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Tuesday, November 25th

Former NHL Goaltender Garret Sparks Joins Bison As EBUG

Former NHL Goaltender Garret Sparks Joins Bison As EBUG

Bloomington, Ill. – Bloomington Bison Head Coach and VP of Hockey Operations, Phillip Barski, announced today that former NHL goaltender and AHL Champion Garret Sparks has joined the team as an emergency backup goaltender.

Sparks, 32, most recently played during the 2023-24 season, when he appeared in two games with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and five games with the Wheeling Nailers.

The 6-foot-3, 201-pound Elmhurst, Illinois, native was selected 190th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and has played in 40 NHL games. On November 30, 2015, Sparks made his NHL debut and became the first goaltender in Maple Leafs history to record a shutout in his first appearance.

Sparks’ list of achievements includes winning an AHL Calder Cup Championship during the 2017-18 season with the Toronto Marlies, earning a spot on the AHL First All-Star Team, being named the recipient of the Baz Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL’s top goaltender and winning the Hap Holmes Memorial Award for allowing the fewest goals against in the league that season. He posted a 31-9-3 record in the regular season for the most wins of any goaltender and also had a league-high 1.79 goals against average and .936 save percentage.

In total, Sparks has a 15-18-2 record in the NHL with Toronto, Vegas and Los Angeles, a 99-60-13 record in the AHL with numerous teams, and a 37-21-8 record in the ECHL with Orlando and Wheeling.

The Bison return to Grossinger Motors Arena for a 309 Night featuring $3 Busch Lights, $0 popcorn and $9 specialty T-shirts on Friday, November 28th against the Iowa Heartlanders! Single-game tickets are now available for ALL Bloomington Bison home games starting as low as $20! Visit ticketmaster.com or call 309-965-HERD to purchase tickets today.