Zane Kalemba’s path as a goaltender has made many stops since leaving Flin Flon in 2006, taking him from Princeton to Poland. It all led to his latest stop – an NHL crease.
The former Bomber netminder, born and raised in Bergen County, NJ, made his first-ever NHL appearance Mar. 8 as an emergency backup goalie for the Winnipeg Jets against the New Jersey Devils. When backup goalie Steve Mason was injured in practice and replacement Michael Hutchinson couldn’t reach New Jersey before game time, the 32-year-old Kalemba got the call.
“I got the call around 1:30 in the afternoon that they might need me and that the flights could probably be delayed,” he said.
“They just said, ‘Be ready today, make sure you’re not eating any chocolate cake and be ready to get dressed and go out for the warm up.’”
“I got the news when I got home from work,” said Dawn Kalemba, Zane’s stepmother. A former Flin Flon Bomber employee, Dawn still lives in Flin Flon. “They were already getting dressed up. It was very out of the blue. My husband sent me a text that said, ‘Today, we’re at the rink.’ When I saw him doing the warm ups, I’m not going to lie, I had a tear in my eye.”
After hustling down to the Prudential Center in Newark, Kalemba was signed to a short deal with the team, enabling him to fill in for the Jets while Hutchinson was in transit.
After getting a team jersey, snapping photos, signing autographs and calling some family and friends, Kalemba joined the Jets for the pregame skate. He stepped in the crease briefly, taking shots from the NHL squad – including captain Blake Wheeler, one of Kalemba’s old teammates in junior hockey.
One Winnipeg forward provided Kalemba with his “welcome-to-the-NHL” moment – a shot aimed right at his head.
“I asked my dad who did it and he said the guy was a healthy scratch that game. Maybe they scratched him for that reason. I don’t know,” he joked.
Once the game was underway, Kalemba sat on the bench for the first period, ready to play in case starting goalie Connor Hellebuyck was unable to continue.
“I just had to wait in my gear for the first period in case I had to go in,” said Kalemba.
After the first period, Hutchinson arrived at the rink, ending Kalemba’s quick brush with the NHL.
“They said I could get showered and changed and go up and watch the rest of the game,” he said.
It’s not like the Jets were pulling just anyone off the street – Kalemba is an accomplished goalie in his own right. After playing in the USHL and a full season as the Bombers’ starting goalie, Kalemba played four years with the NCAA’s Princeton Tigers, joining former Bomber teammate Tyler Beachell. Kalemba was named the Ivy League’s Player of the Year in 2008/09.
After leaving college, Kalemba bounced around the minor leagues - at one point, he suited up for six teams in one year. After stints in Poland, Slovakia, Denmark and the UK, Kalemba called it a career in 2016.
Or so he thought.
After settling down in Hackensack, NJ and starting a new career as a goalie skills coach with USA Hockey, Kalemba attended a special training camp with the New Jersey Devils. A spot on the team’s regular roster wasn’t up for grabs – the team was looking for an emergency backup. After impressing team brass at the camp, Kalemba got the job.
“Any time a team comes in or the Devils have a goalie who can’t play, Zane gets called to dress up,” said Dawn.
The game played for the Jets was Kalemba’s first call to action since the camp. It came at a busy time for the goalie – he and his new wife were married on Mar. 3, five days before he received the call.
“It was a really fun week to say the least,” he said.
If another NHL team needs a goalie in New Jersey on short notice, they’ll need to call someone else for a short time – the couple will soon leave for a honeymoon in Spain.
“It’s been a lot of running around, getting everything done, having all the family for the wedding and making sure we say our goodbyes before everyone gets back on the plane,” he said. “We’re excited to get on the plane and relax a little bit.”
It’s been a long time since Kalemba’s been back to Flin Flon, but memories of the Whitney Forum and life in the community still come back easily.
“I always remember the fans in the Whitney Forum and how loud it got in there and how enthusiastic the fans were. Even when we were getting beaten by La Ronge, they were supporting us – throwing the moose legs on the ice and everything.”
“I know him and my son were very close. He was very good with the fans, a hard worker, very personable,” said Dawn.
“He’d high five kids coming out of the dressing room and that kind of stuff.”
Kalemba remembers the team’s first round playoff series against Melfort, a hard-fought seven game set that ended with an upset win by the Bombers.
“They’d win at home, then we’d win at home, all the way until game seven. We played in Melfort and we ended up beating them in Melfort. It was a really hard-fought series,” he said.
