Former NHLer Fred Brathwaite comes out of retirement to become AHL emergency backup goalie

Talk about a throwback. Fred Brathwaite, who played 254 NHL games over his career, signed a professional tryout offer with the Henderson Silver Knights on Wednesday and served as backup against the Coachella Valley Firebirds.

Brathwaite wore No. 34 with the Silver Knights. Coachella Valley won the game 5-3.

With Jiri Patera called up to backup Jonathan Quick in Vegas, the Golden Knights needed an extra goalie to work with Isaiah Saville. Brathwaite has served as Henderson’s goaltending coach for the past three seasons after holding the same role with the New York Islanders and Team Canada’s U-18 program in recent years. So, even at 50 years old, he still was a logical choice for the job.

Brathwaite played parts of nine seasons in the NHL, recording an 81-99-37 record with 15 shutouts and a .901 save percentage with Calgary, St. Louis and Columbus. He was Calgary’s starter for two seasons in 1990-00 and 2000-01, his most successful years in the NHL.

Brathwaite was also a stalwart AHL goaltender, spending time with the Cape Breton Oilers, Saint John Flames, Syracuse Crunch and Chicago Wolves. He spent his final two North American seasons with Chicago in 2006-07 and 2008-09 before finishing his career off with a four-year run with German team Mannheim Eagles.

While Brathwaite’s inclusion was fun for nostalgic hockey fans, it’s likely not good news for the Golden Knights. The club is already without starter Logan Thompson (lower body) and third-stringer Laurent Brossoit (lower body). Patera’s call-up could mean bad news for Adin Hill, who is also dealing with a lower-body injury.

The Golden Knights recently traded Michael Hutchinson in the deal that brought over Jonathan Quick to Vegas, who will now act as the team’s starter. Vegas leads the Pacific Division with 82 points and are 6-2-2 over the past 10 games. Henderson, meanwhile, is eighth in the AHL’s Pacific Division, sitting ahead of San Jose and San Diego.