Three years in the past, Brandon Halverson had all however given up on his hockey dream.
He was delivering UberEats and groceries and dealing on a farm. He bought his truck. He borrowed cash from his dad and mom. No matter it took to scrape out sufficient cash for lease.
Two weeks in the past, he stepped into the online with the Tampa Bay Lightning for the primary time as an NHL starter — practically 11 years after being drafted as a extremely touted prospect, and greater than seven years after his solely different look within the league.
From toiling away with a last-place crew in Germany’s second division, a tiny membership on the verge of relegation that performed on an outside rink in below-freezing temperatures, to begging a coach in North America’s third-rung ECHL for a coaching camp tryout, a closing Hail-Mary shot at his dream.
Via quite a few accidents, a number of of which required surgical procedure, and questioning a number of occasions whether or not he had reached the top of his profession. Via powerful talks, and tears, and psychological well being struggles.
His path to that begin for the Lightning is perhaps one of the crucial inconceivable in hockey historical past.
“It’s been a really lengthy street,” mentioned Halverson, who turned 29 final weekend. “I’m simply completely satisfied that in spite of everything of every little thing that I’ve gone by that I used to be in a position to begin a sport (within the NHL). That was the aim in my thoughts this whole time, was to get that precise begin.”
Halverson was 9 when he knew he wished to be a goalie. He grew up in a working-class household in Traverse Metropolis, Mich., the place his father, Paul, — a former boxer — put in laborious early morning hours as a building employee.
When town landed an NAHL junior crew in 2005, the Halversons determined to billet gamers. The primary to stick with them was Jeremy Kaleniecki, a 19-year-old goalie who rapidly grew to become Halverson’s idol and surrogate large brother. They performed numerous video games of mini sticks with balls of tape in the lounge once they weren’t on the ice. Kaleniecki nicknamed Halverson “Fuzz Ball” after his mess of blonde hair.
Whereas Kaleniecki’s taking part in profession ended after that season, main him to change into an area goalie coach, Halverson’s took off. He quickly grew right into a gangly 6-foot-4 teenager and used the athletic aggressive strikes he had picked up from his a lot smaller billet brother to draw the eye {of professional} scouts.
In June 2014 Halverson was drafted by the New York Rangers with the penultimate decide of the second spherical — increased than present beginning NHL goalies Igor Shesterkin, Ilya Sorokin and Elvis Merzlikins — regardless of having solely 19 video games of expertise on the major-junior stage.
Halverson’s inventory continued to rise over the following two seasons; in 2014-15, he gained 40 video games to assist the Sault St. Marie Greyhounds to the OHL’s greatest regular-season report earlier than they misplaced within the playoffs to Connor McDavid’s powerhouse Erie Otters. He additionally made america’ world junior crew in consecutive years, successful a bronze medal in early 2016 alongside the following technology of American stars in Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk and Zach Werenski.
Later that yr, at age 19, Halverson signed an NHL entry-level contract to affix the Rangers, an Authentic Six franchise, with a $92,500 signing bonus. He had made it. However he wasn’t ready for what got here subsequent.
“It was a lot so quickly for him,” Kaleniecki says now.
The transition to minor-league hockey is usually brutal, between the punishing bus rides, packed sport schedule and low pay. It’s a meat grinder of a system that leaves many younger gamers behind, whether or not by cuts or demotions to even decrease ranges.
When Halverson turned professional in 2016, the Rangers have been a perennial contender crew with future Corridor of Fame goalie Henrik Lundqvist main the way in which. They didn’t hesitate to herald hardened veteran goalies to problem their youngsters for minutes, making for a really aggressive surroundings within the minors.
As one of many youngest goalies in his first professional season, Halverson had some powerful video games early with the Hartford Wolf Pack, to the purpose he ended up getting despatched all the way down to the Greenville Swamp Rabbits of the ECHL for many of the subsequent two seasons.
He struggled with the adversity and circumstances, to the purpose that his psychological well being took a flip for the more severe. At one level, Kaleniecki was involved sufficient to hop on a aircraft to South Carolina to assist.
