Since this 鈥檏eeper looks to be a keeper for the future of the Victoria Royals, reporters during Royals training camp asked to get the name question out of the way once and for all.
鈥淪ome people think I鈥檓 kidding around and ask what鈥檚 your real name? I tell them it鈥檚 Outhouse,鈥� said Griffen Outhouse.
According to genealogical websites, the surname derives from those who once lived in outlying farmsteads.
鈥淚n Nova Scotia, it鈥檚 a common name,鈥� said Outhouse, who hails from the tiny sa国际传媒 community of Likely, near Williams Lake.
The 17-year-old showed Sunday why many consider him the Royals goalie of the future by blocking 15 of 16 shots during 30 minutes of action in a 5-1 Western Hockey League exhibition victory over the Tri City Americans in Everett, Washington.
Asked some of the nicknames he鈥檚 had, Outhouse replied during training camp: 鈥淚 can鈥檛 say.鈥�
But there is one he likes best and it doesn鈥檛 play off anything except his on-ice talents: 鈥淕-Money.鈥�
He may be just that for the Royals down the road.
Meanwhile, projected as a possible pairing with Outhouse in the Royals crease for future seasons is 16-year-old Dylan Myskiw from Manitoba, who stopped all seven Tri City shots he faced Sunday in his 30 minutes of crease time.
Standing in the way of either Outhouse or Myskiw making the Royals roster this season in the crease are 20-year-old returning veteran Coleman Vollrath and 18-year-old Nashville Predators NHL draft pick Evan Smith.
Vollrath went all the way as Victoria opened the pre-season with a 5-4 loss to Everett on Friday and Smith got the full 60 minutes in a 5-3 loss Saturday to the Seattle Thunderbirds.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a good challenge . . . we鈥檙e all battling for spots,鈥� said Outhouse, before the team departed for the Everett pre-season tournament.
鈥淚 just have to go out and do my thing.鈥�
Even if it doesn鈥檛 happen this season with the Royals, there are big hopes projected onto Outhouse beginning next season. Asked about the goalkeeper-of-the-future label others have placed on him, Outhouse responded: 鈥淚 can鈥檛 let it get to my head.鈥�
And why wait? He is pushing to make the team now. It is such a singular focus that Outhouse said he hasn鈥檛 thought much about where he will play this season if it鈥檚 decided his time is not quite yet and the Royals go with Vollrath and Smith.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 going to happen [in that regard],鈥� said the five-foot-11 puckstopper.
Outhouse was outstanding last season with a league-best 2.04 goals-against-average in 23 games for the regular-season champion Cariboo Cougars of the sa国际传媒 Major Midget League, also being named top goalkeeper in backstopping the Cougars to the prestigious Mac鈥檚 Triple-A Midget Tournament title at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary.
Victoria unloaded 53 shots on Tri City Sunday with goals coming from Ethan Price, Alex Forsberg, Regan Nagy, Keith Anderson and defenceman Scott Walford.
The Royals鈥� next pre-season games are a set against the Vancouver Giants on Saturday in Ladner and Sunday at 2 p.m. at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
