Perry battles way back to WHL

Every goalie has an origin story of how they landed back in the crease. Hudson Perry’s tale is truly Marvel-ous.

“My dad had a Spider-Man mask when I was little and I loved putting it on,” Perry said. “After that it was just the gear. I loved the gear and I always wanted to have that.”

The 18-year-old Brandon Wheat Kings netminder, who hails from Sexsmith, Alta., was acquired from the Edmonton Oil Kings at the trade deadline and won the backup job behind Jayden Kraus in the pre-season.

Sexsmith is a community of 2,400 located 20 kilometres north of Grande Prairie in northwestern Alberta. He quickly ended up back in the crease and enjoyed how important his job was on the ice.

“Growing up, I was the only goalie on my team, so every night they needed me and I loved being the guy that people could rely on,” Perry said. “That was a big thing for me.”

Perry is the first person to play at a high level in his family, which includes father Ryan, mother Kelly and sister Gabi. He’s grateful for all the support he received as a youngster playing an expensive position.

“I owe it all to them,” Perry said. “They taught me everything growing up. They’ve been great.”

Despite a strong year with the Grande Prairie Storm’s under-15 AAA club in 2021-22 — he posted a 2.50 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage — Perry wasn’t selected in the WHL draft.

In the 2022-23 season, he responded with a terrific campaign with the U17 Storm, posting a 2.76 goals-against average, .924 save percentage and record of 10-4-2 with one shutout.

“I grew up having to earn everything,” Perry said. “Nothing was ever given to me. It’s sticking with it even if I got cut or somebody said no. It was just keep working and bring a positive attitude every day.”

Edmonton invited him to their 2023 training camp, and he signed with the club in mid-September. He started the season with the U18 Storm, posting a 3.95 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage in 13 games and then got the phone call he was hoping for.

“I signed my contract with Edmonton at the start of the year, and then when the opportunity came to go up with them, I played my first game and had an all-right game and then one thing led to another and I ended up cracking the roster at the trade deadline,” Perry said. “After that was a really great learning experience and I had a great goalie partner (Kolby Hay) to help me out there and guide me through.

“The wins didn’t come right away — it took me a little while to get that figured out — but I got my confidence up and knew I belonged in the league.”

The six-foot-two, 173-pound goalie made his WHL debut on Nov. 25, 2023, spelling Hay in the second period of a 7-3 loss. Along with stopping 23 of the 27 shots he faced in 36 minutes, Perry also drew an assist on a goal by Ty Nash.

On an Oil Kings squad that missed the playoffs, it took him 11 games to earn a win. He finished the season with a 4.54 goals-against average and an .865 save percentage with a 4-9-2-0 record.

Hay helped him a lot during a tough season.

“I would say it was really to understand how to mentally prepare, how to stay dialled in for the whole game,” Perry said. “The schedule is a lot bigger than U18 so it was having someone to talk to. When stuff wasn’t going right, he was there for me.”

He had a tough start last season with the Oil Kings, with a 6.20 goals-against average and a .785 percentage in four appearances, going 0-2-1. In November, the team reassigned him to the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Drayton Valley Thunder.

“It didn’t go as I expected it to,” Perry said. “I had a great goalie partner (Alex Worthington) last year as well and he went a long ways. It was just better to go back to Drayton Valley, and it really got my confidence up. I think going from U18 to the Oil Kings was a bit of a jump for me. I don’t know if I was quite ready yet, and being sent back to Drayton Valley helped me humble myself and get my game where it needed to be.”

In 16 AJHL appearances, he had a 3.54 goals-against average and .899 save percentage with a record of 8-7-1. The reassignment also paid off in another way. On Jan. 9, Brandon acquired Perry for a conditional sixth-round draft pick in 2027, and then let him finish his season in the AJHL.

“Honestly, I was a little surprised,” Perry said. “Just where I was in the league, I didn’t really think that was going to be an option. I kind of thought the door was starting to close, even though I kept working. It took me by surprise, but I can’t be more grateful for them taking a chance on me. Hopefully I do my job and make them proud.”

He began to work remotely with Wheat Kings goaltending coach Tyler Plante over the summer, and came to camp with two others competing for the three spots.

The veteran Kraus had the starting spot sewn up, so Perry’s competition was 17-year-old Wheat Kings draftee Dylan McFadyen, who debuted with the club last year and had been called up a number of times over the last two seasons. Filip Ruzicka was also expected to attend camp, but his Czech club refuses to release him and the 17-year-old goalie’s fate currently lies with the IIHF.

“You come to work every day,” Perry said. “There’s really nothing I can do about the choice that’s made. I can just put in the work and show them what I have to offer. At the end of the day, it’s their choice, so it’s not worrying too much about who the other guy is and just putting my best foot forward.”

Perry found out last week McFadyen had been sent to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Northern Manitoba Blizzard, and that he would be staying on.

“It’s really nice to see that the work has paid off again,” Perry said. “The work doesn’t stop now, it keeps going.”

Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray got a look at Perry in a pair of pre-season victories in which he posted a 3.50 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage.

“He’s played well in every game,” Murray said. “The one night here he gave up five against Regina at home but I thought he played solid in that one and he backed that up with a real strong effort in Virden against Swift Current. He’s done everything we asked him.”

Plante spends a lot of time at practice and in dedicated sessions with his goaltending tandem, andhas been impressed by his young protégé in the month they’ve worked together

“I watched some video on him last year prior to the deadline,” Plante said. “There were some things I liked. If I’m being honest, when he came this year, he exceeded my expectations of what I’ve seen. He looks like he’s really starting to mature in his game. He’s a super coachable kid. He’s a fantastic human being and just looks to get better every day.”

“He’s very calm and very poised,” Plante added. “He likes to be ahead of the play and tracks the puck very well.”

There are two very different experiences available to WHL players depending on the size of the community they play on, based entirely on how easy it is for the players to get together in their spare time. Edmonton is a big market in every way, and Perry has found a very different feel in smaller Brandon, which he enjoys.

Going from a National Hockey League-obsessed city to a community where the WHL is a big deal is also new.

“There is a lot more attention here,” Perry said. “With the players, everybody knows who you are. In a lot bigger city, it’s not that you can get with stuff, it’s not as big a focal point on you. It’s been great, a huge crowd and lots of support.”

And now that he’s here, he has high hopes for what lies ahead.

“I really like it,” Perry said. “I think we have a really good group in there and a lot of potential to do a lot of great things. It should be good this year.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com