“You are taking any individual who’s a excessive prospect who wants just a few fostering and growth,” Kalenicki mentioned, explaining that within the ECHL goalies usually don’t have a devoted coach to work with them. “Then you definitely compound that with including in a number of opponents all vying for a similar factor. And it type of turns into a poisonous surroundings. You recognize, poisonous mentally.”
In his third season, Halverson ended up hurting his knee. He tried to play by it, quite than miss time, however he misplaced his spot to older, extra skilled goalies.
He now realizes how a lot he was struggling, however he explains that he didn’t attain out to the crew or league for assist, believing he may powerful out the challenges as he had in junior.
“I knew there was some kind of factor you possibly can name and attain out for (assist),” Halverson mentioned, referring to a players-only cellphone line operated by the Skilled Hockey Gamers’ Affiliation, the union that represents minor-league gamers. “However I used to be similar to, ‘I do know what I’ve to do.’ Despite the fact that I’m extremely depressed.”
By the top of his three-year, entry-level contract, Halverson had performed 50 video games within the AHL, 63 within the ECHL, and solely 13 minutes with the Rangers as a mid-game fill-in for Lundqvist in February 2017 after one other goalie forgot his passport and missed the preliminary call-up.
Previous to his first profession begin, Halverson’s solely NHL look got here as a third-period substitute for the Rangers in February 2017. (Jana Chytilova / Freestyle Images / Getty Photos)
At age 23, New York lower him free.
Halverson’s subsequent few years are a blur for him now. There have been extra accidents, together with a badly damaged wrist that value him a full season. Extra thrilling call-ups and heartbreaking cuts. Extra packing up his life and transferring to a brand new metropolis solely to as soon as once more return house to an existence of wierd jobs and unpaid payments.
In 2019-20, together with his ECHL membership toiling in final place and the AHL seeming additional away than ever, Halverson determined to depart midseason for psychological well being causes. At that time, his father met with him for a heart-to-heart to debate whether or not the toll was value it.
“Are you positive you need to hold doing this?” his father requested.
“He was solely saying that as a result of he’s being a very good dad,” Halverson recalled later. “Simply advising me what he thinks is greatest. I used to be like, ‘Dad, it simply eats away at me. It’s on my thoughts on a regular basis, each single day. I’ve gotten in my automotive at work, all I may take into consideration was taking part in in an NHL sport. I don’t suppose my physique and my thoughts can relaxation till this occurs. I’m gonna hold going ahead.’”
That led to just about two years away to heal his physique and thoughts. After separate surgical procedures on each his knee and wrist, Halverson tried to earn cash nevertheless he may, delivering UberEats meals and groceries. He additionally took shifts at a pal’s farm the place, with one arm in a forged, he helped construct a barn and tended the greenhouse.
In the meantime, to get ice time, he began coaching beer-league goalies at 11 p.m. on Wednesdays — together with some who have been nonetheless studying to skate.
Previous to the 2022-23 season, Halverson obtained a tryout supply from a crew in Germany’s high division. He flew abroad and the crew ran some checks on his battered physique. They indicated they supposed to present him a contract, Halverson recalled, to the purpose that he turned down a competing supply from a British Elite Ice Hockey League squad.
When the German crew then lower him earlier than he had performed a sport, he all of a sudden had nowhere to go. 5 thousand miles from house, Halverson broke down sobbing.
“I’ve by no means accomplished that earlier than,” he mentioned. “It’s simply all the time been one factor after one other in my profession. I by no means may stick it with New York. I by no means may stick it anyplace else. And there was all the time one thing occurring, one thing occurring. And once they informed me that, my entire physique simply fell aside and I simply wasn’t doing good.”
That was how he ended up in Bayreuth, a German metropolis of 74,000 an hour north of Nuremberg. The pay was paltry, he couldn’t even play some video games as a consequence of league guidelines limiting the variety of import gamers, and the second-division crew was relegated as a consequence of monetary points on the finish of the 2022-23 season.
Actually, it was the top of the road in professional hockey. However hockey was all he had.
“That was fairly a distinct world for me,” Halverson mentioned. “In my head, I’m similar to, ‘That is gonna make for an awesome story.’ So I simply stored working laborious and put my head down.”
