David Goverde on becoming the Aurora Tigers’ new goalie coach
AURORA, Ontario — To suggest that the 2021-22 OJHL season is a transitional time would be a massive understatement. Each of the OJHL’s clubs are back in action this season after a year and a half was lost due to the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the OJHL and their teams are back with a collective rejuvenation for this comeback season. That includes the Aurora Tigers.
This past summer, the Tigers were full steam ahead in their preparations for the new season. Among those preparations was the responsibility of finding a new goalie coach.
In late August, the Tigers found their new goalie coach in former netminder, David Goverde.
A native of Toronto, Goverde played professionally between 1990 and 2004, including a couple of stints in the NHL. Since his playing days, Goverde has helped the next generation of goaltenders find their way and develop their own games. But this past summer, something serendipitous occurred for the 51-year-old.
“I’ve been training goalies since 2012, and I have one student that I train, his name is Patrick Sutherland, and he attended the Aurora Tigers’ rookie camp and did pretty well and had a good showing,” Goverde explained when I spoke with him this week. “So, (the Tigers) approached him to be one of their (practice) players because of his age – he’s only 15.”
The former netminder continued.
“So, in discussions with Patrick’s dad, (Tigers owner) Jim (Thomson) was talking to his father and asking about (Patrick), his background and everything and where he trains, and mentioned my name,” Goverde said. “So then, it kind of just snowballed from there as far as Jim reaching out and, you know, I hadn’t talked to him in many years since our playing days when we were in the (NHL’s Los Angeles) Kings organization. But, I had a meeting with him and I guess that went very well and he offered me the position.”
While it has been some time since Thomson and Goverde were in contact prior to the summer, the latter was quick to remember just how close-knit the hockey community really is.
“You know, the hockey world is a big community but a small one, as well,” Goverde said. “So, I think that obviously having played with him before and knowing him at a different time, we were both, his career was a little bit more established when I played with him, it was just my first and second year professionally, and so, I think we both know that I was never an NHL regular and it took him quite a few opportunities to become one himself.”
Having similar paths in professional hockey certainly helped Goverde relate to Thomson and vice-versa. In turn, aside from his capabilities and skills as a coach, the aforementioned common ground did play a factor in Goverde landing his new role.
“I believe that our mindset and our way of thinking on how to be successful is kind of the same in that our philosophies on the approach to the game off the ice and on the ice are pretty similar,” observed the former netminder. “So, I think that kind of experience in what we had both went through as hockey players that, at the age of the Tigers (players) now and then moving forward kind of has that really good cohesiveness in that we understand exactly what it takes and how hard it is, and you only get so many opportunities. So, I think that kind of mindset in our thinking helped with maybe his decision on me joining the team and helping the goalies out.”
The Aurora Tigers are off to a decent start at 5-6-1, but be on the lookout for more from the Tigers as the 2021-22 season continues. That includes the work of one David Goverde.
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