It’s an accomplishment so few goaltenders have achieved in their careers, regardless of when it happens.
For Dylan Johnson, that came at the young age of 15 this past weekend as the Prince George Cougars’ prospect from Dallas, Texas tallied a rarely-seen goalie goal during an invitational tournament in Minnesota.
Johnson was taken by the Cats 26th overall at the first-ever WHL U.S. Prospects Draft back in March out of the Dallas Stars Elite program.
He joined the Sioux Falls Power hockey program in South Dakota for the 2020-21 season.
On Sunday (Oct. 25), with his team already up 3-1 on Team North Dakota, a puck was chipped into Johnson’s zone from centre ice and right towards him.
He brought the bouncing puck down with his stick and capitalized on an opportunity to send the puck back the other way.
Sure enough, an empty net was there as the puck was sniped through traffic and trickled nearly 200 feet into the open cage for the 4-1 dagger.
In a video posted by the Cougars, Johnson’s teammates dog-pile on him after the feat and then leads the celebration line along the bench.
In the NHL ranks, 15 goals have been scored by netminders since 1979.
The most recent was recorded this past January by Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators.
Martin Brodeur leads all-time goaltenders with three, all with the New Jersey Devils.
For the first time since 2013... WE HAVE A GOALIE GOAL.
— NHL (@NHL) January 10, 2020
Bless you, Pekka Rinne. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/teY98yCmB9
