Vancouver Canucks

Watch college hockey goalie live the dream after signing one-day contract with Canucks

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:39 p.m. ET

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Matt Hewitt knew there was a chance he would get a get a call from the Vancouver Canucks when their starting goaltender, Ryan Miller, went down with an injury. When it happened, he called it "a dream come true."

The University of British Columbia goalie was recruited to serve as an emergency backup for the Canucks in their game against the St. Louis Blues this week. He signed a one-day contract with the team and got to live out the life of an NHL player, if just for one night.

Luckily, the Canucks video team was there to document that process and it's a pretty enjoyable watch. It's cool to get a peek behind the scenes and see how the rest of the guys received the youngster, who is a fourth-year sociology major at UBC. Hewitt made sure to stay in the moment, handle it like a professional and soak it all in.

"I didn't have class this morning and I woke up to a bunch of messages ... that Miller might be hurt and the Canucks might need an emergency call-up. Right away my heart kind of stopped," said Hewitt, via CBC. "I didn't hear too much until my coach Sven [Butenschon] here at UBC called and said 'you're going tonight.' I'm just so excited."

The New Westminster native didn't actually see any in-game action, but he dressed and served as backup to Jacob Markstrom. If nothing else, he got a free jersey and a wonderful seat in the house to watch the Canucks pull out an overtime victory over the Blues.

Emergency goalie signings are always one of the wackiest (and most fun) parts of the NHL season, so it was very awesome to actually witness one play out like this.

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