Goaltending is a huge part of hockey in any league, and the Danbury Hat Tricks’ Brian Wilson excels at that aspect. Danbury leads in wins, 39, and 27 of them are thanks to Wilson. The Hat Tricks are nearing the end of the 2022/23 regular season with a playoff spot clinched and the title of Empire Division Champions.
This season may only be Brian Wilson’s second with Danbury, but he is not new to the sport. The Ontario native played for three junior teams over four years, Kanata Lasers in Ottawa, Okotoks Oilers in Alberta, and the Powell River Kings in British Columbia. He attended Niagara University and played NCAA hockey for the four years he was enrolled. In 2021, he debuted professionally with the Evansville Thunderbolts in the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). Since 2021, he has been called to the AHL and ECHL four times.
On March 3, Wilson led his team to a 5-1 victory against the Elmira Mammoth, earning him the night’s first star. Then again, on March 31, he was the first star after a 5-0 shutout against the Delaware Thunder. After both games, he heavily praised his team’s hard work to make his job as a goalie easier, saving 26 shots against Elmira and only 17 against Delaware.
Wilson leads the entire Federal Prospect Hockey League in wins, 27, and is second in the league in goals against average and save percentage, 2.67 and .919. Based on these stats, he has proven himself worthy as a massive asset to this team.
When asked about being called up to other leagues, despite only playing one game, he explained how being up there is a learning experience to take in what’s happening at the higher levels. He tries to incorporate what he’s seen in the AHL/ECHL into his game in the FPHL.
During our interview, he talked about his favorite goalie growing up, Carey Price, despite being a Toronto Maple Leafs fan. I had asked him which arena, other than Danbury’s, was his favorite to play at, and he said either Binghampton or Columbus since they had drilled in goal pegs, making the net stay on better.
To end one of our interviews, we discussed his go-to pregame song. He said he didn’t have a specific one, but one that came to mind was Best Friend by Foster the People, specifically the Lost Kings Remix, which can be found on Soundcloud or Youtube.
Even with his success in helping the Hat Tricks to 114 points, Brian Wilson has so much more potential ahead, and he will capitalize on it.
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