Is this Källgren’s cup of coffee, or something more?

There are phrases that will stay with you for life. “I had a cup of coffee” is one of those phrases for me. It means you made it to the highest level, to the NHL. You were there. You played a game. No one can ever take that from you. It also usually means that you did not play much, that you had a taste, but maybe that was all you had.

I remember where I heard it, who said it, who was there, and the great story that followed for the player who delivered it.

Erik Källgren, the 25-year-old goalkeeper who broke out on the NHL scene with the Maple Leafs this week, has no cup of coffee. It is not a presenting proverb. It only works in the past. If you’re in the NHL, you’re a player, and you do not plan to go anywhere. Källgren plays, and plays well, even on a small rehearsal, two-plus games on Saturday.

In the wake of starter Jack Campbell’s injury from the sidelines, Källgren was one who was not even familiar to the anxious Leaf fans. He was, admittedly, the fifth goaltender on the Leafs’ depth chart earlier in the season but he took advantage of an opportunity with the AHL Marlies to gain a foothold in North America, and he deserved the call.

When the charged Petr Mrázek pulled after a hard start against Arizona, the Swede calmly and efficiently cleaned up the last 30:20 of the match. Mrazek fought back in his next start against Buffalo, and Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe turned on Källgren, who appeared in a 4-0 shutout against Dallas in a 3-2 victory over the Metropolitan Division leading Hurricanes, to show the same quiet stability. Above all, the team played well in front of him.

This is Källgren’s second outing in pro hockey on this side of the Atlantic. A seventh-round pick seven years ago, he played five minor league games in the Coyotes organization in 2019-2020. He returned home, had a formidable run last season to lead the Vaxjo Lakers to a Swedish championship last year, and signed with the Leafs in May.

In his first three appearances, Källgren calmed the raucous noise around the goalkeeper position in Toronto, which allowed Campbell time to regain his health and, the Leafs hope, his early season form. It could also allow Mrázek to get back on track in a supporting role. It remains to be seen if Källgren is here for the duration, but he is a timely stopgap.

Källgren is not the only unknown goaltender to be tested this season, as COVID-related items leading to compressed flight schedules have tested NHL depth charts. There were 114 goalkeepers who used six different educators between the pipes and two teams, Buffalo and New Jersey. Ten goals were played in a single game, in the potential “cup of coffee” list.

The idea of ​​short stays at the highest level has risen in all positions. At the weekend, 1,105 players had dressed up for NHL rosters, averaging nearly 35 per team. The Leafs had used 36, nine for three games or less.

The “line I had a cup of coffee” I remember from a strapping six-foot-three, 220-pound left band named Charlie Simmer. Yes, that Charlie Simmer. The place was The Fitness Institute in Mississauga, the elite training center Founded by Lloyd Percival for Olympic Athletes, I was invited as a junior hockey player to train during free time with a whole bunch of pro players from different leagues. Sometimes stars like Dave (Tiger) Williams would please us with their presence working with Awe and hanging on to every word they said.

We asked Simmer where he was playing, and the first words out of his mouth were, “I have a cup of coffee.” At the time, he had played portions of three seasons with the California Seals and Cleveland Barons, but only portions. Hence his answer. Simmer’s career exploded shortly afterwards as a member of the famed Triple Crown line in Los Angeles, when he played 56 consecutive goal seasons with Marcel Dionne and Dave Taylor. His good career ended with 711 points and 712 games played. Not exactly a cup of coffee.

There will be a day in the future, perhaps in his hometown of Stockholm, when Erik Källgren will be asked if he played in the NHL. The answer may prove interesting.