University of New Brunswick Reds goaltender Samuel Richard, left, makes a save on University of Alberta Golden Bears' Jakin Smallwood during the first period of U Sports University Cup men’s hockey championship gold medal action in Charlottetown, Sunday, March 19, 2023. The Toronto Maple Leafs signed Richard to an amateur tryout Thursday. Richard, who played for the University of New Brunswick this season, will serve as backup to starting goaltender Joseph Woll on Thursday against the New York Rangers.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese
NEW YORK – The Toronto Maple Leafs signed goaltender Samuel Richard to an amateur tryout Thursday.
Richard, who played with the U Sports champion University of New Brunswick Reds this season, will serve as backup to starting goaltender Joseph Woll on Thursday against the New York Rangers.
Usual starter Ilya Samsonov has been ruled out for the regular-season finale, while netminder Matt Murray is out with a concussion.
It’s the fourth consecutive game the Maple Leafs will dress a goalie on an amateur tryout as a backup, the first of which they played University of Toronto netminder Jett Alexander in the final minute of a 7-1 thrashing of the Montreal Canadiens.
Richard had an 18-4 record with a .933 save percentage and a 1.59 goals-against average in U Sports this season. The 22-year-old from Ste-Catherine, Que., played his previous three seasons with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
The Maple Leafs begin their first-round playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning next week.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 13, 2023.
