Ottawa 67′s Keegan Wilson completes unique path to being a No. 1 goalie in OHL

Keegan Wilson has known disappointment but never felt a losing moment.

The 20-year-old's path to being pencilled in as the Ottawa 67's No. 1 netminder would be good preparation for any line of work that can involve hearing 72 "No's" before finally getting that yes. Wilson got a lot attention in Ontario Hockey League circles for making the Brampton Battalion as a 19-year-old rookie, even though he had played just a single season of Junior C, three tiers below the Ontario Hockey League. In 24 months, he's gone from "really my only opportunity" of trying out for the Stayner Siskins to starting for the storied Barberpoles.

"If you love the game, you're going to want to keep playing no matter what so I want to be playing at the highest level and I want to keep going," says the Mississauga, Ont., native, whom Ottawa traded for in the summer. "My aspirations are to play in the NHL. I'm going to work my tail off.

"I got cut from every Junior A team there was in my area, even Junior B teams," adds Wilson, who maintains there was never a moment where he thought about giving up his hockey dream. "I went to Junior C after two years of midget. All those three years I was asking for opportunities and kept getting overlooked and one guy, [Brampton coach] Stan Butler, gave it to me and I just ran with it. Everyone kind of finds their way into league. Their own path. For me, it just took a bit longer. I was just patient. I knew I was good enough, the whole time. That's when mental toughness comes in."

Wilson knew of the Siskins because his maternal grandparents, Russ and Margaret Richmond, reside in nearly Wasaga Beach. He showed enough during that season with Stayner, where he won the No. 1 job and helped extend the powerhouse Alliston Hornets to seven games in the playoffs, to convince Brampton to draft him.

Wilson posted a 2.82 average and .892 save percentage in 31 games last season. He also started and backed Brampton to wins in all four of their games against Ottawa, twice earning first-star honours after winning goaltender duels against Detroit Red Wings prospect Petr Mrazek — the top netminder at season's world junior hockey championship.

'Plan to surprise more people'

The Battalion felt set in goal with their Czech import, 19-year-old Matej Machovsky (2.36 average, .902 save percentage last season). That made it possible for the 67's to swing a deal for Wilson.

"Last year, battling with Machovsky to [try to] get the No. 1 spot, I think proved a lot of critics wrong," Wilson said. "And this year I plan to surprise more people."

Of course, a goalie has to win over new teammates by deed. One shouldn't take too much out of exhibition games. Wilson was impressive in his preseason debut last Friday in Smiths Falls, Ont., vs. the QMJHL's Gatineau Olympiques, where he played the first two periods. It was Wilson vs. the world in the opening 20 minutes while the young 67's were in full-on scramble mode against a team which was playing its fifth game and also opened training camp two weeks earlier. Wilson stopped all 18 first-period shots, finishing with a 24-of-27 night after two goals went in on deflections.

"[It was important] just for him to show the guys," 67's coach-GM Chris Byrne said on Friday night. "There's going to be nights like that where it's on the road, where it's a tough barn and it's a different outcome if he doesn't play well."

Wilson could also be a good fit with a change in the 67's identity. Ottawa has long been known for teams which boasted prolific scorers. This season's edition, led by Ottawa Senators first-rounder Cody Ceci, will be more of no-nonsense bunch that hopes to play tight defence and count on scoring by committee.

"He [Wilson] stops a lot of first shots and if we can clean up in front of the net and do a good job there, then we'll have success," Byrne says.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.