This season, the NHL is adding a new rule that will get rid of one of the weird yet charming quirks of the NHL. The days of the random emergency backup goalie (EBUG) are over. No more Zamboni drivers or mailmen will get to come to the rescue out of the stands.
Now, each team gets to have their own, hand-selected, full-time EBUG that will practice and travel with the team, and potentially even be called upon to take the net in an NHL game.
For the Bruins, that person is Kyle Chauvette.
And Chauvette seems like a good choice: he’s young, experienced against tough collegiate opponents, hasn’t taken any time away from playing hockey, and most importantly has never played professionally.
The 24-year old is a local from Goffstown, New Hampshire who has played in 115 collegiate games for Union College and UNH. He recently finished up his college career at UNH, where he posted a 2.63 goals-against average and .902 save percentage in his senior season.
Chauvette, who spoke about his new role at Bruins development camp last week, said with the help of his agent and a past relationship with Bruins goalie coach Bob Essensa, he ended up signing on as the Bruins' full-time EBUG for the upcoming 2026-27 season.
“I know Bob Essensa, the goalie coach for Boston, so I'm actually going to be doing the EBUG for them next year, so that kind of just came up because of that,” Chauvette explained.
Chauvette said that because of his upcoming role as the EBUG, the Bruins organization thought it would benefit him to attend their development camp as an undrafted invitee.
“They wanted me to come meet everyone at camp, and it’s a really cool opportunity,” Chauvette said.
As for what the role will entail for him, Chauvette said, “You get paid for it and travel with the team. Travel, practice, all of that.”
Full-time EBUGs won’t just be there for emergencies, but also on the ice for practices and morning skates, potentially allowing for more rest for the team’s other goalies. They will be paid as team employees, but they will not count against a team's salary cap.
What are the new parameters for a full-time EBUG?
According to the new NHL collective bargaining agreement that will go into effect this season through the 2029-30 season, the league requires that a full-time EBUG must never have played an NHL game under an NHL contract, appeared in more than 80 professional games in other pro leagues, or have played professional hockey in the last three seasons.
Previously, the EBUG on NHL game nights was your average person, sitting in the stands in street clothes, who had another day job, who sat at the ready to play for either team that may need his emergency services that night.
Most famously, in February 2020, David Ayres put up a heroic performance for the Carolina Hurricanes against his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs after both of their goalies left the game with injuries. Ayres, a 42-year-old Zamboni driver at the time, became a cult hero after stopping an Auston Matthews breakaway and becoming the first EBUG to ever win an NHL game.
With the new NHL full-time EBUG rules, those kinds of occurrences will be in the past. Now, the EBUG position will look more professional than amateur, with goalies like Kyle Chauvette embracing the full-time job.
