A Rockets record that will stand the test of time

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Not only did Swanson remain healthy that season despite a heavy workload, the now 42-year-old also posted a goals-against average of 2.96 and collected seven shutouts.

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“They (statistics) don’t stack up to the modern era numbers, but back then that was pretty good at the time”, he said modestly.

Will that record ever be broken? Even Swanson admits it’s unlikely.

“If you look at it on the coaching side, you really wouldn’t want to play a guy that many games. You want to get your other guy in”.

Swanson’s backup that season with seldom-used 17-year-old rookie Vaughn Watson.

“When I looked back at it, the mental side of it would have been the tougher of the two”, Swanson continued. “I don’t think playing the game is that tough on the body, I think the mental fatigue with all the preparation that goes into it and how mentally challenging the goaltending position is, that was probably the tougher of the two.”

Swanson played 199 WHL games over his career, splitting time with both the Prince George Cougars and the Kelowna Rockets.

“Personally, that year (1999-2000) was great. The following year, I had a knee injury and missed a bunch of time, but that season we had a good team, and we had a much better finish, so as the team concept goes, the 2000-2001 season may have been the more memorable one”, Swanson added.

Originally drafted by the Cougars in the fifth round of the WHL Bantam Draft, the Calgary resident was dealt to the Rockets in a three-team deal which included the Moose Jaw Warriors.

What player did the Rockets send to Moose Jaw in the transaction? Current head coach Kris Mallette.

“It was amazing”, Swanson reflected on his 17-year-old season with the Cougars, where big crowds were commonplace at what is now known as CN Centre. “In my first year, we were experiencing sellouts pretty much every single game. The crowds were loud and crazy. It sure was great playing there on the home side.”

Swanson remembers his first training camp with the Cougars, where a large European player was trying to make an impression.

“In my first training camp, he was there”, Swanson recalls about Slovakian-born defenceman Zdeno Chara, who ended up playing in over 1,600 games in the NHL before retiring in September after 24 seasons playing at the elite level. “He was huge, that is all I remember. It was crazy how big he was, but he could move and get around”.

Swanson has the bragging rights of being one of the fortunate few alumni who played both at old Memorial Arena on Ellis Street, when the franchise first moved to Kelowna, before relocating into Prospera Place, which opened its doors in the fall of 1999.

“Being traded to a city like Kelowna was awesome.  The trade was a little bit scary coming in where you have to meet new guys. I was still only 18 at the time, so I still hadn’t established myself”.

Swanson was getting used to a new city, new teammates, and new management.

“Bruce is pretty great”, Swanson said about the current owner and general manager Bruce Hamilton. “He made me feel really welcome. As a player, you don’t deal a lot with the general manager on a day-to-day basis, but he always treated me well”.

A draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks, Swanson never got a shot at playing in the NHL.

After playing several seasons in the ECHL, he eventually retired.

Swanson is now a goaltending coach with the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes and owns and operates GDI (Goalie Development Inc.) in Calgary, a business he founded over 17 years ago, providing one-on-one goalie lessons in the area.