Hometown Goalie Masen Johnston Ready To Crack Peterborough Petes Roster During Training Camp

After getting his name called in this year’s Ontario Priority Selection, hometown goalie Masen Johnston is ready to crack the team roster with the Peterborough Petes as the team is going through a four-day training camp that started Tuesday and will end on Friday.

JOhnston has been with the AAA Peterborough Petes since Novice and was a participant in this year’s OHL cup. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The team went through fitness testing and orientation at Hybrid Sports on Tuesday prior to the day one scrimmage that began Wednesday morning.

The 16-year-old Peterborough native was paired with OHL champion and playoff MVP goaltender Michael Simpson to represent Team Hybrid Sports for team scrimmages. It was a dream for Johnston to learn from and play backup to a championship goalie.

“Being able to be with a veteran goalie like that (Simpson), a guy that's been around the league and has been producing around the league too so it's just awesome,” said Johnston. “Hopefully, I can pick up a couple of things from him.”

The 6 ft. 186-lbs. goaltender got his first taste of Petes action in his scrimmage game against Team Sign-a-Fied on Wednesday morning. Simpson played just under 13 minutes of the 25-minute scrimmage before Johnston got on the ice to round out the game. He and Simpson combined for a shutout and a 3-0 victory over Team Sign-a-Fied.

“It's awesome putting on the maroon and white jersey. It's special. There's a lot of history behind the logo,” explained Johnston. “I just want to make the lineup and make a difference in the community too and be an all-around-team player.”

Johnston was taken 112th overall as Peterborough’s fourth pick in the sixth round from the U16 Minor AAA Peterborough Petes in this year’s Ontario Priority Selection. He was the winning goalie for the Petes when they won the Ontario Minor Hockey Association Championship on March 19 in triple overtime. He was also a finalist in the Steve Richey Cup in January.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, Youtube and LinkedIn. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for our newsletter here.