Here’s another first for the Newfoundland Growlers.
Their first netminder.
The Growlers have signed Prince George, B.C, native Michael Garteig to a one-year, ECHL contract, adding a netminder who turned pro with the Vancouver Canucks organization.
The 26-year-old Garteig signed a one-year entry-level contract with the Canucks in 2016 just after leading the Quinnipac University Bobcats to the NCAA Division One Frozen Four, where they lost to North Dakota in the final.
Garteig split his first pro season between Vancouver’s AHL farm club, the Utica Comets and the ECHL’s Alaska Aces. He also spent a short stint with Vancouver, but only as a backup— he didn’t see any game action.
Last season, Garteig operated under an AHL contract with Utica, but spent all of the 2017-18 campaign with the ECHL’s Kalamazoo K-Wings, posting a record of 12-10-1 in 24 games, an .887 save percentage and a 3.81 goals against average.
The 6-1, 190-pund backstop joined Quinnipac after a stellar junior A career in the British Columbia Hockey League. In his senior collegiate year, Garteig appeared in 43 games with a record of 32-4-7, along with a .924 save percentage and a 1.91 goals against average.
While still in college, Garteig attended a summer prospects camp of the Boston Bruins on an invitation.
He is the sixth player signed directly by the ECHL expansion Growlers, joining Newfoundlanders Adam Pardy, James Melindy and Marcus Power, Latvian Kristians Rubins and Russian Semyon Babintsev.
The bulk of the Newfoundland roster is expected to come from assignments by the Toronto Maple Leafs and Marlies, the Growlers’ NHL and AHL partners.
The Growlers’ first training camp is set to start in about two-and-a-half weeks.
Newfoundland Growlers sign their first goalie
Michael Garteig is a former Vancouver Canucks prospect who spent most of the past two seasons in ECHL
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