Brandon Bonello is the Maple Leafs' emergency backup goalie this year, and Thursday's practice tape already has fans buzzing.
An EBUG is the league's break glass option. A goalie who only dresses if both regular netminders go down mid game.
Toronto finished last season 32-36-14 for 78 points, a rough finish the Maple Leafs are still shaking off heading into training camp.
Morgan Rielly is dealing with an illness that has him questionable for the start of the season.
Max Domi is out with a back injury and is not expected back until at least November 7.
The six-second practice clip shows Bonello in full gear, wearing number 00, while a Leafs staffer in a blue jacket skates in tight, working through positioning with him.
Toronto's real options in net are Sergei Bobrovsky, Anthony Stolarz and Artur Akhtyamov, which makes Bonello pure insurance, not competition.
Why the Leafs still need an EBUG with three goalies under contract
Bobrovsky posted a .876 save percentage across 52 games a season ago, a number that needs to climb fast if Toronto wants to climb the standings.
New head coach Jim Hiller, hired in June, is running his first Leafs training camp, and even crease depth is getting his attention.
So why bother with an emergency goalie when the crease already has three names attached to it? Because the league requires every home team to have one on standby, ready or not.
It is a little ridiculous that a six-second clip can turn an anonymous goalie into a minor local celebrity, but that is the sport now.
Bonello will spend the year holding a clipboard and hoping his phone never rings.
If it does, Leafs fans everywhere will remember exactly where they were.
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Should the Maple Leafs be more concerned about their EBUG depth or their actual goalie depth?
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