Michael Garnett: Misha from Saskatoon
KHL.ru continues its series of articles on players and coaches who have become legends of the league. In this new piece, we tell the story of Canadian goaltender Michael Garnett, who played in two Gagarin Cup finals but was unable to capture the KHL’s top trophy.
Two Months Without Internet
Michael Garnett became a goalie because he wanted to play the entire game, not share ice time with other players.
“I didn’t like that you could only play 25 percent of the time and then sit on the bench watching others play. My goal was to play the whole game.”
Another reason the Canadian chose to play between the piping was the unique equipment goalies use. Every young Canadian player dreams of playing in the NHL, and Garnett was no exception. Methodically working towards his goal, he was then a starter for the Atlanta Thrashers’ farm team in the AHL, who had drafted him in 2001. However, he only got one chance to prove himself in the top North American league. That opportunity arose by chance during the 2005-2006 season when the team’s leading goalies, Kari Lehtonen and Mike Dunham, were injured. In that season, Garnett played his first and last 24 games in the NHL.
Since the early 2000s, the level and financial well-being of Russian championship’s clubs have been steadily rising. An increasing number of players from Canada, the USA, and Europe have been turning their attention to Russia, where they were invited to take on leading roles and showcase their best qualities.
“My good friend Fred Brathwaite, after his contract with Chicago ended, went to play in Russia. In our conversation, he spoke very warmly about Russia, where the level of hockey is high, and players are paid well. ‘Play for a year, and then we'll see,’ he told me. That’s how I ended up here. I didn’t want to play overseas with the thought that I could be sent to a farm club at any moment.”
In 2007, Garnett joined Neftekhimik. He was the team’s top goalie, played almost all the games, and helped the team reach the playoffs with a solid performance, averaging 2.47 goals against per game. However, the club decided not to extend the Canadian’s contract.
In Nizhnekamsk, Garnett experienced a comical situation that led him to actively learn Russian. Shortly after Neftekhimik returned from training camp in Finland, the internet in his apartment went out and didn’t work for two months. The only English-language channel available on TV was BBC World.
“In general, it was tough, and I had to start learning Russian, otherwise, I would have gone crazy.”
As soon as the internet was back, Garnett started downloading everything he could, which resulted in an $800 bill.
The Battle for Znarok and the Gagarin Cup
Garnett didn’t remain jobless in Russia. He caught the attention of HC MVD. However, their first season together was a disappointment – the team finished 18th in the standings and missed the playoffs. Nevertheless, the club’s management didn’t make any radical decisions regarding the coach or the roster. The starting goalie and the core of the team, still led by Oleg Znarok, remained intact during the offseason.
Given the poor performance in the 2008-2009 season, no one expected anything outstanding from HC MVD at the start of the second KHL season. The team entered the competition as one that could only hope to fight for a playoff spot and make it to the Gagarin Cup from one of the lower positions. However, from the very beginning of the season, they started to deliver surprises.
Michael Garnett
401 games, 185 wins.
Continental Cup winner (2012).
KHL silver medal winner (2010, 2013).
KHL bronze medal winner (2012).
Golden Helmet recipient (2010).
KHL All-Star Game (2010, 2012, 2013).
Sept. 13, 2008 KHL debut and first win with HC MVD.
Jan. 30, 2010 First KHL All-Star Game appearance with Team Jagr.
April 11, 2010 First Gagarin Cup qualification.
May 25, 2020 First KHL All-Star Team.
HK MVD had a consistent and steady performance throughout the regular season, finishing second in the Western Conference standings, behind only SKA. Naturally, achieving such results without reliable goaltending is impossible for a mid-level team. Garnett allowed an average of 2.06 goals per game, ranking seventh in the league for this statistic.
HC MVD was not considered a favorite for the playoffs — many teams that perform well in the regular season falter in the elimination stage. Moreover, the playoffs are a new tournament, and neither the coaches nor the players had much playoff experience. Znarok himself was only in his second season as a head coach outside of Latvia. Everyone was waiting for the underdog from Balashikha to stumble.
But in the first round, HC MVD swept CSKA. In the second round, they eliminated Dinamo Riga in five games. The Latvian side had got over the best team in the West, SKA, in the first round. Finally, in the semifinals, Lokomotiv was leading the series 3-2 and had won the last two games with a combined score of 10-1. It seemed like the end for the underdogs. However, they first won an away game and then the decisive game at home.