When Halverson returned house to Traverse Metropolis in summer time 2023, he was determined to seek out ice wherever he may. Kaleniecki helped, bringing him out to skates in Michigan. So did Jon Elkin, a widely known NHL goalie coach who had labored with Halverson in junior.
Halverson additionally known as the Orlando Photo voltaic Bears’ Matt Carkner, considered one of many minor-league coaches who had lower him previously, and mentioned he wished an opportunity to attend camp and beat out their two incumbent goalies.
He informed the Photo voltaic Bears workers this could be his final try to play professional. It was this or retirement.
“He was the toughest employee each single day. And together with his capacity, his dimension, his work ethic in preparation, he clearly earned his alternative to signal with us,” Orlando goalie coach Nathan Craze mentioned, recalling how intensely Halverson dug into video periods of Solars Bears practices and their upcoming opponents. “However the greatest factor for me was he actually discovered the love of taking part in once more.”
And he began to win. After a profitable first few months, Halverson was known as up on a tryout deal to the Syracuse Crunch, the Lightning’s AHL affiliate. A late-November shutout — his first ever at that stage — bought the crew’s consideration, incomes him an AHL contract. By the top of the 2023-24 season, Halverson had posted a 7-3-3 report with a .913 save proportion for Syracuse and, extra extremely, began for the crew in the course of the AHL playoffs.
Brandon Halverson and Jeremy Kaleniecki throughout an on-ice session. (through Jeremy Kaleniecki)
This season, he has continued to justify the Crunch’s religion in giving him their No. 1 job, going 18-10-8 with a .913 save proportion in 37 appearances. In January, he was named an AHL All-Star. A month later, the Lightning signed him to a two-year, two-way NHL contract that ensures him $300,000 subsequent season.
It’s a good distance from the place he was even two years in the past, when he couldn’t safe a league minimal $575-a-week supply within the ECHL.
Halverson credit his dad and mom, Paul and Jennifer, and a newfound shut relationship with God for serving to get him right here. He additionally is aware of he couldn’t have accomplished it with out his large billet brother, who watched him get his first NHL begin in opposition to Utah HC final week with a lump in his throat.
Little Fuzz Ball had accomplished it.
“To be trustworthy, I feel that’s most likely essentially the most nervous and excited I’ve been for something in hockey in my life,” Kaleniecki mentioned. “It’s any individual that’s really household. And also you’ve seen the struggles. You’ve been part of it with them … what they’ve gone by. It was laborious to carry (the feelings) in. It’s simply one of many coolest moments in my life in hockey.”
After being named a 2025 AHL All-Star, Brandon Halverson was signed to an NHL contract by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
On March 22, he made his first NHL begin in opposition to the Utah Hockey Membership. pic.twitter.com/9FTpG5oHvT
— Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) March 29, 2025
The sport didn’t go the way in which Halverson wished, as he allowed 5 objectives in a 6-4 loss in Salt Lake Metropolis. Regardless of the result, although, Halverson’s cellphone blew up with congratulatory messages all through the evening. One of many texts was from Craze, who informed Halverson to be pleased with the place he had come from, and the way far he had come. “That’s one thing nobody can ever take away from you,” he wrote. “And that is solely the beginning.”
Halverson is aware of nothing is assured for him with the Lightning. His begin final week was to cowl for backup Jonas Johansson, who was away from the crew for household causes, so he knew his NHL keep wouldn’t be a protracted one.
However after every little thing he’s been by, he feels prepared for what’s subsequent.
“I attempt not to consider what’s gonna occur,” Halverson mentioned over the cellphone final week. “I’m right here one other day. Nice. If I’m leaving tomorrow, nice. I get to go down and get again to work and play no matter sport I’m gonna be in subsequent. So I’m simply completely satisfied and grateful.”
The very subsequent day, Halverson was reassigned to Syracuse.
His first begin again? A 1-0 shutout, his fifth of the season.
(Illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic. Pictures: Dave Reginek / NHLI through Getty Photos, Peter Creveling / Imagn Photos)