Rookie hockey goalie Mitchell Gibson is trying to make the most of his time in the minor leagues and break into the NHL.
SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
This fall, we went on the ice with rookie goalie Mitchell Gibson as he tried to make the roster for the Washington Capitals.
MITCHELL GIBSON: I like your shot.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: What?
GIBSON: I like your shot.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Yeah?
GIBSON: It’s keeping me on my toes right now.
DETROW: Gibson didn’t make the team, so we’re following along throughout his first professional season in the minor leagues. He’s been shuttling back and forth between the Capitals’ affiliates in Charleston, S.C., and Hershey, Penn., and things are going well.
GIBSON: I think my self-confidence has improved a lot, to kind of help with some of those things that don’t get in my own head. I – you know, I got this. I can do this. Don’t get intimidated by the moment. You know, crowds get a little bit bigger, fans get a little bit more intense, all that kind of stuff. But I’m trusting what I got going on right now.
DETROW: Gibson scored a goal, believe it or not. And remember, he’s a goalie. And he’s gotten the chance to suit up for a team that he rooted for in the stands as a kid. But as expected in your first year in the pros, there have been a lot of adjustments. We caught up with Gibson the other day. He was in Florida for an away game with the South Carolina Stingrays, and he said the biggest challenge has been the constant back-and-forth playing for two squads.
GIBSON: It’s funny because South Carolina, it’s 60, 70 degrees. We can go to the beach, go out downtown and there’s a lot of good restaurants down there. And then you’ll get the call up to Hershey, and the next day, I’ll be in a winter jacket, long pants, and got to throw away the flip-flops.
DETROW: Is it hard to get into a groove when you’re going back and forth between two teams that much?
GIBSON: It was. I had a really funny – I played…
Read the full article here