American goalie Joey Slavick forced to skate for Sweden in emergency backup role

When was the last time you saw a goaltender suit up to play against his own team in a real game situation? Not at training camp, not at practice, but a bona fide match with another team and everything. Many of you have probably never seen such a situation. However, that is exactly what happened today at the World Junior summer showcase. The event is designed for teams to narrow down their selections as to who will actually make the rosters for the real world juniors that take place around the holidays every year.

Just why did this happen though? Surely, Sweden had at least two goaltenders to send to the match right? Former ESPN analyst Chris Peters revealed that the reason Slavick dressed for Sweden today was because a number of Swedish players, including at least one goaltender, had their gear lost in transit to North America.

As such, team Sweden only had one goalie with equipment available for the game. The rest of their netminders were still waiting for their airline to find and deliver their luggage. Under these extremely odd circumstances, team USA agreed to loan Slavick to the Swedes for the day. The 17-year-old goalie played for the USNTDP last season where he got into 15 games with the U17 squad, putting up a 4.07 GAA and a .864 save percentage. He is eligible for the 2025 NHL draft.

Source: HouseofHockey
American goaltender forced to represent Sweden after goaltending emergency

Source: EliteProspects
Joseph Slavick Stats