior year in 2022-23, and earned ECHL games with the Florida Everblades upon the conclusion of his college season. He joined Wheeling the following year as a third goaltender, but earned 16 regular-season games as Taylor Gauthier dealt with injury and Garret Sparks was up in the AHL. Even with Sparks back in Wheeling, Castor was the starting goalie for the first round of the playoffs and into the second round before Gauthier came back. He went 10-4-1 in the regular season with a 2.71 goals-against average and an .899 save percentage, then 4-3-1 in the playoffs with a .913 save percentage and a 2.73 goals-against average.
Castor was re-signed to an ECHL contract this season and started the year backing up Sergei Murashov while Gauthier was hurt, posting a 3-1-1 record, a .908 save percentage and a 2.39 goals-against average in five games. When Gauthier was healthy in late November, Wheeling was up against the roster limit. Not wanting to lose Castor, the Penguins signed him to an AHL contract, where he's essentially been a practice goaltender behind Blomqvist and Larsson all this time. Cool to see his path, going from a club hockey player to his AHL debut.
Rutger McGroarty had the lone assist on Hayes' goal, and Joona Koppanen had the lone assist on Gruden's shorthanded goal. Bemstrom's goal was unassisted. Jesse Puljujarvi made his season debut for Wilkes-Barre and was scoreless with an even plus/minus and two shots on goal, skating on the right side of the third line with Koppanen and Sam Poulin. Puljujarvi's presence put Wilkes-Barre over the six-man veteran limit for a game roster by two players. Sebastian Aho is hurt and so was one of the two veteran scratches, and Valtteri Puustinen was a healthy scratch to stay under the limit. Tristan Broz missed his sixth straight game with an undisclosed illness, having last played on Dec. 28. That stretch includes two home games then this four-game Canadian road trip for which he did not travel.
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