In the finals, HC MVD lost the first two games to Ak Bars. But the team performed another feat, winning three times in a row and coming within a step of the cup. However, Kazan, playing without Danis Zaripov from the first round and Alexei Morozov from the fourth game of the finals, responded with their own resilience — despite lacking their leaders and facing psychological pressure, they managed to turn the series in their favor and win 4-3.
“All the players fought for the coaches, for the team. The second year at HC MVD was the most memorable of my career. Even more so considering that in case of a fail I might have ended my career in Russia.”
Irony of Fate and the Company of Canadian Stars
In the offseason, HC MVD merged with Dynamo Moscow. The Blue-and-Whites finished second in the Western Conference at the end of the regular season, but in the playoffs, just like the previous year, Riga unexpectedly defeated the Muscovites 4-2. Garnett received an offer from Traktor Chelyabinsk and decided to head to Chelyabinsk.
At the end of November, Traktor was playing in Chekhov with a 5:1 lead. In the final minute, the home team initiated yet another mass brawl, something common in those days. Garnett had to fight as well because his fellow Canadian and Vityaz goalie Matt Dalton skated up to him, grabbed his mask, and challenged him to a fight. The brawl lasted quite a while, and afterward, Garnett admitted that he had never been in a serious fight before — neither on the ice nor in real life.
May 2, 2011 Moves to Traktor.
Nov. 26, 2011 Fights during a game with fellow goalie Matt Dalton in an away game against Vityaz.
Feb. 26, 2012 Continental Cup win with his new team.
Apr. 4, 2012 Second participation in the Gagarin Cup finals.
Feb. 5 2017 Takes part in the last Medvescak game in the KHL.
Traktor during that period was one of the strongest in the club’s history. In 2012, the Chelyabinsk side won the Continental Cup and the bronze medal in the Russian championship. The following year, the team made it to the finals, where they faced Garnett’s former club, Dynamo Moscow. In those two Gagarin Cup playoffs, Garnett ranked among the top four goaltenders in terms of both goals-against average and save percentage.
For Garnett, the irony of fate was not only that he lost in the Gagarin Cup finals for the second time, but also that he lost to his former team. Moreover, Dynamo won the Gagarin Cup in 2012 as well. So, had the Canadian stayed in Moscow, he could have become a two-time KHL champion.
“It was very painful to lose... But at the same time, it was nice to see the joy on the faces of my former teammates, who are undoubtedly great guys.”
At the end of the 2012-2013 season, fans voted Garnett as Traktor’s best player, and Team Canada invited him to join the national team for the World Championship. The Canadians sent a strong squad to Stockholm, but they were eliminated in the first round of the elimination stage, losing to the hosts, who went on to grab the gold medal.
“It was something incredible. The Staals, Stamkos, Giroux, Duchene—the list goes on, just one star after another. I had never found myself in such a star-studded company. Among them, I felt like a little kid, I was that excited. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t get a chance to play since Dubnyk and Smith were on the team. But even just to practice for three weeks with NHL stars was a great experience.”
According to Garnett, the Canadian stars asked him what he was called in Russia. When they heard the answer, they started calling the goalie the same: “Misha.” Garnett grew so fond of Russia that once, while playing for HC MVD, he even painted the Red Square on his helmet.
Garnett could have stayed in Russia. In 2015, Traktor offered him a new contract, but the goalie turned it down. Later, he admitted that he was hoping for a better deal, but it never materialized. “And now I regret that the most,” he noted.
However, Garnett did continue to play in the KHL, for Slovan and Medvescak. He ended his career in the British league with the Nottingham Panthers, where the two-time Gagarin Cup finalist played until 2019 while studying in business school. Garnett doesn’t rule out the possibility of returning to the KHL — as a coach.
Dossier
Michael Garnett
Born on Nov 25, 1982, in Saskatoon, Canada
Playing career: 2002-2007 – Chicago Wolves (AHL), Atlanta Thrashers, 2007-2008 – Neftekhimik, 2008-2010 – HC MVD, 2010-2011 – Dynamo Moscow, 2011-2015 – Traktor, 2015-2016 – Slovan, 2016-2017 – Medvescak, SC Bern (Switzerland), 2017-2019 – Nottingham Panthers (EIHL).
Player achievements: Two-time Gagarin Cup finalist, silver (2010, 2013) and bronze medalist (2012) in Russian championships.
