Peterborough Petes Player Featured and Tested By TSN's BarDown Squad
/Peterborough Petes goalie Michael Simpson was tested uniquely as TSN’s BarDown team tried to score on him in a featured video released last Wednesday.
Simpson recorded his first win of the OHL season against the Sudbury Wolves on the Petes home opener after teammate and goaltender Tye Austin was injured in the first period on Oct. 14. Photo Courtesy of Ken Andersen and the Peterborough Petes.
The video, “How Good is a 60 Overall Goalie in Real Life?” compared an OHL-level goalie to hockey players with beer/house league-level skills.
The “60 overall” rating is based on the popular NHL 22 video game by Electronic Arts (EA) Sports in the “Hockey Ultimate Team” mode. The rating is considered very low as most of the NHL’s top stars in the game are in the 90s. BarDown wanted to determine if Simpson’s rating should be raised after testing his goalie skills.
Michael Simpson’s "Hockey Ultimate Team” card from the NHL 22 video game. Screenshot.
Corwin McCallum and Jesse Pollock of BarDown competed against Simpson in three different competitions at the Peterborough Memorial Centre. It consisted of both men each taking 10 slot shots and three breakaways. They teamed up in the final event with 10 two-on-nothing attempts.
“You see their videos on Youtube and on TSN watching Sportscentre. You see they're goofballs and see it's a pretty cool experience and definitely something I'll never forget,” said Simpson. "It was pretty funny to have a laugh and be able to compete against them.”
Several Peterborough Petes were on the bench during the filming cheering on both sides. Despite Simpson’s excellent performance in the video, his teammates were quick to remind the goalie of his few mistakes after filming and in the locker room.
"They were giving it to me pretty good for letting in the goals but it was all a good experience and it was all super fun,” said Simpson.
Friends, family and fans messaged the Petes goaltender and blew up his phone and social media after they saw the video.
"A good amount of people have reached out. My family said it was a super cool experience but a lot of people back home, in high school and even elementary school reached out and said it’s such a cool opportunity,” said Simpson. “It was pretty cool to have those people reaching out and letting me know how cool it is."
Simpson was selected 193rd overall in the 10th round in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection Photo Courtesy of Ken Andersen and the Peterborough Petes.
