Ed Belfour

Belfour was born in Manitoba, where hockey is a mainstay in life. He received his first pair of hockey skates at the age of five. It was at that point that he began to spend every possible moment at the skating rink. On his official Web site he explained how he became goalie simply due to the cold conditions on the ice. Apparently the temperatures would sometimes dip to quite frigid levels and while the linesmen were warming up in the dressing room, the goalie was stuck in position for the entire game and would leave the ice nearly frozen. He was the back up for the goalie and as the main goalie tired of being constantly cold, Belfour got more and more attempts at playing the position. Soon he became the main goalie and loved playing every second of the game, regardless of the conditions. Belfour's coach was glad to have him in a position that was less interactive, because even early on Belfour had quite a temper and was a penalty waiting to happen when he was a center.

In high school it was required that students try out for hockey. There were three people vying for the two positions of goaltender on the varsity team and he was the one who was cut. This was a devastating blow to Belfour and he commented, "I was so disappointed I almost decided to quit, but instead I played a year of JV. That decision changed my life." The coach of the hockey team left the school, so the principal of the high school stepped in as coach. He knew of Belfour's frustration with not making the varsity team, and would allow him to play games with the varsity team here and there. It was at one of those games he was able to vindicate himself, showing his true ability. He was not dressed for the game, but was asked to suit up for the third period, where he truly shined. Belfour recalled, "I had a very strong game, helping us spoil the sweep and extend the series." He knew his hard work had paid off. It was this experience that showed everyone that Belfour was willing to work hard to make things happen.